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THE 


LIFE  AND  LETTERS 


or 


BARTHOLD  GEORGE  NIEBUHR. 


WITH 


ESSAYS  ON  HIS  CHARACTER  AND  INFLUENCE, 


THE  CHEVALIER  BUNSEN, 
AND  PROFESSORS  BRANDIS  AND  LORBELL. 


NEW    YORK: 

HARPER   &   BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 
329   &   331   PEARL    STREET, 

F  KAN  KLIN     SQUARE. 

1852. 


PREFACE. 


No  justification  could  be  needed  for  offering  to  the  En- 
glish public  a  life  of  Niebuhr,  but  it  seems  necessary  to 
explain  how  far  the  present  work  can  claim  to  be  consid- 
ered as  such. 

It  is  founded  upon  one  entitled  "  Lebensnachrichten 
A  uber  Barthold  Georg  Niebuhr,"  which  is  chiefly  composed 
N  of  extracts  from  Niebuhr's  letters ;  though  a  short  nar- 

01 

a-    rative,  intended  to  explain  these,  and  fill  up  the  chasms 

they  leave  in  his  history,  is  prefixed  to  each  of  the  periods 

into  which  it  is  divided.     The  principal  editor  of  "  Lebens- 

O    nachrichten"  was  Madame  Hensler,  Niebuhr's  sister-in- 

5    law,  to  whom  most  of  the  letters  are  addressed,  and  who 

O    thus  states  the  views  with  which  she  performed  her  task : 

.  .  .  .  "  The  reader  will  not  need  to  be  reminded  that 
•    the  extracts  from  the  letters  form  the  most  important  part 
£|    of  the  work. 

u.         "As  I  have  already  observed,  these  are  not  to  be  judged 

k.     from  the  point  of  view  which  would  be  taken  by  an  editor 

3     of  Niebuhr's  learned  or  general  correspondence :  such  a 

one  would  have  made  a  very  different  and  a  much  more 

copious  selection,  and  would  probably,  too,  have  followed 

critical  rules  which  were  beside  the  aim  of  the  present 

work.     This  aim  is  simply  biographical ;  to  communicate 

whatever  can  throw  light  upon  his  natural  capacities  and 


vi  PREFACE. 

dispositions,  his  mental  development,  his  studies,  his  mode 
of  thought,  his  views  of  life,  the  State,  art,  and  literature ; 
his  relations  as  a  citizen,  a  friend,  and  a  member  of  the 
domestic  circle ;  his  large  and  profound  sympathies  ;  his 
keen  sense  of  the  noble  and  beautiful ;  his  zeal  for  justice 
and  truth ;  and,  not  less,  his  faults  and  weaknesses,  for 
these  too,  neither  ought  nor  needed  to  be  glossed  over. 
Mebuhr  was  not  so  poor  in  great  and  amiable  qualities, 
as  to  require  an  artificial  light,  in  order  to  retain  the  es- 
teem of  those  whose  esteem  he  would  have  valued ;  and 
while  his  letters  contain  many  beautiful  traits  which  a 
regard  to  others  forbids  us  to  publish,  they  contain  nothing 
which  could  have  brought  our  friendship  for  him  and  our 
love  of  truth  into  collision. 

"  Whether  some  of  the  letters  retained  might  not  have 
been  omitted,  and  others  inserted  with  advantage,  is  a 
point  on  which  judgments  will  naturally  differ 

"  The  greatest  possible  care  has  been  taken  to  avoid 
any  thing  like  indiscretion  toward  the  living,  or  a  profan- 
ation of  feeling,  which  Mebuhr  would  have  regarded  as 
belonging  to  the  inner  sanctuary  of  the  heart.  Perhaps, 
in  some  cases,  this  scruple  has  been  carried  too  far  (for 
instance  in  omitting  expressions  of  affection  in  the  letters 
to  his  betrothed),  and  possibly  too,  some  things  may  un- 
awares have  been  retained,  in  which  one  better  acquainted 
with  the  circumstances  may  perceive  allusions  that  escaped 
the  selecter." 

I  believe  none  who  have  paid  attention  to  the  subject, 
will  deny,  that  the  editor  has,  in  the  main,  accomplished 
her  purpose,  and  presented  a  picture  of  Niebuhr  as  a  man, 
and  in  his  private  relations,  which,  in  point  of  complete- 
ness and  fairness,  is  excelled  by  few  biographies  ;  but  it 


PREFACE.  vii 

is  equally  certain  that  the  account  of  his  public  career  is 
very  incomplete,  and  by  no  means  one  that  enables  the 
reader  to  perceive  the  relation  in  which  Niebuhr  stood  to 
his  times.  The  biographical  notices  in  the  present  work 
are  shorter  than  Madame  Hensler's  narrative  on  which 
they  are  based,  but  they  also  comprise  a  considerable 
amount  of  additional  information,  derived  partly  from 
other  publications,  partly  from  conversation  with  intimate 
friends  of  Niebuhr.*  Several  letters  too  have  been  added, 
throwing  additional  light  on  his  public  life.  Thus,  it  is 
believed,  that  something  has  been  done  toward  supplying 
the  deficiency  alluded  to,  though  far  less  than  still  re- 
mains to  be  done.  It  was  hoped  that  much  more  might 
have  been  effected,  but  Niebuhr's  memorials  and  dispatches, 
as  well  as  some  valuable  collections  of  his  letters  (espe- 
cially those  to  Valckenaer  and  many  of  those  to  De  Serre), 
still  remain  inaccessible  to  his  friends. 

Of  the  letters  given  in  the  "  Lebensnachrichten,"  about 
half  have  been  translated.  In  the  selection  of  these  the 
aim  has  been,  while  omitting  those  which  could  be  inter- 
esting only  in  Germany,  and  avoiding  repetition,  where  it 
was  possible,  to  maintain  the  relative  proportions  which 
their  various  topics  assume  in  the  original,  and  thus  to 
reproduce  with  faithfulness,  on  a  smaller  scale,  the  por- 
trait there  exhibited.  Those  who  know  the  "  Lebens- 
nachrichten" will  probably  regret  that  none  of  Niebuhr's 
letters  on  learned  subjects  have  been  inserted,,;  but  it 
seemed  desirable  to  confine  this  selection  to  those  of 
general  interest,  and  should  the  present  work  meet  with 
a  favorable  reception,  it  is  intended  to  publish,  in  another 

*  Such  information  as  helped  to  explain  or  illustrate  the  letters  has  been 
added  in  notes,  in  cases  where  it  would  have  broken  the  thread  of  the  nar- 
rative if  inserted  in  the  Introductory  Notices. 


viii  PREFACE. 

volume,  the  letters  referred  to,  together  with  the  most 
valuable  portions  of  his  smaller  writings. 

In  reading  Niebuhr's  letters,  it  must  be  remembered 
first,  that  they  were  hasty  compositions  addressed  to  his 
most  intimate  friends,  and  hence  in  giving  them  to  the 
world,  Madame  Hensler  has  deemed  it  necessary  frequent- 
ly to  omit  single  sentences  or  expressions,  which  explains 
the  somewhat  abrupt  and  obscure  style  of  many  passages  ; 
and  secondly,  with  regard  to  his  political  sentiments,  that 
it  was  necessary,  in  Germany,  to  observe  great  caution 
in  the  publication  of  facts  or  opinions  on  such  subjects ; 
and  therefore  these  letters  give  no  complete  view  of  what 
he  thought  and  felt,  even  on  the  passing  events  of  the 
day :  nevertheless  it  may  be  hoped  that  he  will  not  be 
misunderstood  in  England,  and  that  those  who  occupy 
themselves  with  political  questions  will  lay  his  words  to 
heart. 

In  conclusion,  the  translator  begs  to  express  the  warm- 
est acknowledgments  to  those  friends  of  Niebuhr  who 
have  aided  in  the  progress  of  this  work,  especially  to  Efts 
Excellency  Chevalier  Bunsen,  without  whose  encourage- 
ment and  assistance  it  would  never  have  been  undertaken, 
and  to  Professor  Loebell,  for  his  "  Letter  on  Niebuhr's 
Character  as  an  Historian,"  and  to  Professors  Brandis  and 
Welcker,  to  the  former  of  whom  it  has  been  indebted  for 
most  of  the  original  information  which  it  contains. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH. 

FAOB 

BIRTH. SKETCH  OF  HIS  PARENTS  AND  NATIVE-PLACE. ILL-HEALTH. 

CHILDISH  AMUSEMENTS  AND  STUDIES. THE  BOJES. INTEREST  IN 

POLITICS. ACQUAINTANCE    WITH    VOSS. EDUCATION. VISIT    TO 

HAMBURGH. STUDIES. LIST  OF  THE  LANGUAGES  HE  KNEW 25 

CHAPTER  II. 
COLLEGE  LIFE. 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  KIEL. FRIENDSHIPS  FORMED   THERE. DR.  HENS- 
LEE. MADAME    HKNSLER. LOVE  OF  THE  CLASSICS 44 

LETTERS. 

1.  To  HI»  PARENTS.— His  Society  at  Kiel. — Henslcr 46 

2.  Grief  at  Fichte's  Defense  of  Revolution -. .  .. 48 

3.  The  Study  of  Philosophy. — Geographical  Questions. — Hypo- 

thesis respecting  the  earliest  Colonization  of  Gjreece,  &c  — 
The  Origin  of  Races 48 

4.  Books  in  Hand. — Separation  from  a  Friend  who  denied  Free- 

will  ;...      51' 

5.  Plans  of  Study %. .      51 

6-          The  Same 51 

7.  Mode  of  Life.— Philosophy.— Thibaut '....- 52 

8.  Introduction  to  Miss  Behrens 53 

9.  A  learned  Lady -...-.. 53 

10.  Good  Resolutions 54 

1 1 .  His  future  Vocation. — Education 55 

12.  Justification  of  his  Refusal  to  go  into  Society 56 

13.  Algernon  Sidney. — Dictating  History  of  the  Revolution  ....  56 

14.  The  Same 57 

EUT1N    AND    THE    SOCIETY    THERE. THE    STOLBERGS. THK    REVENT-     .^-^ 

LOWS. JACOBI. MOLTKE (   ***} 

A*  > ' 


x  CONTENTS. 

•-» 

LETTERS. 

PAGE 

15.  To  MOLTKE. — Corruption  of  the  German  Language  by  the  Thirty 

Years'  War. — Voss. — Klopstock • 60 

16.  Relative  Importance  of  Grammatical  Studies. — Wolf. — Jacobi. 

— Becomes  Private  Secretary  to  Count  Schimmelman. — Ac- 
quaintance with  Amelia  Behrens 61 

CHAPTER  III. 

RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN. 

COUNT    SCHIMMELMAN. LIFE    AT    HIS    HOUSE. BECOMES    SECRETARY 

AT  THE  ROYAL  LIBRARY. PLANS  FOR  GOING  TO  PARIS 64 

LETTERS. 

17.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Attachment  to  Miss  Behrens 67 

18.  To  MOLTKE. — Announcing  his  Engagement     68 

19.  Position  and  Prospects  at  Schimmelman's. — Grouvelle 71 

20.  On  Moltke's  Marriage 72 

21.  Low  moral  Tone  of  German  Poets. — Decline  of  Literature  .  .      73 

22.  To  HIS  PARENTS. — Progress  in  the  Study  of  Persian. — Plan  of 

going  to  Constantinople 74 

23.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Schimmelman's  plan  for  a  Government 

Journal 76     / 

24.  Requisites  for  a  Professor  of  Philology    '\77y 

25.  Plans  of  future  Life. — Attachment  to  Amelia  Behrens TS 

26.  Vindicating  himself  from  the  charge  of  idealizing  his  Friends     79 

27.  Dangers  of  the  Scholar's  Life. — Mental  Training  of  the  An- 

cients       79  / 

28.  Revolution  of  the  18th  Fructidor v 81 

29.  To  AMELIA. — Anticipation  of  her  Influence  on  his  Character.  .  .      82 

30.  Grouvelle. — Desaugiers. — Friendships  with  Foreigners    ....      82 

31.  To  HIS  PARENTS. — Political  Apprehensions 83   ^ 

32.  Offer  of  a  Professorship 84 

33.  Plans. — Studies  in  the  Library 84 

N34.  To  AMELIA.— His  Faults 85    / 

35.  To  HIS  FATHER. — Society  in  Copenhagen. — Politics 85  ' 

36.  To"  AMELIA. — Effect  of  Weather  upon  the  Spirits 87 

37.  To  HIS  PARENTS. — Souza. — Introductions  in  England 88 

38.  Visit  to  Hamburgh 88 

EXTRACTS  FROM  HIS  DIARIES. VISIT  TO  HOLSTE1N 89 

CHAPTER  IV. 
JOURNEY  TO  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND. 

JOURNEY    TO    ENGLAND. ACQUAINTANCE    THERE. STUDIES    IN    EDIN- 
BURGH.  RETURN     TO     DENMARK. RECEIVES    AN     APPOINTMENT     IN 

COPENHAGEN 91 


CONTENTS.  xi 
LETTERS. 

PA0K 

39.  To  AMELIA. — The  Journey .- . .  , 95 

40.  Russell. — Rennell. — Sir    Joseph    Banks.— ^-Want   of    Genius 

among  the  English 95 

41.  The  Works  of  Art  in  London. — Schonborn 96 

42.  The  Sights  of  London 97 

43.  Effect  of  the  Changes  of  Nature  upon  the  Mind. — English 

Political  Writings 98^ 

44.  The  English  Stage 100 

45.  Visit  to  Pope's  Garden, , 100 

46.  To  MOLTKE. — The  Citizens,  Scholars,   and  Young  Men  of  En- 

gland.— Resolutions 100 

47.  To  AMELIA. — Journey  from  London  to  Edinburgh 102 

48.  The  Same • 103 

49.  Opening  Lectures  at  the  University. — Robinson. — Hope. —  *f 

Home. — Gregory. — Mode  of  Life 104 

50.  Mr.  Francis  Scott. — Studies. — Moorhouse 105 

51.  An  unpleasant  Acquaintance. — The  Scotts 107 

52.  '      National  Character. — Young-  Men. — Women 108  S 

53.  Want  of  Intimacy  in  English  Friendships,  and  Neglect  of  the 

Training  of  Children 1 09 

54.  His  own  Character 110  S 

55.  The   English    Character. — Beautiful    Influence   of   Physical 

Studies. — English  Ideas  of  Germany Ill 

56.  Study  of  Philosophy  in  England 

57.  English  Literature 113 

58.  Characteristics  of  the  Scotch  .  .    114 

59.  Plans  and  Anticipations. — Taylor  the  Infidel  . : .  115 

60.  Interesting  People 116 

61.  The  Study  of  the  Natural  Sciences. — Playfair 117 

62.  English  Reserve 117 

63.  Visit  to  Dr.  C . 118 

64.  The  Same 119 

65.  Journey  into  the  Highlands 120 

66.  The  Same. — A  Scotch  Farmer. — Sir  John  Murray 120 

67.  Agricultural  Class  in  Scotland 122 

68.  Return  to  Copenhagen : 122 

69.  Good  Resolutions 123 

70.  Parents  and  Children. — Pecuniary  Circumstances 123 


CHAPTER  V. 
OFFICIAL  LIFE  IN  COPENHAGEN. 

MARRIAGE    AND    SETTLEMENT   IN   COPENHAGEN. STOLBERo's   CONVER- 
SION.  BOMBARDMENT  OF  COPENHAGEN. STUDY  OF  ARABIC. FRESH 

APPOINTMENTS. RECEIVES    PROPOSALS    FROM     PRUSSIA. CONSENTS 

TO  GO   THERE .     124 


xii  CONTENTS. 

LETTEES. 

PAGE 

71.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Stolberg's  Conversion. — Modern  Protest- 

antism      132 

72.  Nelson's  Arrival 1 

./ 73.          State  of  Public  Affairs. — Schimmelman 1 

74.  The  Same - 135 

75.  The  Bombardment 135 

76.  State  of  the  City 137 

77.  Truce. — Loss  of  the  English     1 

78.  To  MOLTKE. — On  the  Death  of  his  first  Wife 138 

79.  To  ins  PARENTS. — Study  of  Arabic. — State  of  the  Jews  under 

the  Macedonian  Rule 139 

To  MOLTKE. — Present  Mode  of  Life. — Study  of  Roman  History. 

— Moltke's  Visit  to  Italy. — Public  Affairs. — Carnot 140 

Love  of  Paintings. — Style  of  Ancient  Authors. — Livy. — Ci- 
cero.— Demosthenes. — Thucydides 142 

Melancholy  Issue  of  the  War. — Mournful   Anticipations   re- 
specting Germany 144 

83.   To  HIS  PARENTS. — Departure  from  Copenhagen 145 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE. 

ARRIVAL  IN  BERLIN. DEFEATS  OF  THE  PRUSSIAN  ARMY. FLIGHT  TO 

'MEMEL 147 

LETTERS. 

84.  To  HIS  PARENTS. — Consoling  them  under  the  present  Calamities   147 

85.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Proceedings  in  Konigsberg 149 

86.  State  of  Public  Affairs. — Intrigues 150 

87.  To  STEIN. — On  Stein's  Dismissal  from  Office 150 

PROPOSALS    FROM    OTHER    STATES. TAKES    AN    APPOINTMENT     IN    THE 

COMMISSARIAT    DEPARTMENT. VON   SCHORN. HARDENBERG.    PRIME 

MINISTER. FLIGHT     T6    RIGA. PROVISIONAL    COMMISSION. OFFER 

FROM  KLEIN. STEIN's  RETURN  TO  OFFICE 152 

LETTERS. 

88.  To  STEIN. — Stein's  dismissal. — Public  Affairs. — Lord  Hutchinson   156 

89.  Proposals  from  Russia 157 

90.  To  HIS  WIFE. — Journey  to  Bartenstein 158 

91 .  Mournful  Aspect  of  Affairs 1 58 

92.  The  Same. — Bennigsen 159 

93.  Negotiations  with  Hutchinson. — Health 159 

94.  Negotiations  with  the  Russians. — Loss  of  Literary  Leisure.  .  160 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

PAGE 

95.  To  STEIN.— Stein's  Return  to  Office.— Dislike  to  Division  of  Re- 

sponsibility in  Administration. — Slavonic  Literature.  ...    161 

96.  To    MADAME    HENSLER.— Retrospect. — Justifying    himself  for 

learning  new  Languages 163 

PROVISIONAL  COMMISSION. STEIN  SENDS  HIM  TO  NEGOT^ATS  DUTCH 

LOAN. UNSUCCESSFUL  ATTEMPTS. VALCKENAER  UNDERTAKES  IT. 

'  STEIN'S  PROSCRIPTION. — ALTENSTEIN,'  MINISTER. — APPOINTMENT  AS 

MANAGER  OF  THE  NATIONAL  DEBT. DUTCH  LOAN. HARDENBERG, 

MINISTER. REFUSES  TO  ACT  WITH  HIM.-»-APPOIN.TED  HISTORIO- 
GRAPHER   165 

LETTERS. 

97.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Journey  from  Memel  to  Landsberg.  . .    172 

98.  Meeting  with  his  Father 175 

99.  Thankfulness  for  the  Blessings  of  the  past  Year 175 

100.  To  MOLTKE. — Different  Kinds  of  Friendships. — Reminiscence*. 

— Sismondi's     Italian    Republics. — Circular    Letters* — 
Vondel 176 

101.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Sorrow  for  Denmark 178 

102.  King  Louis  Napoleon 178 

103.  Influence  of  the  Mind  on  Bodily  Health. — Objects  to  be 

aimed  at  in  Charitable  Institutions 179 

104.  To  MOLTKE. — On  the  Death  of  hia  second  Wife 180 

105.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Political  Anxieties. — Countess  Moltlce.   181 

106.  Moltke. — Stein's  Fall. — His  Character. — Approaching  Crisis  182 

107.  To  MOLTKE. — -Consolation  under  Trial. — His  own  Future  ....    183 

108.  Dislike  of  Medical  Men. — Mirabeau's  *'  Essai  sur  le  Despot- 

isme." — Necker. — Camot 185 

109.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Intercourse. — Faith. — Stein 187 

110.  Stein's    Proscription.— Political    Doctrines    at   the   Present   . 

Conjuncture 188 

111.  To      MOLTKE. — Stein's  <  Character. — Altenstcin.— Retirement 

from     Public     Life. — Massillon's     Writings. — Schiller's 
Thirty  Years'  Wat 189 

112.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Valckenaer. — Dutch  Poets  ..... 191 

113.  Visit  to  his  Father. — Reflections  on  Political  Events. — Ma- 

jorian  .  . .  .• ' . . 192 

114.  Grief  at  the  late  Events. — Schill 193 

115.  The  same . .  194 

116.  Stay  at  Nutschau. — Early  Intercourse  between  Greece  and         ^ 

Rome. — Mirabeau  on  Finance. — Baader ,  195* 

117.  Successes  of  the  Tyrolese. — Villers 7 197 

118.  Journey  to  Konigsberg. — Ravages  of  War. — Stein 198 

119.  State  of  Political  Feeling. — Schelling. — Benvenuto  Cellini. 

— Davy's  Discoveries 200 

120.  Official  Appointments. — Plans 202 

121.  To  HIS  FATHER. — Finance. — Occupations 203 

122.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Advantages  of  unrestricted  Commerce  205 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

123.  Dissatisfaction  with  the  Ministry- — Regret  at  the  Sacrifice 

of  Learned  Pursuits     205 

124.  Hardenberg. — Intrigues 206 

125.  To  HIS  FATHER. — Study  of  Arabic 207 

126.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Opposition  to  intended  Financial  Meas- 

ures      207 

127.  To    MOLTKE. — Account   of  Proceedings. — Free    Trade. — New 

Books :    208 

128.  To  HIS  FATHER. — Salt's  Expedition. — Condition  of  the  Abys- 

sinians. — Prospects  of  England 209 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN. 

RETURN  TO  A   LITERARY  VOCATION. PLANS   OF   STUDY. EXTRAORDIN- 
ARY  MEMORY. CHARACTERISTICS. OPENING    OF    THE    UNIVERSITY. 

LECTURES  ON  ROMAN  HISTORY. SAVIGNY's  ACCOUNT  OF  THEM. 

INTERCOURSE. BEGINS    THE     HISTORY     OF     ROME. VISIT     TO     HOL- 

STEIN. LITERARY  LABORS. FRENCH   INVASION  OF  RUSSIA. WISHES 

TO  ENTER  THE   ARMY. ESTABLISHMENT  OF  "  THE   PRUSSIAN  CORRE- 
SPONDENT5'            210 

LETTERS. 

129.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Goethe 219 

130.  Savigny. — Pamphlets  of  the  17th  Century 219 

131.  Effect  of  his  opening  Lecture 220  i/ 

132.  Early  Civilization  of  Western  Europe 221   /" 

133.  Account  of  his  Occupations 221 

134.  The  Existence  of  pure  Disinterestedness. — Goethe's  Theo- 

logical Essay 222 

135.  The  Danes. — History  of  Rome 224    - 

136.  De  Serre 225 

137.  Detention  of  Letters. — Aspect  of  Public  Affairs. — Impres- 

sions received  from  Museum  of  Natural  History 225 

138.  Goethe's  "  Dichtung  und  Wahrheit." — Madame  de  Stael.  .  226 

139.  The  Same. — Mode  of  Life 227 

140.  Schleiermacher's  Views  of  the  Ancient  Philosophers 227 

LETTERS  FROM  GOETHE  TO  NIEBUHR  ON  RECEIVING  THE  FIRST  VOLUME 

OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  ROME 228 

x!41.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Episodes  hi  History 230 

142.  Inequality  of  Style  no  Fault 230  y 

143.  Johannes  Muller 231 

144.  State  of  Public  Affairs 231 

145.  Wilhelm  Meister. — Goethe's  Mental  History. — Animal  Mag- 

netism      232 

146.  State  of  Public  Affairs , 233 

147.  The  Same. — Klopstock  and  his  Times 234 


CONTENTS,     v  xv 

fAOE 

148.  To  V**. — On  Religion. — Our  Mental  History. — Rationalism. 

«  — Mysticism-. — Catholicism. — The  Future  of  the  Church .    235 

149.  To  MOLTKE. — Society  in  Berlin. — Reception  of  his  History.— 

Ideal  of  Historical  Writing 239   y 

150.  To  MADAME"HE*SLER. — The  aim  of  Wilhelm  Meister. — Oersted .    241 

151.  Reviewing — Plato 241 

152.  Effects  of  War.— Antique  Works  in  Glass 242 

153.  To  PERTHES. — On  the  Birth  of  a  Son. — Decline  of  Art  after 

Raphael. — English  Policy 243 

\  154.  To  JACOBI. — History  of  his  own  Intellectual  Development. . .  .    244  V 

LETTERS  FROM  GOETHE  TO  NIEBUHR  ON   RECEIVING   THE   SECOND   VOL- 
UME  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  ROME 247    V 

155.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Herder. — Public  Health 249 

156.  To  PERTHES. — Studies  in  old  German. — Goethe's  Autobiogra- 

phy.— Julian 250 

157-  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — State  of  Public  Affairs 251 

158.  The  same. — Return  of  th«  French  from  Russia 251 

159.  The  same 1 253 

160.  State  of  General  Enthusiasm 253 

161.  To  PERTHES. — Neander's  "Julian." — Goethe  and  the  Catholic 

Sacrament  . . 253 

162.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — The  War  of  Liberation 254 

163.  Training  for  the  Army. — Instances  of  Patriotism. — General 

York 255 

164.  To  PERTHES. — Political  Anticipations. — Arndt's  "Landwehror 

Landsturm" 257 

165.  To  MADAME  HENSLER — Wish  to  join  the  Army 257 

CHAPTER  VHI. 
RETURN  TO  PUBLIC  LIFE. 

EMPLOYED     IN     CENTRAL     ADMINISTRATIVE      COUNCIL. NEGOTIATIONS 

WITH   ENGLAND. ILLNESS   IN   PRAGUE. RELATIONS  WITH    STEIN. 

MISSION  TO  HOLLAND. VISIT  TO  HOL3TEIN. THE  RIGHTS  OF  PRUSSIA.    ' 

ILLNESS  OF  HIS  WIFE. DEATH  OF  HIS  FATHER 259 

LETTERS. 

166.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Employments. — State  of  Public  Affairs  262 

167.  Retreat  after  the  Battle  of  Bautzen 263 

168.  Heroism  of  the  Prussians. — Journey  to  Reichenbach ..    266 

169.  To  THE  PRINCESS  LOITISA. — Mournful  Aspect  of  Affairs.— Rela- 

tions with  Stein. — Hardenberg     267 

170.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Stay  at  Reichenbach. — Proposed  Mis- 

sion to  England 269 

171.  To  PERTHES. — Condition  and  Prospects  of  Hamburgh. — Prus- 

sian Soldiers .  .  .   270 


xvi  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

172.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Fears  for  Holstein. — Noble  Spirit  of 

the  Nation 272    » 

173.  Conditions  of  the  Peace.- — Madame  de  Stael  .  .  . 273 

174.  Stay  in  Amsterdam. — Defeats  of  the  Allies. — Character  of 

the  Dutch 274 

175.  -       The  War  in  France 276 

176.  Prospects  of  France 277 

177.  Behavior  of  the  Russian  Troops  in  France. — Prospects  of  the 

Bourbons 278   * 

178.  Selfishness  of  the  Dutch 279 

179.  French  Literature 280 

180.  Aspect  of  Holland  after  the  War 280 

181.  To  PERTHES. — Evil  of  French  Influence 281 

182.  Essentials  to  a  Pteform  of  the  Church 282 

183.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Lessons  to  Crown  Prince. — Aspect  of 

Berlin. — Relations  with  France 282 

184.  Aspect  of  Europe. — Lessons  to  Crown  Prince. — Hume  and 

Gibbon 283 

185.  State  of  the  new  Prussian  Provinces. — Italy 284 

186.  Style  and  Punctuation. — England  in  the  Middle  Ages  ....  284 

187.  Congress  of  Vienna 285 

188.  Society  in  Berlin. — Illness  of  his  Wife 286 

189.  Animal  Magnetism. — Apprehensions  about  the  War 286 

190.  On  the  Death  of  his  Father  . .  .287 


CHAPTER  IX. 
RESIDENCE  IN  BERLIN  UP  TO  JULY,   1816. 

DEATH     OF    HIS    WIFE. APPOINTMENT     AS    EMBASSADOR     TO     ROME. 

STUDIES     AND    WRITINGS. VISIT     OF     MADAME     HENSLER. SECOND 

MARRIAGE 289 

LETTERS. 

191.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — His  Bereavement. — Journey  Home  .  .    292 

192.  State  of  Mind ,    293 

193.  Plans  of  Employment  in  Rome. — Heyne    294 

194.  Resolutions. — Heindorf. — Belief  of  his  Vocation  to  States- 

manship      295 

195.  To  PERTIIES. — Mission  to  Rome 296 

196.  To  BRANDIS. — His  Loss. — Attachment  to  Prussia. — Anticipa- 

tions      297 

197.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — His  own  dangerous  Illness 298 

198.  Funeral  of  his  Wife 299 

199.  Measures   for   the   Reform   of  the   Catholic  Church. — Own 

Character 299 

200.  Pleasure  at  her  Consent  to  accompany  him  to  Rome. — De- 

cline of  Literature 300 

201.  Appointment  as  Royal  Commissioner. — Servian  Poetry  .  .  .    301 


CONTENTS.  ivii 

PAOE 

202.  The  Same r. ......  302 

203.  The  Limitation  of  the  Will 302 

204.  Fronto. — III  Health 303 

205.  Fronto. — Marcus  Antoninus .  .  . 304 

206.  The  Plague  in  Italy 304 

207.  The  Same 304 

208.  Heindorf. — The  Journey .' 305 

209.  The  Same 305 

210.  Departure  from  Berlin .' 306 

CHAPTER  X. 

MISSION  IN  ROME. 

JOURNEY. DISCOVERT    OF    THE    INSTITUTES    OP    GAIT'S. RESEARCHES 

AND  DISCOVERIES  IN  THE  VATICAN. POLITICAL  RELATIONS INTER- 
COURSE.  THE  GERMAN  ARTISTS 307 

LETTERS. 

210.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Account  of  the  Journey  from  Ratisbon 

to  Munich. — Warzburg  Cathedral  and  MSS. — Nuremberg. 

— Ratisbon 309 

211.  To  NICOLOVIUS. — Feelings  on  leaving  Germany. — Jacobi. — Sail- 

er.— The  Catholic  Church 313 

212.  To  MADAME  HENSLER.  —  The  Tyrol.  —  Innspruck.  —  Hofer. — 

Speckbacher 315 

ACCOUNT  OF  HIS  VISIT  TO  SPECKBACHER    . 317 

213.  To  SAVIGNT. — Discovery  of  the  Institutes  of  Gaius  at  Verona.  .    319 

214.  To  MADAME  HENSLER.— The  higher  Classes,   and  Scholars  of 

Italy. — Antiquities. — Ill-health  of  his  Wife. — The  Old 
Masters 321 

215.  Arrival  at  Rome. — Aspect  of  the  City. — Misery  of  the  People  324  \A 

216.  To  SAVIGNY. — Mode  of  Life. — Aspect  of  Rome. — Works  of  Art. 

— Temi 325 

217.  To  MADAME   HENSLER. — Society  in   Rome. — Absence   of  his 

Books 328 

218.  Brandis. — Fragments  of  Cicero . .    329 

Vjl9.          On  continuing  the  History  of  Rome 329 

220.  Impressions  of  Rome. — German  Artists. — Mode  of  Life  ...    330 

1817. 

REVIEWS    OF    HIS    HISTORY. BIRTH    OF  A  SON. DANGEROUS    ILLNESS. 

BEKKER - 332 

LETTERS. 

221.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Reminiscences. — Pain  of  being  in  a 

Foreign  Land. — Italian  Language 333 


xviu  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

222.  To  JACOBI. — Catholicism. — Goethe's  Life 334 

223.  To  MADAME  HENSLER.— On  Education. — Brandis 335 

224.  To  NICOLOVIUS. — The  Climate  and  Condition  of  Rome 336 

225.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — State  of  the  Romans. — Literary  La- 

bors     339 

226.  To  SAVIGNY. — Modern  Legislation. — Goethe's  Life. — The  Ger- 

man Artists. — Goethe's  Views  of  Art. — Description  of 
Niebuhr's  House 341 

227.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Reminiscences 348 

228.  Birth  of  his  Son 349 

229.  Education 349 

230.  Baptism  of  his  Son 349 

231.  Reminiscences. — Faith. — Catholicism 350 

232.  The  Poor  and  Pauperism 352 

233.  His  own  dangerous  Illness 353 

234.  Bekker 354 

,  235.  Health  of  Rome. — Studies. — Political  Demonstrations  ....  354 

/  %  236.  To  SAVIGNY. — Josephus 355 


1818. 

POLITICAL    COMMOTIONS    IN    FRANCE     AND     GERMANY. BIRTH    OF    HIS 

ELDEST    DAUGHTER. APPOINTMENT   OF   A   CLERGYMAN   TO   THE    EM- 
BASSY     356 

LETTERS. 

237.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — The  State  of  Public  Affairs 358 

238.  Reminiscences. — Harms'.s    Theses. — Creeds    and    Test*    of 

Faith 359 

239.  Political  and  Ecclesiastical  Affairs 361 

I/]    240.          Bunsen. — Brandis. — Animal  Magnetism. — -Spirit  of  Cathol- 
icism   361 

241.  The  Weather. — Harms's  Theses. — Essentials  of  Christianity  362 

242.  Proselytizing  Efforts  of  the  Catholics. — Cornelius 364 

243.  To  NICOLOVIUS. — Church  Reform 364 

' ,     244.   To  SAVIGNY. — Efforts  of  the  Catholics. — Edition  of  Gaius. — 

Bavarian  Constitution. — Political  Movements. — GSrres  .    365 

245.  To  JACOBI. — The  Weather. — Moral  and  Social  Condition  of  the 

Romans. — Dearth  of  Intellectual  Intercourse. — The  Ba- 
varian Constitution 366 

246.  To  SAVIGNY. — Health  of  his  Family. — His  Son. — Education. 

— Governing. — Landed  Property  in  Italy 370 

247.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — The  religious  Education  of  his  Son. — 

Italian  Banditti 372 

248.  To  SAVIGNY. — Genzano. — Religion  of  the  Ancient  Romans. — 

Unfriendly  Feeling  toward  Prussia 373 

249.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Seeker.— Sarpi 374 


CONTENTS. 

1819. 
ON  THE  ARMENIAN  EUSEBIUS.  —  FRAGMENTS  op  LIVY  .........   375 

LETTERS. 


PiOS          / 

\s 


.-     ^ 

250.  To  MADAME  HENSLER.  —  On  tearing  Italy  —  Kotzebue's  Mur- 

der ......  •  ....................  .....  .  ..........   376 

251.  Tivoli.  —  Agricultural  Population  of  Italy  ......  .  ........    377 

252.  To  NICOLOVJUS.—  Gratification  at  the  Appointment  of  a  Chap- 

lain to  the  Embassy  ....  .........................    378 

253.  To  MADAME  HENSLER.  —  The  Armenian  Eusebius.  —  Schmieder.    379 
254-          Political  Movements  in  Prussia  ......................    380 

255.  The  Same.  —  On  Removing  to  Germany.  —  Schmieder  .....    381 

256.  Representative  Institutions  ................  .  ........    383 

257.  Arrival  of  his  Instructions.  —  The  Catholic  Reforming  Party  384 

258.  His  Children.  —  The  Carlsbad  Decrees.  .  .384 


1820. 

NEGOTIATIONS. REVOLUTION  IN  NAPLES. BIRTH  OF  A  SECOND  DAUGH- 
TER.  LITERARY  DISPUTES 385 

LETTERS. 

259.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Illness  of  his  Wife.r— Political  Senti- 

ments   '. 387 

260.  Influence  of  Climate   on   the  Intellect. — Negotiations  for 

Genera. — Politics 387 

261.  Detention  of  Letters. — On  Leaving  Italy. — Duty  of  Gov- 

ernors  ' 388 

262.  Desirableness  of  fonning  a  Gentry. — State  of  Spain.— Pros- 

pects of  Europe ...'*. 390 

263.  Disposition  and  Education  of  his  Son.— Spanish  Constitu- 

tion and  National  Character 391 

264.  Development  of  his  own  Character. — Spain. — De  Serre.  . .  .    393 

265.  Revolution  in  Naples. — Sicily. — The  Plague 394 

266.  His  Children — The  Carbonari 396 

267.  Affairs  in  Naples. — Leanings  toward  Catholicism. — Duties 

of  Parents 397 

268.  Apprehensions  of  Revolt. — Sicily. — Stein 399 

269.  Measures  of  the  Neapolitan  and  Spanish  Parliaments. — 

Continuation  of  his  History. — Plato ,- . 400 

270.  Events  in  Naples 402 


1821. 

AUSTRIAN    INTERVENTION    IN    NAPLES.— CONCLUSION    OF     NEGOTIATIONS 


WITH  THE   PAPAL  COURT. LITERARY  LABORS 


402 


xx  CONTENTS. 

LETTERS. 

PAGE 

271.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Public  Events. — Stein. — Peyron  ....    403 

272.  The  War  in  Naples. — Revolution  in  Piedmont. — Arrival  of 

Hardenberg 404 

273.  To  NICGLOVIUS. — Conclusion  of  the  Negotiations  with  Rome.  .    406 

274.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — The  Same. — Stein     407 

275.  Insurrection  in  Piedmont 408 

276.  Lord  Colchester. — The  Countess  of  Albany 409 

277.  His  Daughter. — Efforts  for  Greek  Independence 409 

278.  The  Same 410      . 

279.  To  NICOLOVIUS. — Hamann.' — Pietism. — Biography. — Power  of  / 

the  Historian T~T.  ...    41  Iv 

280.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Hamann. — Essentials  of  Christianity.  412  \/ 

281.  Life  in  Rome Hamann..  .    414 


1822. 

BIRTH   OF  HIS   THIRD    DAUGHTER.— REQUESTS  HIS  RECALL. VIEWS  OF 

PHILOLOGY. VISIT  OF  THE    KING 414 

LETTERS. 

282.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Views  with  Regard  to  his  Son 416 

283.  Lieber. — Greek  Soldiers 417 

\n284.  To  SAVIGNY. — Savigny's   History  of  Jurisprudence. — State   of         ^   / 

Italy  in  the  Middle  Ages. — Cicero's  Views  of  the  Consti- 
tution of  Rome 418 

285.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — De  Serre. — Lieber 420 

286.  The  Same. — Intercourse 421 

287.  To  DE  SERRE. — Pertz. — Veneration  for  De  Serre 421 

*  288.  To  A  YOUNG  PHILOLOGIST. — On  the  high  Character  of  his  Vo-  > 

cation,  and  the  right  Method  of  pursuing   Philological  \r 

Studies .    423 


1823. 

VISIT  TO  NAPLES. DEPARTURE  FROM  ROME. JOURNEY  TO  BONN.  .  .  .  430 

LETTERS. 

289.  To  MOLTKE. — Reminiscences. — Position  in  Rome. — Marcus. — 

De  Serre 430 

Ijv    290.  To  DE  SERRE. — On  the  Policy  of  England. — Canning. — Leasing. 

— Proposed  Essay  on  Roman  History. — Varchi 432  \/ 

\J\  291.          Animal  Magnetism. — Politics 434 

292-  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Stay  at  Naples. — Marcus. — MSS. — 

Climate 435 

293.         De  Serre .    436 


CONTENTS  xii 

PAQB 

294.  To  DE  SERRE.— Financial  Condition  of  England. — Affinities 

between  Physical  and  Moral  World 437 

295.  English  Finance 439 

296.  Sentiments  toward  De  Serre 440 

297.  Spanish  Politics 441  • 

298.  To  MADAME  HENSLBR. — Visit  to  his  old  House  at  Rome. — His 

Son. — Feelirigs  at  Leaving  Italy  .  . ,  .„ 442 

299.  To  DE  SERRE. — Journey  to  Florence. — Hannibal's  Route. — 

Florence. — Italian  Literature. — Spain.— Fluctuations  of 
Population „.....• 443 

300.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Character  of  the  Tyrolese 446 

301.  To  DE  SERRE. — Literary  Labors. — Condition  of  Switzerland. — 

Ireland. — Chili 448 

302.  Heidelberg. — Thibaut. — Voss.— Spain 449 

303.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Tyrolese  Scenery. — Thibaut. — Voss. — 

Schlosser..  .   450 


CHAPTER  XI. 
RESIDENCE  IN  BONN. 

CONTROVERSY    WITH    STEINACKER. VISIT     TO    BERLIN.— LOSS    OF    HIS 

YOUNGEST  CHILD. SETTLEMENT  IN  BONN 452 

LETTERS. 

304.  To  MADAME  HENSLER.— Party  Spirit  in  Germany. — Steinacker's 

Attack. — Visit  to  Stein '. 454 

^305.  To  DE  SERRE. — Steinacker's  Pamphlet. — Resolve  to  continue 

the  History  of  Rome . . .  . 454 

306.  To  MADAME  HEXSLER. — Cologne. — Rhenish  Prussia. — Spain..    455 

307.  Party  Spirit. — Representative  Institutions.— Centralization. 

— The  Gymnastic  Regime. — Stein 457 

308.  Learning  by  Rote. — Mental  Training  of  Children 459 

309.  To  DE  SERRE. — Spanish  America. — The  West  Indies. — Cham- 

bers.— The  Formation  of  an  Aristocracy  .-^-Divisibility  of 
Land. — Rhenish  Prussia. — State  of  Literature. 460 

310.  Good  Wishes. — French  Funds •. '. 464 

311.  To  MADAME  NIEBUHR. — Arrival  in  Berlin 464 

312.  The  Crown  Prince. — Old  Friends. — On  Returning  to  Berlin.  465 

313.  Retrospect. — On  Returning  to  Rome . . « .  . 465 

314.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Reminiscences 466 

315.  To  MADAME  NIEBUHR. — Illness  of  the  Children 467 

316.  To  DE  SERRE.— H^s  own  Position  and  Prospects. — Investiga- 

tions respecting  the  Burschenschafts.— Social  Condition 

of  Prussia -  .  .  •. .    467 

317.  To  MADAME  NIEBUHR. — Death  of  his  Child 470  - 

318.  To  MADAME  HENSLER.— Death  of  De  Serre 471 

319.  Public  Business. — Society 471 


autu  CONTENTS. 

PACK 

320.  To  MADAME  NIEBUHR. — Waagen's  History  of  Art 472 

321 .  The  Bank  Scheme 472 

322.  The  Same. — Stein. — Champollion's  Discoveries 473 

323.  Arrival  of  his  Goods. — Public  Business 474 

324.  The  Same 474        / 

\325.  Translations  of  his  History. — Accused  of  Radicalism 475  \*S 

326.  Disposal  of  his  Salary 475 

327.  Plans  for  Life  in  Bonn 475 

328.  Vincke. — Cicero  on  Friendships 476 

329.  Retirement  from  Public  Life. — Cousin's  Views  of  Christi- 

anity  477 

330.  His  Garden.— Health 478     / 

331.  Lieber 478- 

332.  Letter  to  the  King 479 


1825-1831. 

NIEBUHK'S  SETTLEMENT  IN  BONN. — LIST  OF  HIS  LECTURES. — INTER- 
COURSE  IN  BONN. MODE  OF  LIFE. CONTINUATION   OF  HIS  HISTORY 

OF  ROME. INTEREST  IN  THE  STRUGGLES  OF  THE  GREEKS. EDITION 

OF  THE    BYZANTINE    HISTORIANS. VISIT   TO   HOLSTEIN. HIS    HOUSE 

BURNT  DOWN. THE  REVOLUTION  OF  JULY. ILLNESS  AND  DEATH. 

DEATH  OF  MADAME  NIEBUHR 479      '• 

LETTERS. 

'   333.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — His  Lectures. — Repose  of  the  Political 

World 489  ^ 

334.         His  Lectures. — Classen. — The  University 490        / 

s35.         His  History  of  Rome 491   \J 

336.  To  PERTHES. — Importance  of  the  History  of  Commerce. — The 

Political  World 491 

337.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Students  in  Bonn 492 

338.  Death  and  Character  of  Voss. — A  Catholic  Leauge. — Elber- 

feldt 493 

339.  Missolonghi. — Designs  of  the  Catholics 494 

A"'  V340.         Reception  of  his  History. — State  of  France. — The  Greek 

Struggle 495 

341.          Pleasant  Plans  and  Anticipations. — Jacobi  and  Goethe. — 

Grief  at  the  Fate  of  Missolonghi 496 

H  XJ42.  To  SAVIGNY. — On  his  Journey  to  Italy. — The  History  of  Rome .    497 

343.  To  PERTHES. — Aims  of  the  Catholics 498 

344.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Stein. — The  Oligarchy 498 

345.  Excursion  to  Treves. — Arrangement  of»his  Papers. — Letter 

from  Goethe 499 

LETTER  FROM  GOETHE  TO  NIEBUHR 500     v 

346.  To  SAVIGNY. — Second  Edition  of  his  History. — Edition  of  the 

Byzantine  Historians 503 


CONTENTS.  xxiii 

PAGE 

347.  To  MADAME    HENSLER. — Future   of  England. — Prosperity  in 

Prussia. — Goethe's  Helena 502 

V348.  To  SAVIGNY. — The  Byzantine  Historians ,. . . .   503    V/ 

^349.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — Style  of  his  History , 504  •*,/ 

350.  The  Same. — Apprehensions  of  Political  Commotions 504  \/ 

351.  The  Same 506  \/ 

352.  The  Same. — Greece 506   v/ 

353.  The  Same. — Danger  of  a  Revolution  in  France. — Hare  and 

Thirlwall's  Translation. — Faults  of  England 507 

354.  To  MADAME  NIEBUHR. — Nenndorf. — Rehberg 509 

355.  Effect  of  the  Spring. — Health 509 

356.  Visit  to  Copenhagen. — Schimmehnan 510 

357.  To  SAVIGNY. — Homeopathy.— Mode  of  Life j . . .  .   510 

358.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — The  true  Citizen.— Literature 511  V 

359.  Feeling  toward  England » 512 

360.  His  new  House. — Goethe's  Correspondence  with  Schiller  . .    512 
^361.         Review  in  the  Quarterly.— Ranke's  History  of   Servia.— 

Lectures  on  the  French  Revolution 513 

362.  The  Catholics. — Rhenish  Prussia 514 

363.  Political  Anxieties 515 

364.  His    Catholic    Hearers. — Modern    French    Literature. — St. 

Hilaire. — Society  in  England. — Bourrienne's  Memoirs  .  .   515     * 

^  365.         His  own  historical  Achievements 517  \f 

366.  To  SAVIGNY. — The  Fire  in  his   House. — Hermann. — Goethe's 

Correspondence  with  Schiller.— Character  of  Schiller.  ...    517      . 
\  367.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — The  Revolution  of  July. — Hjs  History.          "y 

— Review  of  it  by-Villemain 519 

368.  Own  State  of  Mind. — Fear  of  a  War  with  the  French. — 

Improvement  in  that  Nation .' 521 

369.  Fear  of  Revolutions  in  Germany. — Prophecies ;  of  the  Fu- 

ture.— Difference  between  this  Revolution  and  the  Former 
one . 522 

370.  To  SAVIGNY. — Apprehensions  of  the  Loss  of  free  Institutions  / 

and  Introduction  of  Despotism.  . . ' 525y 

To  MADAME   HENSLER. — Royalist  Principles. — Nature   of  the        v 
present  Political  Disease. — Lawful  Revolutions. — Consti- 
tutional Forms 525 

371.  To  MOLTKE. — Mirabeau. — Idolatry  of  Property. — Comparison 

with  the  Age  of  Augustus. — Prophecies  of  the  Future  .  .    527 

372.  To  PERTHES. — His  Preface  to  the  First  Philippic. — Thirlwall's 

History  of  Greece. — Conduct  of  the  Germans 529 

^*  373.  To  MADAME  HENSLER. — The  Administration  of  Justice. — New  ., 

Codes. — Preface  to  his  History. — Degeneracy  of  the  Ger-        "V 
man    NaHon. — Future    of    Germany. — Designs    of    the 

French 529 

4  ••••.•**  v    i       .... 

ESSAY  ON  THE   CHARACTER  OF  NIEBUHR,   BY  PROFESSOR  BRANDIS 532          / 

ESSAY  ON  NIEBUHR  AS  AN  HISTORIAN,  BY  PROFESSOR  LOEBELL 538    \f 

ESSAY  ON  NIEBUHB  AS  A  DIPLOMATIST,  BY  THE  CHEVALIER  BUNSEN  .  .  .     544 


MEMOIR   OF    NIEBUHR. 


CHAPTER  I. 

NIEBUHR'S  CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH,  PROM  1776  TO  1794. 

BARTHOLD  GEORGE  NIEBUHR,  the  historian  of. Rome,  was  born. 
at  Copenhagen,  on  the  27th  of  August,  1776.  He  was  the  son 
of  Carsten  Niebuhr,  the  celebrated  traveler.  His  family,  for  as 
many  generations  as  any  thing  is  known  respecting  it,  had  been 
settled  in  Hadel,  the  northwestern  province  of  Hanover,  where 
they  occupied  a  small  freehold  that  had  descended  from  father 
to  son. 

Carsten  Niebuhr,  being  a  younger  son,  had  not  inherited  the 
family  farmstead,  and  as  his  ardent  love  of  knowledge  prompted 
him  to  seek  some  occupation  which  would  afford  more  scope  for 
its  gratification  than  the  agricultural  operations  that  filled  up 
the  life  of  the  peasants  around  him,  he  determined  to  become  a 
land-surveyor.  For  this  purpose  he  applied  the  small  capital 
which  his  father  had  left  him,  to  his  support  while  studying 
under  private  tutors  at  Hamburgh,  where  he  acquired  the  rudi- 
ments of  a  learned  education,  and  afterward  at  the  University 
of  Gottingen.  When  in  1757,  the  Danish  government  resolved 
to  send  an  expedition  of  discovery  to  the  East,  Niebuhr  was  rec- 
ommended by  his  tutor,  Professor  Kastner,  one  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished German  mathematicians  of  that  day,  to  Count  Bern- 
storfF,  who  had  applied  to  him  for  a  person  competent  to  conduct 
the  geographical  portion  of  the  researches.  After  two  years  spent 
in  preparatory  studies,  he  received  the  rank  of  a  lieutenant  in 
the  engineers,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1760,  set  out  on  his  travels 
with  four  companions,  who  each  undertook  a  separate  department 
of  scientific  research. 

The  difficulties  and  privations  of  the  journey  through  Arabia, 
in  1763,  proved  so  excessive  that  all  Niebuhr's  fellow-travelers 

B 


26  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

sank  under  'them  within  $  year,  and  lie  was  left  to  pursue  the 
journey  alone.  He  aoi,  ordy  resolved  to  do  so,  but  endeavored 
to  supply;  as  fi^r  as  he  was  qualified,  the  place  of  his  felioAV-dis- 
covererss ' 

From  this  journey  he  returned  to  Copenhagen  in  1767,  after 
an  absence  of  six  years.  Here  he  employed  himself  in  revising 
his  journals,  and  those  of  his  fellow-traveler  Forskaal,  for  publi- 
cation, 

He  was  on  the  point  of  undertaking  a  journey  into  the  interior 
of  Africa,  when  he  fell  in  love  with  a  young  orphan  lady,  the 
daughter  of  the  late  physician  to  the  King  of  Denmark.  Though 
he  had  reached  his  fortieth  year,  this  was  the  first  love  he  had 
ever  experienced^  and  its  sincerity  and  depth  may  be  judged  of 
by  the  fact  of  his  abandoning  all  the  plans  he  had  formed  for 
his  future  life,  and,  instead  of  continuing  the  adventurous  career 
which  till  then  had  alone  possessed  any  charms  for  him,  resolv- 
ing to  settle  down  quietly  in  Copenhagen.  He  married  in  1773, 
and  had  two  children  by  his  wife — a  daughter,  Christiana,  bora 
Jn  1774,  and  his  son  Barthold. 

His  position  in  Copenhagen  became  far  less  agreeable  after  the 
fall  of  his  patron,  Count  Bernstorff,  to  whom  he  was  personally 
much  attached,  and  at  length  he  requested  his  discharge  from 
the  military  service,  and  an  appointment  of  a  civil  nature  in 
Holstein.  He  was  accordingly  made  secretary*  to  the  province 
of  South  Dithmarsh,  and  removed  with  his  family  to  Meldorf,  its 
chief  town,  in  1778. 

The  province  of  Dithmarsh,  formerly  a  republic,  and  celebrated 
for  its  defense  of  its  freedom,  still  retained  certain  privileges,  and 
a  free  and  independent  communal  constitution  peculiar  to  itself. 
The  inhabitants  were  of  the  same  Frisian  race  as  those  of  Carsten, 
Niebuhr's  native  province ;  were  a  free  peasantry  like  them,  each 
man  occupying  and  cultivating  his  own  little  freehold,  and  pos- 
sessed the  industry,  frugality,  and  sturdy  independence  which 
usually  characterize  their  order.  The  circumstance  that  his 
childhood  and  youth  were  passed  among  such  a  population,  prob- 
ably contributed  to  the  strong  interest  and  sympathy  with  which 
Niebuhr  always  regarded  this  class.  Frequent  references  occur 
in  his  letters  to  the  peculiar  institutions  of  these  districts,  and  his 
practical  acquaintance  with  them  was  often  brought  to  bear  upon 
*  Land-schreiber. 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH.  27 

his  researches  into  the  political  and  civil  organization  of  other 
countries,  ancient  as  well  as  modern. 

The  external  features  of  the  country  were  not  at  all  pictur- 
esque. Marshes  extended  over  the  greater  portion  of  its  surface, 
which  was  neither  diversified  by  trees  nor  rising  ground.  Mel- 
dorf  itself  was  a  little  antiquated  country  town,  that  had  for- 
merly been  of  much  greater  importance  as  the  capital  of  the  re- 
public, but  had  sunk  into  decay  through  the  ravages  occasioned 
by  repeated  sieges ;  and  its  remoteness  from  any  high  road  pre- 
vented an  influx  of  trade,  which  might  have  revived  its  pros- 
perity. Many  of  the  old-fashioned  houses  were  now  unoccupied, 
and  the  quiet  of  the  place  was  rarely  broken  by  the  carriage- 
wheels  of  a  passing  traveler,  for  it  had  no  visitors  but  such  as 
were  drawn  thither  by  some  personal  interest. 

The  want  of  any  natural  beauty  in  the  scene  of  his  early 
life  rendered  Niebuhr  long  insensible  to  impressions  from  this 
source.  Thus,  writing  from  Edinburgh  in  1798,  he  says,  that 
Nature  has  denied  him  the  taste  for  picturesque  scenery,  but 
given  him  instead  a  perception  of  the  sublime.  In  later  years, 
however,  he  was  keenly  sensible  to  the  charms  of  a  beautiful 
landscape. 

It  will  be  readily  conceived  that  Meldorf  was,  in  many  re- 
spects, an  unfavorable  position  for  Carsten  Niebuhr,  whose  pre- 
vious life  had  been  passed,  almost  ever  since  he  had  been  grown 
up,  in  the  excitement  of  traveling  through  previously  unexplored 
eastern  regions,  or  amidst  the  society  of  the  scholars  and  states- 
men of  Copenhagen.  The  fame  of  the  celebrated  traveler  oc- 
casionally attracted  a  stranger,  and  many  friends  came  to  visit 
him ;  but  sometimes  for  months  together  he  saw  no  one  beside 
the  inhabitants  of  the  little  town.  Of  these  the  clergy  and  offi- 
cials of  the  place  formed  the  circle  with  which  the  family  as- 
sociated. Among  them  there  were  few— and  for  a  long  while 
perhaps  none — who  had  any  taste  for  intellectual  pursuits  except 
so  far  as  they  were  connected  with  their  peculiar  vocation.  Car- 
sten Niebuhr,  however,  employed  himself  in  a  most  conscientious 
discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  office,  and  occupied  his  spare  hours 
in  building  himself  a  house  and  laying  out  a  garden,"  from  which 
he  then  scarcely  expected  he  should  live  to  gather  the  fruit,  but 
most  of  whose  trees  he  long  survived.  Moreover,  though  accus- 
tomed to  mix  with  the  highest  classes,  he  had  never  lost  his  fel- 


28  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHE. 

low  feeling  with  the  peasantry  to  whom  he  belonged  by  birth, 
and  when  among  his  relations,  whom  he  loved  to  visit,  he  could 
completely  accommodate  himself  to  their  habits  and  enter  into 
their  modes  of  thinking.  His  son  says  of  him,  "  He  was  and  re- 
mained throughout  his  life  a  genuine  peasant ;  with  all  the  vir- 
tues and  also  the  little  failings  of  his  order.  He  was  certainly 
self-willed  and  obstinate  ;  it  was  almost  impossible  to  talk  him 
out  of  any  idea  he  had  once  taken  up.  This  held  good,  too,  of 
his  favorable  or  unfavorable  prepossessions  with  regard  to  persons. 
His  character  was  perfectly  irreproachable,  and  his  morals  ex- 
tremely strict  and  pure.  He  was  in  all  relations  of  life  unexact- 
ing  and  self-sacrificing." 

Of  Niebuhr's  mother  there  exist  very  few  notices.  From  the 
circle  in  which  she  wras  brought  up,  she  was,  in  all  probability,  a 
woman  of  education  and  refinement.  She  is  described  as  having 
been  of  a  nervous,  sensitive  temperament,  probably  in  great  meas- 
ure the  effect  of  her  very  delicate  health  ;  as  excitable  and  warm- 
tempered,  but  at  the  same  time  easily  pacified,  affectionate,  and 
tender.  Her  son  is  said  to  have  resembled  her  much  in  person 
as  well  as  in  character. 

An  unmarried  sister  lived  with  her,  with  whom  she  usually 
spoke  Danish,  so  that  the  children  learnt  both  that  and  German 
as  their  native  languages. 

The  parents,  especially  the  father,  seem  to  have  devoted  them- 
selves to  the  training  and  education  of  their  children  with  an  at- 
tention rarely  seen ;  but  the  frequent  indisposition  of  Madame 
Niebuhr,  with  whom  the  air  of  the  marshes  did  not  agree,  and 
his  own  ill-health,  occasioned  many  interruptions  to  the  otherwise 
happy  tenor  of  her  son's  childhood.  The  boy  had  been  very  strong 
up  to  his  fifth  year,  but  he  then  had  a  dangerous  attack  of  ague, 
which  seemed  quite  to  alter  his  constitution,  for  it  became  and  re- 
mained through  life  very  irritable,  and  highly  susceptible  both  to 
mental  and  atmospheric  influences.  He  had  also  several  severe  ill- 
nesses and  accidents  in  his  childhood.  One  of  the  latter  was  a  bite 
from  a  dog,  which  obliged  him  to  submit  to  very  painful  treat- 
ment ;  and  all  these  circumstances  contributed  to  increase  his  con- 
stitutional nervousness  and  timidity.  Indisposition  often  rendered 
it  needful  for  him  to  be  kept  within  doors,  and  his  mother's  anxiety, 
which  was  heightened  by  her  own  delicate  health,  often  unnec- 
essarily prolonged  these  periods  of  privation  from  air  and  exercise. 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH.  29 

On  the  whole,  however,  he  and  his  sister  led  a  very  merry  life, 
romping  about  with  their  playfellows  in  a  spacious  house,  or  in 
large  court-yards  and  gardens.  When  Niebuhr  was  about  five 
years  old,  he  took  great  delight  in  watching  the  erection  of  his 
father's  house  at  Meldorf.  The  elder  Niebuhr  was  his  own  arch- 
itect, and  the  child  soon  learnt  to  draw  plans  by  watching  his 
father  at  work,  and  asking  him  questions ;  he  was  constantly  at 
his  side  during  the  progress  of  the  building,  and  long  afterward  re- 
tained an  intelligent  recollection  of  the  proceedings  of  the  work- 
men. His  father  was  never  weary  of  providing  occupations  and 
entertainments  for  his  children.  He  had  a  skittle-ground  made 
in  the  large  court-yard,  and  in  the  winter  a  Russian  mountain 
was  put  up  in  the  garden.  A  very  considerable  collection  of  seals 
and  coins  was  made  for  them,  from  which  on  Sundays  they  were 
allowed,  as  a  treat,  to  take  casts,  and  they  eagerly  studied  her- 
aldry in  connection  with  these.  The  father  even  applied  to  sev- 
eral of  his  learned  friends  in  Copenhagen  for  specimens  to  enrich 
this  collection.  He  was  not  less  willing  to  devote  his  own  time 
to  their  pleasure.  In  summer  he  would  help  his  son  to  build 
fortifications  in  the  garden  according  to  the  rules  of  military  art, 
which  he  afterward  taught  the  boy  and  his  companions  to  at- 
tack and  defend,  likewise  according  to  rule.  In  winter  he  often 
used  to  collect  other  children  at  his  house  in  the  evenings,  and 
then  set  them  to  dance  while  he  played  for  them  on  the  violin. 
The  Christmas  festivities  were  seasons  of  unbounded  enjoyment 
to  Niebuhr  in  his  childish  years.  He  thus -describes  his  blissful 
feelings,  as  a  child  at  this  festival,  in  a  letter  dated  Copenhagen, 
December  30th,  1797: — '^1  had  the  evening  at- liberty.  I  lock- 
ed myself  up  in  my  own  room,  and  luxuriated  in  the  recollections 
of  my  departed  childhood,  whose  best  and  sweetest  pleasure  was 
my  intense  happiness  at  these  Christmas  festivals.  I  was  of  a 
grateful  disposition ;  a  little  thing  would  make  me  as  happy  as  a 
prince,  and  I  was  not  ill-behaved  in  my  glee,  which  is  as  natural 
to  many  children  as  elation  in  prosperity  is  to  grown-up  people. 
A  many-colored  tissue  of  bright  memories  floats  over  to  me  from 
those  times,  of  which  the  most  distinct  images  are  connected  with 
my  eighth  year.  But  with  all  of  them  there  is  associated  a  pecu- 
liar charm  of  eager  outstretched  expectation  and  dazzling  sur- 
prise, succeeded  by  a  vehement  feeling  of  delight,  occupation,  and 
gratitude.  Happy  is  he  who  begins  anew  to  recall  with  joy  those 


30  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

scenes  which  he  once  fancied  barren  of  interest,  and  afterward 
was  obliged  to  rouse  himself  by  reflection  to  prize,  and  contem- 
plated with  mournful  feeling,  as  not  only  lost  to  him,  but  dead 
even  in  memory." 

With  such  an  education,  it  was  natural  that  the  children 
should  grow  up  good  and  intelligent,  but  the  boy  early  gave  indi- 
cations of  his  extraordinary  talents.  His  instruction  in  reading, 
writing,  and  arithmetic,  seems  to  have  begun  in  his  fourth  or 
fifth  year,  with  his  sister,  under  a  tutor.  He  early  distinguished 
himself  by  his  quickness,  ready  apprehension,  and  sure  retention 
of  what  he  learned,  and,  according  to  his  sister's  account,  he  soon 
got  before  her.  He  had  always  finished  the  tasks  that  were  set 
them  sooner  than  she  had,  and  then  would  roguishly  dance  round 
her,  singing 

"  Rest  is  sweet  when  work  is  done." 

Niebuhr  says,  in  his  Life  of  his  father,  "  He  instructed  both  of 
us  in  geography,  and  used  to  relate  stories  to  us  from  history  ;  he 
taught  me  English  and  French — at  all  events  much  better  than 
I  could  have  learnt  them  from  any  instructor  the  place  afforded, 
and  also  a  little  mathematics,  in  which  he  would  have  gone 
further  had  he  not  been  discouraged  by  the  want  of  liking  and 
talent  in  myself.  It  must  be  confessed  that  he  grew  weary  of 
teaching,  whenever  he  found  any  want  of  seriousness  and  interest 
in  his  pupils,  for  he  never  could  understand  how  it  was  possible 
that  they  should  find  a  difficulty  in  receiving,  with  delight  and 
attention,  any  kind  of  instruction  whatever,  as  he  himself  had 
always  done." 

These  instructions  must  have  commenced  early,  for  in  Decem- 
ber, 1782,  when  Niebuhr  was  six  years  old,  his  father  writes  to 
his  brother-in-law,  Eckhardt,  "  Barthold  has  begun  to-day  to 
learn  the  Greek  alphabet,  and  shall  now  proceed  to  write  Ger- 
man in  Greek  characters."  Somewhat  later,  writing  to  the 
same  individual,  he  says,  "  He  studied  the  Greek  alphabet  only 
for  a  single  day,  and  had  no  further  trouble  with  it ;  he  did  it 
with  very  little  help  from  me.  The  boy  gets  on  wonderfully. 
Boje  says  he  does  not  know  his  equal ;  but  he  requires  to  be 
managed  in  a  peculiar  way.  May  God  preserve  our  lives,  and 
give  us  grace  to  guide  him  aright !  Oh,  if  he  could  but  learn  to 
control  the  warmth  of  his  temper ;  I  believe  I  might  say  his 
pride.  He  is  no  longer  so  passionate  with  his  sister ;  but  if  he 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH.  31 

stumbles  in  the  least  in  repeating  his  lessons,  or  if  his  scribblings 
are  alluded  to,  he  fires  up  instantly.  He  can  not  bear  to  be 
praised  for  them,  because  he  believes  that  he  does  not  deserve  it. 
In  short,  I  repeat  it,  he  is  proud ;  he  wants  to  know  every  thing, 
and  is  angry  if  he  does  not  know  it.  May  the  Almighty  guide 
and  direct  him !"  Then  he  continues,  "  My  wife  complains  that 
I  find  fault  with  Barthold  unnecessarily.  I  did  not  mean  to  do 
so.  He  is  an  extraordinarily  good  little  fellow,  but  he  must  be 
managed  in  an  extraordinary  way,  and  I  pray  God  to  give  me 
wisdom  and  patience  to  educate  him  properly." 

The  Boje  mentioned  in  this  letter,  was  the  editor  of  the 
"Deutsches  Museum,"  one  of  the  earliest  literary  periodicals,  not 
exclusively  learned  in  its  character,  that  appeared  in  Germany. 
He  thus  stood  in  connection  with  most  of  the  literary  men  of  the 
day,  and  was  himself  a  man  of  high  intellect  and  taste.  He  had 
been  appointed  prefect  of  the  province  in  1781,  and  his  settle- 
ment in  Meldorf  had  an  important  influence  on  the  life  of  the 
Niebuhrs.  His  society,  and  that  of  his  wife,  afforded  the  elder 
Niebuhrs,  with  whom  they  became  very  intimate,  that  unre- 
served intercourse  with  intelligent  and  highly  cultivated  people 
which  they  had  previously  missed  at  Meldorf,  and  Boje's  large 
circle  of  friends  imparted  variety  to  their  social  life.  The  boy 
gained  still  more  from  these  friends.  He  was  allowed  free  access 
to  Boje's  extensive  library,  which  was  particularly  rich  in  En- 
glish and  French  as  well  as  German  books,  and  gained  thus  much 
information  which  he  could  not  have  acquired  elsewhere.  But 
most  of  all,  Boje's  aesthetic  and  poetical  turn  of  mind  awakened 
in  the  child  similar  impulses,  which  would  probably  have  other- 
wise remained  dormant,  as  his  father's  cast  of  thought  was  essen- 
tially prosaic,  and  his  method  of  education  intentionally  calcula- 
ted to  repress  the  imagination  and  to  exercise  the  other  faculties. 
How  keenly  alive  he  was  to  poetical  impressions  appears  from  a 
letter  of  Boje's,  written  in  1783  :  "  This  reminds  me  of  little  Nie- 
buhr.  His  docility,  his  industry  and  his  devoted  love  for  me,  pro- 
cure me  many  a  pleasant  hour.  A  short  time  back,  I  was  read- 
ing '  Macbeth'  aloud  to  his  parents  without  taking  any  notice  of 
him,  till  I  saw  what  an  impression  it  made  upon  him.  Then  I 
tried  to  render  it  all  intelligible  to  him,  and  even  explained  to 
him  how  the.  witches  were  only  poetical  beings.  When  I  was 
gone,  he  sat  down  (he  is  not  yet  seven  years  old),  and  wrote  it 


32  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

all  out  on  seven  sheets  of  paper,  without  omitting  one  important 
point,  and  certainly  without  any  expectation  of  receiving  praise 
for  it;  for,  when  his  father  asked  to  see  what  he  had  written, 
and  showed  it  to  me,  he  cried  for  fear  he  had  not  done  it  well. 
Since  then  he  writes  down  every  thing  of  importance  that  he 
hears  from  his  father  or  me.  We  seldom  praise  him,  but  just 
quietly  tell  him  where  he  has  made  any  mistake,  and  he  avoids 
the  fault  for  the  future." 

The  child's  character  early  exhibited  a  rare  union  of  the  facul- 
ty of  poetical  insight  with  that  of  accurate  practical  observation. 
The  amusements  he  contrived  for  himself  afford  an  illustration  of 
this.  During  the  periods  of  his  confinement  to  the  house,  before 
he  was  old  enough  to  have  any  paper  given  him,  he  covered 
with  his  writings  and  drawings,  the  margins  of  the  leaves  of  sev- 
eral copies  of  Forskaal's  works,  which  were  used  in  the  house  as 
waste  paper.  Then  he  made  copy-books  for  himself,  in  which 
he  wrote  essays,  mostly  on  political  subjects.  He  had  an  imagin- 
ary empire  called  Low-England,  of  which  he  drew  maps,  and 
he  promulgated  laws,  waged  wars,  and  made  treaties  of  peace 
there.  His  father  was  pleased  that  he  should  occupy  himself 
with  amusements  of  this  kind,  and  his  sister  took  an  active  part 
in  them.  There  still  exist  among  his  papers,  many  of  his  child- 
ish productions ;  among  others,  translations  and  interpretations  of 
passages  of  the  New  Testament,  poetical  paraphrases  from  the 
classics,  sketches  of  little  poems,  a  translation  of  Poncet's  Travels 
in  Ethiopia,  an  historical  and  geographical  description  of  Africa, 
written  in  1787  (the  two  last  were  undertaken  as  presents  to  his 
father  on  his  birthday),  and  many  other  things  mostly  written 
during  these  years.  His  father  probably  in  one  way  indirectly 
assisted  these  imaginative  tendencies  by  his  habit  of  relating  his 
travels  to  him. 

"  I  well  remember,"  says  Niebuhr,  in  the  Life  of  his  father, 
"  how  he  used  to  tell  me  stories  in  my  childhood  about  the  East, 
and  the  structure  of  the  universe ;  particularly  in  the  evening, 
just  before  bed-time  he  would  take  me  on  his  knee,  and  feed  my 
imagination  with  these  instead  of  fairy  tales.  The  history  of  Mo- 
hammed, of  the  early  Caliphs — especially  of  Omar  and  Ali,  for 
whom  he  had  the  deepest  reverence — of  the  conquests  and  spread 
of  Islamism,  and  the  virtues  of  the  heroes  of  the  new  faith,  with 
the  history  of  the  Turks,  were  early  imprinted  on  my  memory  in 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH-  33 

the  most  lively  colors ;  nay,  works  on  these  subjects  were  among 
the  first  books  put  into  my  hands. 

"  I  remember  too,  how,  one  Christmas  Eve,  when  I  must  have 
been  in  my  tenth  year,  he  heightened  the  delights  of  the  festival, 
by  taking  out  of  the  almost  magnificent  chest  which  held  his 
manuscripts,  and  was  revered  by  the  children  and  all  the  house- 
hold, like  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  the  volumes  which  contained 
the  information  he  had  collected  in  Africa,  and  reading  them 
with  me.  He  had  taught  me  to  draw  maps,  and  now,  encour- 
aged and  assisted  by  him,  I  soon  produced  maps  of  Habbesch  and 
Sudan.  .  .  .  ,  . 

"  He  entered  with  the  utmost  indulgence  and  sympathy  into  my 
half  old-fashioned,  half  childish  ideas;  helped  me  in  the  details 
of  my  castles  in  the  air ;  conversed  with  me  on  all  the  topics 
of  the  day,  and  strove -to  give  me  clear  conceptions  of  whatever 
subjects  we  talked  upon — among  other  things,  of  fortifications, 
by  encouraging  me  to  measure  out  and  excavate  polygons  under 
his  eye,  and  with  books  and  plans  at  hand." 

From  a  letter  of  his  father's,  it  appears  that  Niebuhr  was  able 
to  read  any  English  books  without  help  when  only  in  his  eighth 
year.  Somewhat  later,  Madame  Boje,  who  was  an  admirable 
French  scholar,  kindly  undertook  to  teach  him  that  language, 
which  he  had  begun  with  his  father.  The  death  of  this  lady, 
in  1786,  was  the  child's  first  experience  of  heart-sorrow.  After 
the  funeral  his  mother  found  him  in  the  garden,  rolling  on  the 
grass  almost  wild  with  grief,  and  it  was  a  long  time  before  he 
recovered  his  spirits.  This  had  the  effect  of  turning  his  atten- 
tion still  more  exclusively  to  the  serious  occupations  to  which  he 
had  been  previously  inclined,  and  in  consequence  his  progress 
was  more  rapid  than  ever. 

In  liis  eighth  or  ninth  year  he  had  begun  to  receive  private 
lessons,  principally  in  the  classics,  from  one  of  the  masters  of  the 
Gymnasium.  As  the  linstruction  in  the  ower  classes  of  the  school 
was  defective,  his  father  wished  to  keep  him  at  home  till  he  could 
at  once  enter  the  highest  class.  The  master,  however,  was  so 
deficient  both  in  abilities  and  attainments,  that  his  incapacity 
could  not  escape  the  boy,  and  with  a  child's  love  of  mischief  he 
used  to  tease  him  by  learning  his  task  within  the  appointed  time, 
in  order  to  oblige  the  tutor  to  read  further  than  his  preparation 
reached,  when  their  respective  positions  were  almost  reversed, 

B*, 


34  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHE. 

the  boy  assuming  the  character  of  a  teacher,  while  the  master 
had  to  sit  by  his  side  as  a  learner. 

This  state  of  affairs  must  have  had  a  very  injurious  influence 
on  the  hoy's  character,  as  well  as  on  the  progress  of  his  educa- 
tion, had  not  its  effects  on  the  one  hand  been  neutralized  by  his 
unbounded  desire  of  knowledge  and  remarkable  abilities,  and  on 
the  other  by  his  good  and  affectionate  disposition.  But  it  is  cer- 
tainly surprising  that  he  should  have  made  such  extraordinary 
progress  in  spite  of  it,  and  still  more  so  that  it  should  never  have 
caused  his  industry  to  flag.  He  tells  us,  however,  that  his  father 
assisted  him  in  his  Latin,  and  read  Caesar's  Commentaries  with 
him,  in  which  he,  very  characteristically,  paid  much  more  atten- 
tion to  the  geography  than  to  the  grammar. 

It  is  mentioned  that  from  about  this  time  the  young  Niebuhr 
shared,  the  warm  interest  in  literature  which  prevailed  in  Ger- 
many toward  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  eagerly  wel- 
comed the  appearance  of  any  new  work  from  the  pens  of  Klop- 
stock,  Lessing,  and  Goethe.  But  that  interest  in  politics,  which 
became  the  master-spring  of  his  life,  was  first  awakened  at  about 
the  age  of  eleven.  It  is  said  that  when  the  war  with  Turkey 
broke  out  in  the  year  1787,  it  so  strongly  excited  the  child's 
mind,  that  he  not  only  talked  of  it  in  his  sleep  at  night,  but  fan- 
cied himself  in  his  dreams  reading  the  newspapers  and  repeating 
the  intelligence  they  contained  about  the  war ;  and  his  ideas  on 
these  subjects  were  so  well  arranged,  and  founded  on  so  accurate 
a  knowledge  of  the  country  and  the  situation  of  the  towns,  that 
the  realization  of  his  nightly  anticipations  generally  appeared  in 
the  journals  a  short  time  afterward.  Of  course  this  is  not  to  be 
regarded  as  indicating  a  miraculous  gift  of  prophecy  in  the  boy, 
but  only  as  showing  with  what  distinctness  all  that  he  heard 
transferred  itself  to  his  imagination,  and  how  capable  his  under- 
standing was  of  combining  the  ideas  he  had  received  in  their 
true  relation  to  each  other.  Partly  through  his  father's  narra- 
tives, partly  through  his  own  geographical  studies,  those  regions 
were  as  familiar  to  him  as  his  native  province.  He  had  studied 
the  nations  inhabiting  them,  and  their  mode  of  warfare,  in  his- 
tory and  the  accounts  of  travelers,  and  had  taken  great  pains  to 
gain  accurate  conceptions  of  the  character  and  conduct  of  the 
various  commanders  in  the  war,  from  the  journals  and  other 
sources  of  inibrmation.  There  are  still  extant  some  letters  which 


CHILDHOOD   AND  YOUTH.  35 

he  wrote  at  this  time  to  his  uncle  Eckhardt,  containing  the 
grounds  and  proofs  of  his  predictions. 

This  faculty  of  divination  exhibited  itself  again  during  the 
early  part  of  the  French  Revolution ;  when  in  several  instances 
he  not  only  anticipated  the  course  of  events  with  reference  to  the 
progress  of  the  war,  but  also  the  direction  which  popular  move- 
ments would  take,  the  plans  and  objects  of  the  revolutionary 
leaders,  and  the  results  of  the  measures  adopted  by  the  various 
parties,  with  so  much  correctness  and  precision  as  to  excite  the 
astonishment  even  of  the  eminent  statesman  Count  P.  A.  Bern- 
storfT,  that  such  a  mere  youth  should  have  so  just  and  acute  an 
appreciation  of  men  and  events.  With  equal  correctness  and  cer- 
tainty did  he  guess  the  plans  of  the  commanders  during  the  war, 
from  the  marches  and  position  of  the  armies,  in  which  his  exact 
and  detailed  geographical  knowledge  served  as  a  guide  to  his 
judgment.  He  retained  this  faculty  to  a  considerable  extent 
during  the  whole  of  his  life,  but  he  possessed  it  in  a  higher  degree 
in  his  earlier  years,  when  he  could  concentrate  the  whole  power 
of  his  mind  on  impressions  of  this  kind. 

From  the  time  when  the  Turkish  war  broke  out,  therefore,  his 
attention  was  fixed  upon  historical  events.  But  the  disturbances 
in  the  Netherlands  in  the  Emperor  Joseph's  time,  excited  in  him 
a  still  stronger  interest  than  the  Turkish  war,  and  it  was  height- 
ened by  his  acquaintance  with  a  fugitive  named  De  la  Vida,  who 
took  up  his  residence  in  Meldorf. 

It  happened  about  this  time  that  many  friends  of  Boje's  and 
Niebuhr's  came  to  visit  them  from  Copenhagen  ami  Germany ; 
several  foreigners  also  came  to  Meldorf  to  make  the  acquaintance 
of  the  two  authors.  But  the  friend  who  had  the  most  important 
influence  on  Niebuhr's  studies  was  the  well  known  poet  Voss,* 
who  had  married  Boje's  sister. 

During  the  frequent  visits  made  to  their  brother  by  Voss  and 
his  wife,  an  intimacy  sprang  up  between  him  and  Niebuhr,  which 
was  only  terminated  by  death.  Voss  soon  discovered  the  wonder- 
ful talents  of  the  boy,  won  his  attachment  by  many  acts  of  kind- 
ness, and  assisted  him  with  advice  and  guidance  in  his  classical 
studies.  He  found  his  reward  in  the  boy's  affectionate  reverence 
for  him,  and  adherence  to  his  counsels. 

In  the  conversations  which  took  place  among  these  friends  and 
*  The  translator  of  Homer,  author  of  "  Luise,"  &c. 


36  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

foreigners  during  their  visits  to  Holstein,  the  boy,  then  eleven  or 
twelve  years  of  age,  was  frequently  called  to  take  part,  and  not 
seldom  information  was  asked  of  him  regarding  geographical, 
statistical,  historical  and  other  subjects,  and  given  in  a  manner 
which  excited  their  astonishment.  His  father  used  often  to  talk 
of  this  with  great  pleasure  in  later  years,  when  his  darling  son 
had  become  his  joy  and  pride.  His  statistical  knowledge  was 
even  then  extraordinary ;  he  was  frequently  assiduously  engaged 
in  subjects  of  this  nature,  such  for  instance  as  working  out  lists  of 
mortality. 

All  this  would  no  doubt  have  rendered  him  vain  or  proud,  but 
that  his  simple  education  in  strict  principles  of  obedience,  the 
example  of  his  father,  and  frequent  expressions  of  his  mother 
showing  how  little  she  valued  such  things,  proved  a  sufficient 
counterpoise.  Against  vanity  he  was  moreover  protected  by  an 
instinctive  love  of  completeness  in  knowledge,  and  a  repugnance 
to  all  merely  superficial  brilliancy.  Pride  might  have  proved  a 
more  dangerous  enemy,  as  he  could  not  remain  ignorant  of  his 
own  superiority,  had  not  his  generous  and  loving  spirit  enabled 
him  to  appreciate  every  genuine  manifestation  of  humanity,  and 
taught  him  to  look  up  with  deep  humility  and  admiration  to  those 
great  men  of  ancient  and  modern  times,  whom  he  regarded  as' 
heroes  in  thought  and  action. 

In  later  years  he  was  indeed  conscious  of  his  own  value,  and 
felt  deeply  hurt,  when  he  thought  himself  not  appreciated,  or 
treated  with  intentional  neglect,  but  he  never  over-estimated  him- 
self; in  his  letters  we  find  frequent  and  touching  proofs  to  the 
contrary.  He  displayed  much  magnanimity  in  his  readiness  to 
recognize  eminent  qualities  and  merits,  even  when  they  might 
come  into  collision  with  his  own  claims.  No  trace  of  envy,  nor 
the  slightest  disposition  to  detraction,  could  ever  be  perceived  in 
him.  He  inherited  the  distinguishing  characteristics  of  his  father, 
integrity  and  truthfulness — qualities  that  were  so  inherent  in 
Carsten  Niebuhr,  that  it  was  utterly  impossible  for  him  even  to 
feel  tempted  to  transgress  their  laws.  Hence  dishonesty  and  un- 
truthfulness,  with  the  vain  love  of  display  so  often  combined  with 
them,  were  of  all  faults  those  which  Niebuhr  most  detested. 

Little  variation  occurred  in  his  life  during  three  years,  beyond 
the  incidents  already  mentioned.  Materials  for  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge  were  not  wanting  to  him.  Travels,  especially  in  the 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH.  37 

other  quarters  of  the  world,  were  at  all  times  his  father's  favorite 
reading,  and  of  lighter  literature  he  was  able  to  obtain  a  constant 
supply  from  Boje,  whose  library  was  liberally  stocked  with  works 
of  this  class. 

He  was  now  entering  on  his  thirteenth  year,  and  his  father, 
feeling  that  the  desultory  instruction  he  had  hitherto  received  was 
insufficient  for  him,  determined  on  sending  him  to  the  Gymnasium 
at  Meldorf,  a  step  which  appears  to  have  been  in  accordance  with 
the  boy's  own  inclinations.  In  a  letter  dated  November,  1788, 
Carsten  Niebuhr  says :  "  Barthold  has  not  troubled  his  head  so 
much  about  the  Turks  and  the  Emperor  for  some  time  past,  but 
has  made  up  his  mind  to  enter  the  highest  class  at  Easter,  and  is 
therefore  busily  engaged  with  the  history  of  literature.  He  revels 
BO  in  the  Latin  authors  that  I  am  almost  obliged  to  restrain  his 
ardor."  He  was  not  however  exclusively  absorbed  in  books,  as, 
from  a  passage  in  one  of  his  mother's  letters  written  about  this 
time,  it  appears  that  he  was  of  great  service  to  his  father,  during 
the  autumn,  in  the  financial  calculations  connected  with  the  col- 
lection of  extensive  state  revenues  in  South  Dithmarsh.  At 
Easter,  1789,  Niebuhr  entered  the  school,  where  he  found  him- 
self at  once  by  far  the  youngest,  and  considerably  the  most  ad- 
vanced in  his  class.  In  spite  of  this  he  was  a  favorite  with  his 
schoolfellows,  a  sure  proof  that  he  did  not  presume  on  his  superior 
knowledge  in  his  behavior  toward  them.  He  remained,  however, 
at  school  only  till  the  Michaelmas  of  the  following  year,  when  the 
Principal,  Dr.  Jager,  found  it  necessary  to  dispense  with  his  at- 
tendance, on  the  departure  of  most  of  the  seniors,  and  the  entrance 
of  a  much  younger  and  less  advanced  set  of  boys  into  the  highest 
class.  Dr.  Jager  offered,  however,  contrary  to  his  usual  practice, 
to  give  him  an  hour's  private  lesson  every  day,  wliich,  he  said, 
considering  Niebuhr 's  attainments  and  industry,  would  be  sum* 
cient  to  prepare  him  properly  for  the  university. 

This  offer  was  gladly  accepted,  and  the  daily  lesson  was  con- 
tinued till  Easter,  1794.  Dr.  Jager  read  with  him  the  more 
difficult  passages  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  authors,  and  gave  him 
hints  which  enabled  him  to  read  them  by  himself,  to  study  gram- 
mar and  Greek  composition,  and  to  exercise  himself  in  Latin 
composition. 

Other  branches  of  knowledge  he  pursued  by  himself,  except 
that  his  father  occasionally  assisted  him  in  mathematics.  There 

428832 


38  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

still  exist  plans  of  his  daily  studies,  written  at  this  time,  which 
evince  his  extraordinary  industry.  More  than  half  of  each  day 
he  devoted  to  hard  work,  some  hours  to  general  reading,  and  a 
very  short  time  to  recreation  and  social  pleasures.  Yet  in  later 
life  he  often  accused  himself  of  indolence.  The  only  ground  he 
could  have  for  this  complaint  was,  that  he  prosecuted  his  studies 
rather  under  the  guidance  of  inclination,  than  with  reference  to 
any  definite  object,  and  hence  those  subjects,  which  from  being 
less  attractive  to  him  cost  him  the  most  effort,  were  placed  in  the 
background.  He  certainly  suffered  at  this  time  from  the  want  of 
any  competent  guide.  He  read  largely,  and  collected  an  immense 
amount  of  information,  more  indeed  than  he  was  able  to  digest 
properly,  and  there  was  no  one  who  could  teach  him  how  to  sys- 
tematize his  hoards  of  knowledge.  He  afterward  became  aware 
of  this,  and  was  often  much  depressed  by  perceiving  the  confusion 
of  ideas  that  resulted  from  it,  particularly  /luring  the  period  from 
1796  to  1798.  When,  as  was  not  unfrequently  the  case,  he  found 
himself  wandering  involuntarily  from  the  direct  course  in  the 
studies  he  had  undertaken,  and  perceived  how  much  this  habit 
of  mind  precluded  his  reaping  due  results  from  his  labors,  he  com- 
plained with  great  bitterness  of  his  self-incurred  deficiency  in 
energy  and  strength  of  will. 

In  1791  he  was  confirmed  by  a  clergyman  of  Meldorf,  who 
was  a  friend  of  the  family. 

The  French  revolution,  which  broke  out  about  this  time,  ex- 
cited a  strong  interest  in  him  from  its  commencement.  Its  effect 
on  his  mind  differed,  however,  from  the  impression  it  produced  on 
most  of  the  young,  and  many  of  the  elder  persons  of  that  day, 
who  saw  in  it  the  promise  of  an  era  of  glorious  liberty,  and  many 
of  whom  carried  their  enthusiasm  to  such  a  height,  as  to  view 
the  most  horrible  excesses,  simply  as  deplorable  but  inevitable 
steps  in  the  transition  to  a  higher  development  of  the  human 
race.  %  Hence  arose  a  universal  agitation,  which  brought  forth 
many  melancholy  results  in  the  schisms  that  took  place  between 
men  of  different  views,  the  arrogant  tone  of  triumph  which  the 
enthusiasts  assumed  in  their  speeches  and  writings  toward  those 
whom  they  deemed  the  unenlightened  and  timorous  men  of  the 
opposite  party,  and  the  divisions  that  ensued  among  friends-  and 
families.  Niebuhr  had  studied  history  with  an  earnestness  and 
thoughtfulness  unusual  at  his  age.  and  early  recognized  the  work- 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH.  30 

ings  and  tendencies  of  the  democratic  'movements.  The  horrors 
of  anarchy  and  popular  tyranny,  which  that  revolution  exhibited 
with  such  fearful  distinctness,  filled  him  with  deep  sorrow,  aud 
anxious  misgivings  for  the  fate  of  the  rest  of  the  world.  He  rev- 
erenced liberty,  when  obtained  through  self-sacrifice  and  persever- 
ing effort  in  conformity  with  the  law ;  and  thus,  in  later  life,  he 
cherished  a  great  respect  for  the  Roman  plebeians,  who  had  con- 
quered their  rights  and  their  constitution  by  such  means  alone. 
But  all  that  tended  to  lawlessness,  to  the  overthrow  of  social 
order,  to  establish  the  sway  of  mobs  and  demagogues,  he  detested 
from  his  earliest  youth,  because  he  saw  therein  the  germs  of  future 
barbarism.  |  Doubtless,  however,  he  would  not  have  acquired 
these  views  so  early,  nor  entertained  them  through  life  with  such 
unalterable  firmness,  if,  on  the  one  hand,  tliey  had  not  received 
confirmation  on  so  gigantic  a  scale  from  those  great  events ;  and 
if,  on  the  other,  he  had  not  brought  to  bear  on  all  that  was  passing 
around  him  a  most  rare  faculty  of  observation  and  combiuation, 
even  at  this  early  age.  It  is  impossible  to  estimate  how  much  the 
formation  of  his  opinions  may  have  been  influenced  by  his  father's 
way  of  thinking,  whose  preference  for  the  English,  and  antipathy 
to  the  French,  were  perhaps  even  exaggerated,*  yet  it  can  not  be 
doubted  that  his  political  sentiments  were  founded  upon  a  real 
personal  conviction. 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1792,  the  elder  Niebuhr  resolved  to 
send  his  son  to  spend  some  time  in  Hamburgh,  at  a  school  which 
was  then  the  most  celebrated  of  its  kind  in  Europe  for  instruction 
in  modern  languages  and  commercial  science.  Its  founder  and 
head  master,  Biisch,  was  an  old  friend  of  his,  and  the  author 
of  numerous  highly  esteemed  works  on  commercial  sribjects.t 
Biisch's  school  was  nearly  unique  of  its  kind,  and  attended  by 
pupils  from  all  parts  of  Europe.  His  circle  of  acquaintance  was 
one  of  the  largest  in  Hamburgh.  All  the  learned  and  intellectual 

society  of  the  city  assembled  at  his  house ;   all  foreigners  of  dis- 

rt 

*  "He  saw  in  that  nation  [the  French]  OUT  natural  hereditary  enemies  ;  nnd 
I  remember  he  was  delighted  when  the  War  of  the  Revolution  broke  out,  not 
because  he  sided  with  the  counter-revolutionary  party,  but  because  he  hoped 
that  the  conquered  German  and  Bnrpondian  provinces  might  be  regnined — 
provinces  which  he  always  included  in  Germany  when  teaching  bis  children 
geography."  Life  of  C.  Niebuhr,  by  his  Son. 

t  Of  w"hich  the  most  remarkable  are — "  Outlines  of  a  History  of  the  rnogt 
eminent  Commercial  Enterprises  of  the  World,"  "Handbook  of  the  Collective 
Commercial  Sciences,"  and  "the  Library  of  Commerce.** 


40  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

Unction  brought  letters  of  introduction  to  him ;  and  his  wife  en- 
livened by  her  wit  and  intelligence  the  society  which  then  counted 
among  its  members  the  poet  Klopstock,  the  geographer  Ebeling, 
and  the  more  celebrated  physician  Reimarus  (the  first  who  prac- 
ticed inoculation,  and  who  distinguished  himself  in  that  day  by 
his  advocacy  of  free  trade  and  political  reforms),  and  among  its 
occasional  guests,  Lessing  and  other  noted  literary  men.      The 
young  Niebuhr  was  not  to  be  placed  merely  on  the  footing  of  a 
scholar,  but  was  to  be  admitted  to  the  social  intercourse  of  the 
house.     This  resolution  seems  to  have  been  prompted  by  Carsten 
Niebuhr's  wish  that  his  son  should  choose  a  diplomatic  career,  for 
which  he  regarded  a  residence  in  Biisch's  house  as  an  excellent 
preparation.     He  also  wished  that  his  son,  who  had  lived  up  to 
this  time  entirely  at  home,  should  acquire  a  wider  knowledge  of 
the  world  and  the  tone  of  good  society,  and  learn  to  take  an  in- 
terest in  subjects  relating  to  practical  life.      He  felt  too  that  his 
boy's  attachment  to  home  was  excessive,  and  that  his  too  eager 
pursuit  of  his  studies  threatened  lasting  injury  to  his  health.     The 
visit  was  offered  the  young  Niebuhr  as  a  reward  for  his  industry, 
his  father  sincerely  believing  that  it  would  conduce  as  much  to 
his  pleasure  as  to  his  improvement.     He  was,  however,  disap- 
pointed in  his  expectations.     The  youth  was  received  and  treated 
most  kindly  by  Biisch,  but  the  continual  whirl  of  amusement  and 
occupation  in  the  house,  the  contrast  presented  by  the  ordinary 
topics  of  conversation  and  the  pleasantries  in  so  mixed  a  society, 
to  those  he  had  been  accustomed  to,  produced  a  most  painful  im- 
pression on  his  mind.     He  felt  restless  and  dissatisfied  in  this  new 
world,  where  his  most  cherished  sentiments  were  unregarded  or 
misunderstood.     It  was  indeed  natural  that  the  elder  men  around 
him  should  take  little  notice  of  the  thoughts  of  a  youth  of  sixteen, 
yet  in  many  respects  he  could  not  but  feel  conscious  of  his  own 
superiority  to  them.     Klopstock  and  Ebeling,  however,  liked  and 
appreciated  him,  and  in  their  society  he  felt  at  ease.     The  former 
frequently  invited  him  to  his  house,  and  this  acquainatncc  was 
the  most  valuable  result  of  Niebuhr's  stay  in  Hamburgh,  for  he 
was  too  home-sick  to  make  much  progress  in  his  studies.     He  im- 
plored his  father  to  allow  him  to  leave,  declaring  that  his  residence 
in  Hamburgh  was  an  litter  waste  of  time ;  and  when  his  father 
did  not  immediately  accede  to  his  request,  repeated  his  entreaties 
with  such  vehemence,  that  the  elder  Niebuhr  yielded,  and  fetched 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH.  41 

him  back  after  a  three  months'  absence.  It  may  be  doubted 
whether  he  would  not  have  acted  more  wisely  for  his  son's  true 
interests,  if  he  had  stood  firm  ;  for  though  it  is  very  probable  that 
young  Niebuhr  would  have  advanced  less  rapidly  in  his  studies 
amidst  the  distractions  of  Hamburgh  than  in  the  quiet  of  home, 
the  life  in  Biisch's  house,  among  young  people  of  his  own  age, 
would  perhaps  have  furnished  precisely  the  discipline  needed  to 
neutralize  the  effects  of  his  solitary  education  at  home,  which  had 
stimulated  the  precocity  of  his  intellect,  and  the  over-sensitiveness 
of  his  temperament.  Perhaps  in  after  life  Niebuhr's  defect  as  a 
practical  statesman,  was  that  he  set  too  high  a  standard  for  man- 
kind at  large,  instead  of  taking  them  as  he  found  them,  which 
made  it  difficult  for  him  to  work  with  others,  and  rendered  him 
liable  to  despair  of  men  and  classes,  as  soon  as  he  detected  their 
moral  deficiencies.  This  tendency — the  natural  result  of  his  own 
disinterestedness  of  character,  and  the.  unusually  high  moral  tone 
of  the  society  in  which  his  early  years  were  passed — might  have 
been  corrected,  had  he  been  forced  to  come  into  daily  contact  with 
a  number  of  young  men  of  about  the  average  stamp,  at  an  age 
when  he  could  not  have  made  them  treat  him  otherwise  than  as 
one  of  themselves. 

His  return  to  Meldorf  was,  however,  a  great  immediate  comfort 
to  his  family,  as  his  father  was  soon  after  seized  with  a  dangerous 
and  tedious  illness,  which  for  a  long  time  incapacitated  him  for 
performing  the  duties  of  his  office.  During  his  convalescence 
Niebuhr  undertook  the  financial  part  of  his  duties,  and  the  fact 
that  he  was  capable  of  performing  them  at  so  early  an  age,  may 
be  regarded  as  the  first  indication  of  his  future  eminence  as  a 
financier. 

After  this  interruption  Niebuhr  resumed  his  studies,  and  his 
private  lessons  with  Dr.  Jager.  From  this  time  he  employed 
himself  in  collating  MSS.,  which  Miinter  sent  him  from  Copen- 
hagen, and  Heyne  fron  Gbttingen.  The  latter  wished  that  the 
superintendence  of  Niebuhr's  studies  should  be  confided  to  him, 
and  it  was  his  father's  intention  to  send  him  to  Gottingen  after  he 
had  passed  through  the  two  years'  course  of  study  in  his  native 
university  of  Kiel,  necessary  to  render  him  eligible  for  receiving 
any  official  appointment  in  his  own  country. 

His  favorite  intercourse  during  this  period  was  with  a  young 
man  named  Prehn,  a  few  years  older  than  himself,  who  had  been 


42  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

a  playfellow  of  his  childhood,  and  was  now  appointed  secretary  to 
the  prefecture.  The  two  friends,  who  were  very  different  in  other 
respects,  had  a  common  interest  in  pursuing  their  researches  into 
the  constitution  and  condition  of  their  native  province. 

The  time  from  Michaelmas,  1792,  to  Easter,  1794,  was  spent 
in  his  father's  house,  amidst  the  employments  and  circumstances 
already  mentioned.  He  was  now  more  occupied  than  formerly 
with  the  study  of  modern  languages.  With  French,  English, 
and  Italian  he  had  long  been  familiar ;  the  sale  at  this  time  of 
some  books  cast  on  shore  from  a  wreck  incited  him  to  learn 
Spanish,  and,  soon  afterward,  Portuguese.  A  letter  from  his 
father,  dated  December,  1807,  gives  a  summary  of  the  languages 
with  which  he  was  acquainted.  "  My  son  has  gone  to  Memel 
with  the  commissariat  of  the  army.  When  he  found  he  should 
probably  have  to  go  to  Riga,  he  began  forthwith  to  learn  Rus- 
sian. Let  us  just  reckon  how  many  languages  he  knows  already. 
He  was  only  two  years  old  when  we  came  to  Meldorf,  so  that  we 
must  consider — 1.  German,  as  his  mother  tongue.  He  learnt  at 
school — 2.  Latin ;  3.  Greek ;  4.  Hebrew ;  and  besides,  in  Mel- 
dorf he  learnt — 5.  Danish  ;  6.  English  ;  7.  French  ;  8.  Italian  ; 
but  only  so  far  as  to  be  able  to  read  a  book  in  these  languages ; 
some  books  from  a  vessel  wrecked  on  the  coast  induced  him  to 
learn — 9.  Portuguese  ;  10.  Spanish  ; — of  Arabic,  he  did  not  learn 
much  at  home,  because  I  had  lost  my  lexicon,  and  could  not 
quickly  replace  it ; — in  Kiel  and  Copenhagen,  he  had  oppor- 
tunities of  practice  in  speaking  and  writing  French,  English, 
and  Danish;  in  Copenhagen,  he  learnt — 11.  Persian  (of  Count 
Ludolph,  the  Austrian  minister,  who  was  born  at  Constantinople, 
and  whose  father  was  an  acquaintance  of  mine),  and  12.  Arabic, 
he  taught  himself;  in  Holland  he  learnt — 13.  Dutch  ;  and  again 
in  Copenhagen — 14.  Swedish,  and  a  little  Icelandic ;  at  Memel 
— 15.  Russian;  16.  Slavonic;  17.  Polish;  18.  Bohemian;  and, 
19.  Ulyrian.  With  the  addition  of  Low  German,  this  makes  in 
all  twenty  languages.  Forgive  this  effusion  of  my  heart  con- 
cerning my  son.  I  did  not  mean  to  boast  of  him." 

During  these  years,  Niebuhr  often  grieved  over  the  progress  of 
events  in  France.  The  scenes  of  horror  in  1791-3,  almost  dis- 
gusted him  with  Europe,  and  he  and  his  sister  often  turned  their 
thoughts  toward  America,  hoping  to  find  there,  with  a  few 
friends,  the  repose  which  seemed  to  have  forsaken  the  old  world. 


CHILDHOOD  AND  YOUTH.  43 

Even  then  his  mind  was  often  visited  by  that  anxiety  about  the 
retrogression  of  the  present  generation  toward  barbarism,  which 
troubled  the  last  months  of  his  life.  In  later  years,  he  would 
certainly  never  have  thought  of  America  as  a  place  to  settle  in. 
Both  the  want  of  any  proper  nationality  among  that  amalgam  of 
races,  and  the  absence  of  any  historical  antecedents  in  their  cir- 
cumstances, as  well  as  the  predominance  of  the  mercantile  in- 
terest, and  the  want  of  literary  society,  would  have  prevented 
that  country  from  ever  becoming  a  congenial  residence  to  him. 


IT 


-V 


CHAPTER  II. 

,NTEBUHR'S   COLLEGE    LIFE,    FROM  1794  TO  1796. 

AT  Easter,  1794,  Niebuhr  commenced  his  studies  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Kiel.  He  found  his  position  and  society  here  infinitely 
more  agreeable  than  in  Hamburgh.  Indeed,  he  could  hardly 
have  been  more  favorably  situated,  for  the  students  were  at  that 
time  in  general  characterized  by  industry  and  morality,  while 
most  of  the  professors  were  men  of  distinguished  talent,  and  ap- 
pear to  have  shown  great  kindness  in  admitting  the  students  to 
friendly  intercourse  with  themselves.  He  found  in  the  aged  Pro- 
fessor Hensler,  who  was  head  physician  to  the  University,  and  a 
friend  of  his  father's,  a  man  full  of  intellect,  feeling,  and  inform- 
ation, to  whose  house  he  had  constant  access.  Of  all  the  pro- 
fessors, there  was  none  who  attracted  Niebuhr's  lasting  affection 
so  much  as  Dr.  Hensler  ;  but  in  his  house  he  found  another  friend, 
who  exercised  a  still  greater  influence  over  him — one  in  fact,  who, 
by  what  she  was,  and  what  she  did,  affected  his  development  and 
his  destiny  more,  perhaps,  than  any  other  human  being.  She 
was  the  widow  of  a  son  of  Dr.  Hensler,  who  had  died  very  young, 
and  from  that  time  she  had  resided  with  her  father-in-law,  to 
whom  she  supplied  the  place  of  a  daughter.  She  was  a  woman 
of  strong  and  healthy  mind,  with  much  decision  of  character, 
combined  with  deep  feeling  and  no  ordinary  cultivation — one  of 
those  women  whose  clear  and  correct  judgment  and  ever-ready 
sympathy  render  them  through  life  the  person  to  whom  all  their 
friends  instinctively  turn  for  advice  and  assistance.  She  was  six 
years  older  than  Niebuhr — a  circumstance  which  prevented  any 
shyness  and  restraint  on  her  side,  while  the  unusual  maturity  of 
his  character  rendered  him  not  too  young  to  be  a  companion  to 
her. 

The  professors  with  whom  Niebuhr  chiefly  associated  were,  be- 
sides Hensler,  Hegewisch,  author  of  "  The  History  of  German 
Civilization,"  &c. — a  man  of  considerable  talents  and  attain- 
ments, but  of  no  great  depth  as  a  critic ;  Cramer,  a  well  known 
professor  of  Roman  law  ;  and  Reinhold,  author  of  "  Letters  on  the 
Philosophy  of  Kant,"  and  several  other  philosophical  works,  one 


COLLEGE  LIFE.  45 

of  the  first  who  drew  attention  to  Kant's  philosophy,  which  he 
expounded  in  his  lectures.* 

Among  the  young  men  he  soon  made  the  acquaintance  of 
several  with  whom  he  afterward  formed  sincere  and  lasting  friend- 
ships. Of  these,  were  Conrad  Hensler,  a  relative  of  Dr.  Hensler's ; 
Thibaut,  afterward  a  celebrated  professor  of  jurisprudence  in  Kiel, 
and  subsequently  in  Heidelberg ;  a  M.  von  Spath,  who  had  pre- 
viously served  in  the  army ;  and  a  French  emigrant,  named  Da- 
chon  de  Billiere,  a  man  of  eccentric  character  but  high  principle.! 

Reinhold,  who  had  just  removed  to  Kiel  from  Jena,  excited  so 
great  an  enthusiasm  for  the  study  of  philosophy  that  the  better 
class  of  students  were  ashamed  to  neglect  it.  This  had  an  ele- 
vating influence,  too,  on  their  moral  character.  Reinhold  also 
founded  a  club,  to  which  both  the  professors  and  the  students  were 
eligible,  where  the  meetings  were  designed  principally  for  scien- 
tific conversation,  and  concluded  with  a  frugal  supper.  Niebuhr 
became  a  member  of  this  club,  but  he  did  not  join  in  any  of  the 
societies  confined  to  the  students. 

He  studied  at  Kiel  till  Easter,  1796.  During  his  first  year,  he 
attended  lectures  on  German  and  Danish  history,  by  Hegewisch ; 
on  jurisprudence  and  the  institutes,  by  Cramer;  on  logic,  meta- 
physics, and  moral  philosophy,  by  Reinhold ;  on  natural  philoso- 
phy, organic  and  inorganic  chemistry,  by  Eimbke ;  on  aesthetics, 
by  Nasser.  What  lectures  he  attended  during  the  latter  year  of 
his  stay  his  friends  can  not  recollect  with  certainty  :  most  probably 
some  on  anthropology  by  Hensler,  and  the  Pandects  by  Cramer. 
Philology  and  history  continued  to  be  his  favorite  pursuits,  but  he 
carried  them  on  by  himself,  and  attended  none  of  the  college  lec- 
tures on  these  subjects,  excepting  the  two  courses  by  Hegewisch, 
before  mentioned.  Though  in  later  life  he  was  far  from  possessing 
a  metaphysical  cast  of  mind,  it  appears  that  at  this  time  he  de- 
voted himself  with  great  zeal  to  the  study  of  philosophy,  particu- 
larly the  system  of  Kant.  The  Greek  and  Roman  classics  were 
at  all  times  the  most  attractive  to  him ;  but  while  at  college  he 
only  permitted  himself  to  read  them  as  a  sort  of  reward  for  in- 
dustry. {When  reading  the  ancients,  he  completely  lived  in  their 

*  He  was  son-in-law  to  Wieland,  and  the  predecessor  of  Ficlite  at  Jena. 

t  Though  he  did  not  stir  from  hi*  house  for  weeks  together,  he  spent  nearly 
all  his  leisure  hoars  in  reading  travels,  many  of  which  he  obtained  from  the 
elder  Niebnhr ;  and  he  used  to  beg  him  to  send  him  none  in  any  country  nearer 
than  Turkey,  because  all  that  described  European  countries  reminded  him  so 
strongly  of  the  Revolution  that  be  could  not  bear  to  read  them. 


46  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

world  and  with  them.  He  once  told  a  friend,  who  had  called  on 
him  and  found  him  in  great  emotion,  that  he  often  could  not  bear 
to  read  more  than  a  few  pages  at  a  time  in  the  old  tragic  poets  ; 
he  realized  so  vividly  all  that  was  said  and  done  and  suffered,  hy 
the  persons  represented.  He  could  see  Antigone  leading  her  blind 
father — the  aged  GEdipus  entering  the  grove — he  could  catch  the 
music  of  their  speech,  and  felt  certain  that  he  could  distinguish 
the  true  accent  of  the  Greeks,  though  he  could  not  reproduce  it 
with  his  barbarian  tongue. 

His  liveliness  of  imagination,  and  quickness  and  depth  of  feeling, 
rendered  his  mental  condition  extremely  variable ;  his  sense  of 
enjoyment  was  so  keen,  that  any  thing  which  gave  him  pleasure 
would  at  times  affect  him  even  to  tears,  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
trivial  circumstances  would  occasion  him  an  unwarrantable  de- 
gree of  annoyance,  or  even  excite  him  to  momentary  asperity. 
His  sensitive  physical  temperament  aggravated  this  tendency,  and 
when  he  was  suffering  in  body  or  had  over-studied  himself,  he 
became  dull  and  incapable  of  mental  exertion,  and  in  such  cases 
he  would  often  fancy  that  his  faculties  were  giving  way ;  but  an 
interesting  conversation  with  a  friend,  or  a  literary  work  of  im- 
portance, was  sufficient  to  recover  him  from  this  state,  and  restore 
him  to  his  mental  powers. 

The  series  of  letters  to  his  parents  only  extends  to  the  middle 
of  December,  1794,  when  it  is  interrupted,  and  we  have  no  more 
addressed  to  them  from  that  time  to  January,  1798.  Of  all  that 
he  wrote  in  the  succeeding  years,  but  few  have  been  preserved. 
After  the  death  of  his  father,  he  requested  to  haVe  them  returned 
to  him,  and  all  except  those  inserted  in  the  "  Lebensnachrichten" 
were  destroyed  when  his  house  at  Bonn  was  burnt  down  in  1830. 
Were  the  complete  series  still  in  existence,  there  would  be  little  to 
add  to  their- records  of  his  life  up  to  the  time  of  his  father's  death. 

The  following  extracts  will  give  a  picture  of  his  life  and  mind 
during  the  first  year  of  his  university  career,  beginning  when  he 
was  seventeen  years  and  a  half  old. 

I. 

TO  HIS  PAEENTS. 

KIEL,  llth  May,  1794. 

MY  DEAR  PARENTS — When  I  remember  the  anxiety  and  sorrow  we  felt 
at  parting,  my  gloomy  ideas  of  this  place,  my  melancholy  at  being  trans- 
planted, from  my  quiet  peaceful  occupations  in  the  midst  of  you  all,  to 
this  noisy  town,  and  the  deep  silence  of  my  solitary  room,  &c.,  how  glad 


COLLEGE  LIFE.  47 

and  thankful  I  am  to  have  found  every  thing  better  than  my  expectations. 
I  would  give  a  great  deal — yes,  what  I  prize  most  of  all,  some  days  of  my 
future  stay  with  you — if  you  could  know  a  little  sooner  how  happy  I  am, 
if  you  could  know  it  at  this  moment  while  I  am  writing. 

On  Friday  morning  I  paid  my  calls.  I  found  neither  Dr.  Hensler  iior 
Hegewisch  nor  Cramer  at  home :  thence  I  went  to  call  on  Ehler,  who  was 
supplying  the  place  of  Fabricius,  as  Dean  of  Philosophy,  during  his  travels. 
Then  I  took  a  walk,  and  enjoyed,  even  to  sadness,  the  beauty  of  the  scen- 
ery, the  blue  sea,  the  flowery  meadows,  the  green  forest,  and  the  singing 
of  the  nightingales.  Hensler  sent  for  me  to  come  to  him  at  six.  You 
may  believe  I  did  not  keep  him  waiting.  I  had  expected  a  friendly  re- 
ception, but  not  such  a  one  as  I  found.  I  was  shown  into  his  library, 
where  he  came  to  me,  and  accosted  me  with  such  hearty  kindness  that  he 
won  me  instantly.  Other  people  came  in  afterward :  but  they  did  not 
put  a  stop  to  our  conversation,  indeed  Eimbke  rather  helped  it  on.  As  I 
went  away,  Hensler  told  me  I  might  come  again  as  often  as  I  liked ;  and 
he  would  do  with  me  as  he  had  done  with  some  of  his  young  friends  be- 
fore, send  me  into  the  library  if  he  was  busy.  I  shall  certainly  not  neglect 
this  opportunity  of  gaining  both  information  and  enjoyment.  I  told  him 
of  my  great  wish  to  see  Reinhold,  and  he  promised,  when  he  saw  him,  to 
try  and  get  me  an  invitation.  Yesterday  I  found  Hegewisch  at  home  at 
last,  but  only  for  a  few  minutes  ;  he  had  to  go  to  an  examination.  He 
was  very  friendly,  and  said  he  hoped  we  should  have  many  walks  together. 
By  his  invitation-  I  remained  with  Mrs.  H.,  the  first  cultivated  woman  1 
have  seen  as.  yet  in  Kiel,  except  those  whom  I  may  have  seen  at  the  win- 
dows perhaps  without  knowing  them.  Carl  Cramer's*  misfortune  was 
the  subject  of  our  conversation.  She  was  so  polite  as  to  invite  me  to  call 
frequently.  Thence  I  went  to  the  Library,  where  I  made  the  acquaintance 
of  Kordes,  who  was  extremely  civil  to  me. 

I  have  just  returned  from  Dr.  Hensler's  again.  I  aril  to  call  on  Reinhold 
to-morrow.  Hensler  has  obtained  permission  for  me  to  do  so.  1  am  in  a 
fever  of  impatience.  Hensler  assures  me,  he  never  saw  any  man  whose 
first  address  so  instantly  prepossesses  you  in  his  favor  and  so  irresistibly 
wins  your  heart.  If  I  could  but  feel  as  free  with  him  as  with  Hensler ! 
I  am  convinced  that  Hensler  takes  a  great  interest  in  me.  My  ideas 
about  the  origin  of  the  Greek  tribes,  the  history  of  the  colonization  of  the 
Greek  cities,  and  my  notions  in  general  about  the  earliest  migration  from 
west  to  east,  are  new  to  him,  and  he  thinks  it  probable  that  they  may  be 
correct.  He  exhorts  me  to  work  them  out,  and  bring  them  into  as  clear  a 
form  as  I  can.  But  he  will  only  allow  me  to  study  philosophy  for  the 
present ;  I  am  to  let  other  matters  rest,  or  at  least  do  very  little  in  them. 
I  think,  however,  he  will  let  me  do  more  as  soon  as  my  progress  in  philos- 
ophy will  allow  of  it  without  injury  to  my  health,  about  which  I  have  con- 
'  nutted  him.  I  am  much  pleased  to  find  that  Hensler  agrees  with  my 
political  principles ;  and  he  is  equally  pleased  that  Reinhold  agrees  with 
him.  My  dinner  society  is  very  good.  Among  others  I  single  out  the 
advocate  Jahn  as  a  man  of  talent ;  but  I  have  not  yet  had  much  conver- 
sation with  him.  Hensler  has  arranged  my  course  of  study  thus  : — Ger- 

*  The  brother  of  the  professor  of  this  name  before  mentioned,  and  likewise  a 
professor  in  Kiel.  He  lost  bis  professorship  at  this  time,  owing  to  his  openly 
expressed  admiration  of  the  French  Revelation. 


48  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

man  History,  with  Hegewisch ;  Jurisprudence,  with.  Cramer ;  Logic  and 
Metaphysics,  with  Reinhold ;  and  ^Esthetics. 

II. 

KIEL,  27th  May,  1794. 

I  just  fancy  myself  hack  again  among  you  all  with  great  vividness,  and 
can  assure  you  honestly,  that  it  gives  me  much  more  pleasure  than  pain. 
I  prize  the  advantages  of  Meldorf,  and  can  tell  you,  that  though  I  am  very 
happy  here,?  I  learn  nothing,/ putting  Reinhold's  instructions,  and  some 
other  things,  out  of  the  question,  ^compared  to  what  I  could  at  home,  in 
my  own  room ;  for  as  to  German  History,  I  already  know  nearly  all  that 
comes  in  the  lectures,  and  could  learn  more  by  myself./  But  this  I  say 
only  to  my  most  intimate  friends,  and  to  them  in  such  a  way  that  they 
can  see  I  am  very  well  contented  here  on  the  whole.  I  have  now,  I  think, 
completed  the  circle  of  my  more  intimate  friends,  and  do  not  mean  to  ex- 
tend it.  It  consists  of  Reinhold,  Hensler,  Hegewisch,  and,  among  the 
young  men,  Purgstall,  Maisl,  Meier  of  Altona,  Thibaut,  and  Conrad  Hensler. 

Of  philosophical  books  which  I  do  not  understand,  I  have  so  far  a  super- 
fluity. I  Since  I  heard  that  Fichte  has  begun  to  defend  the  right  of  insur- 
rection (which,  however,  Kant  and  Reinhold  abhor),  and  to  deny  the 
obligation  of  treaties,  I  begin  to  fear  that  men  are  abusing  the  mysteries 
of  philosophy^  from  which  I  expected,  and,still  expect,  the  elucidation  and 
solution  of  the  most  important  questions,  to  the  establishment  of  the  most 
dreadful  sophisms,  or  at  least  that  a  skillful  hand  may  so  abuse  them. 
|  And  then,  if  philosophy  itself  be  turned  against  the  cause  of  right  and 
civil  order,  and  the  power  of  the  mob  be  backed  by  the  authority  of  bril- 
liant fallacies,  what  refuge  from  their  united  tyranny  is  left  us  but  death  ? 

I  long  to  get  back  to  my  ancients,  my  best  friends,  to  whom  I  owe  all 
my  thoughts,  at  least  on  such  subjects,  to  Aristotle  and  Cicero.  Oh  that 
it  were  permitted  me,  if  only  like  the  last  of  these,  to  attain  an  imperfect 
wisdom,  and  to  expound  it  with  his  majesty  of  style  ! 

III. 

KIEL,  7th  June,  1794. 

This  day  twelvemonth  was  a  memorable  one  to  me.  It  was  the  day  I  left 
Meldorf  for  Hamburgh.  I  do  not  know  whether  the  recollection  of  it  is 
cheering  or  depressing,  but  I  am  very  fond  just  at  present  of  looking  back 
upon  many  things  that  occurred  this  time  last  year.  This  day  month  too, 
I  left  you  for  the  second  time  in  my  life.  The  first  month  in  Hamburgh 
did  not  pass  away  with  such  happy  speed  as  this  has  done.  There  I  suf- 
fered from  illness  and  melancholy  ;  here  I  enjoy  health  and  spirits.  And 
even  if  I  had  learnt  little  or  nothing  of  lasting  value  to  me,  except  from 
Reinhold  and  Hensler  (though  I  have  learnt  a  great  deal  besides),  should 
I  have  cause  to  regret  that  I  can  not  pursue  my  favorite  study  here,  at 
least  never  with  sufficient  assiduity  ?  Ought  not  the  prospect  of  finding 
no  insuperable  difficulties  in  philosophy,  to  rejoice  me  as  it  does,  even  though 
I  may  never  be  able  to  master  it  entirely,  but  only  to  comprehend  its 
general  outline?  I  do  not  natter  myself  with  the  idea  that  I  shall  ever 
become,  properly  speaking,  a  critical  philosopher.  No,  that  I  dare  not 
hope  "for,  because  I  can  not  devote. my  whole  life  to  this  study,  and  indeed 
think  I  can  employ  it  more  profitably  in  active  exertion.  The  philoso- 


COLLEGE  LIFE.  49 

pher's  satisfaction  ends  with  speculation.  But,  as  Bolingbroke  justly  re- 
marks, he  who  speculates  in  order  to  act,  goes  further.  I  could  wish  I 
had  it  in  my  power  to  do  this,  and  to  that  end,-  should  like  to  devote  two 
years  to  philosophy,  and  then  to  study  jurisprudence  as  long  as  might  be 
necessary.  But  if  I  must  be  content  with  one  year  -of  philosophy,  and 
even  divide  the  latter  half  of  that  with  jurisprudence,  I  will  at  least  as  far 
as  I  can,  strive  to  gain  a  thorough  insight  into  the  system  of  the  Critical 
philosophy,  and  when  I  have  once  got  on  the  right  track,  follow  it  perse- 
veringly  till  I  have  found  either  truth,  or  the  impossibility  of  truth.  It 
would  certainly  have  been  a  good  thing  for  me,  to  have  inured  myself  pre- 
viously to  meditation,  by  the  study  of  other  systems  of  philosophy  ;  and 
yet  on  the  other  hand,  as  it  is,  I  can  plant  every  thing  in  a  fresh  soil ;  no 
preconceived  notions  stand  in  the  way  of  those  which  Reinhold  communi- 
cates to  me.  If  it  were  possible  for  him  to  develop  all  his  ideas  (or  even 
some  of  them)  in  my  mind  with  half  his.  clearness  of  thought,  how  would 
even  my  skepticism  vanish  !  But  unfortunately  I  have  only  been  able  so 
far  to  clear  up  my  ideas  to  a  very  small  extent,  and  have  to  struggle  with 
obscurity  on  all  sides.  True,  it  is  gradually  dispersing,  and  has  already 
given  way  on  some  points ;  still,  ]  constantly  feel  my  weakness,  and  wish 
for  more  power  of  thought  than  1  possess-.  We  have  now  come  to  the 
faculty  of  Cognition,  consequently  have  finished  the  Representational  facul- 
ty. In  the  holidays  I  intend  to  study  all  we  have1  gone  through  as  thor- 
oughly as  I  can,  that  when  Reinhold  returns,  I  may  lay  before  him  the 
principal  points  which  I  do  not  understand.  .'  ,,  - 

I  have  received  the  globe  through  II.,  and  with  the  assistance  of  that 
and  Dalrymple's  Collection  of  Voyages  of  Discovery,  I  mean  to  begin  a 
description  of  the  South  Sea :  this  will  form  the  subject  of  my  first  essay ; 
the  second  will  be  on  the  regions  about  Greenland,  Iceland,  and  the  doubt- 
ful Friesland,  with  reference  to  the  voyages  of  the  Zeni.  It  may  also  in- 
clude some  islands,  probably  fabulous,  and  certainly  not  now  in  existence, 
which  on  this,  and  other  old  globes,  are  placed  between  Europe  and 
America.  You  see  how  busy  I  am.  Whether  I  shall  be  able  to  accom- 
plish all  this,  time  will  show ;  but  it  is  a  work  in  which  no  one  can  help 
me. 

I  have  caught  a  little  cold,  so  I  did  not  get  up  till  nearly  six  this  morn- 
ing, and  have  not  done  much  to-day  beyond  beginning  my  researches  con- 
cerning Solomon's  Islands,  about  which  our  globe  gives  quite  new  results. 
Yesterday  and  to-day  I  have  read  a  great  deal  in  Pope,  and  it  has  quite 
refreshed  me.  > 

How  much  I  shall  have  to  read  merely  about  Solomon's  Islands !  An 
they  really  the  New  Hebrides  of  Bougainville,  Cook,  and  Forster?  or  are 
they  the  Britanniaa  of  Carteret  and  Darapier? 

I  often  take  walks  with  Maisl.  Our  conversation  is  mostly  about  his- 
tory ;  for  as  he  attends  Hegewisch's  lectures  on  Universal  History,  as  well 
as  those  on  German  History,  he  repeats  to  me  the  most  important  of 
Hegewisch's  propositions  in  a  condensed  form,  which  I  am  often  forced  to 
dispute,  but  have  notwithstanding  almost  as  great  a  respect  for  Hege- 
wisch's learning  as  for  Hensler's,  which  is  saying  every  thing. 

I  have  not  as  yet  fully  explained  to  any  body  but  Hensler,  my  ideas 
about  the  colonization  of  Greece,  and  the  whole  of  Asia  Minor,  including 
Armenia,  from  the  West.  For  the  peopling  of  the  rest  of  Asia,  I  assume, 

C 


50  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

1.  the  Aramaic  or  Assyrian  race,  to  which  belong  the  Arabs,  Jews,  Syri- 
ans, Assyrians,  Chaldees,  and  Medes,  of  more  or  less  pure  descent;  2.  the 
Indo-Persic;  3.  the  Tartar;  4.  the  Mongul ;  and  5.  probably  the  Chinese 
race.  Taking  this  as  a  basis,  we  can  proceed  further,  and  shall  obtain 
every  where  at  last  the  same  result,  viz.,  that  these  great  national  races 
have  never  sprung  from  the  growth  of  a  single  family  into  a  nation,  but 
always  from  the  association  of  several  families  of  human  beings,  raised 
above  their  fellow  animals  by  the  nature  of  their  wants,  and  the  gradual 
invention  of  a  language,  each  of  which  families  probably  had  originally 
formed  a  language  peculiar  to  itself.  This  last  idea  belongs  to  Reinhold. 
By  this  I  explain  the.  immense  variety  of  languages  among  the  North 
American  savages,  which  it  is  absolutely  impossible  to  refer  to  any  com- 
mon source,  but  which,  in  some  cases,  have  resolved  themselves  into  one 
language,  as  in  Mexico  and  Peru  for  instance ;  and  also  the  number  of 
synonyms  in  the  earliest  periods  of  languages.  On  this  account,  I  main- 
tain that  we  must  make  a  very  cautious  use  of  differences  of  language  as 
applied  to  the  theory  of  races,  and  have  more  regard  to  physical  conform- 
ation, which  latter  is  exactly  the  same,  for  instance,  in  most  of  the  Indian 
tribes  of  North  America.  I  believe  further  that  the  origin  of  the  human 
race  is  not  connected  with  any  given  place,  but  is  to  be  sought  every 
where  over  the  face  of  the  earth  :  and  that  it  is  an  idea  more  worthy  of 
the  power  and  wisdom  of  the  Creator,  to  assume  that  he  gave  to  each  zone 
and  each  climate  its  proper  inhabitants,  to  whom  that  zone  and  climate 
would  be  the  most  suitable,  than  to  assume  that  the  human  species  has  de- 
generated in  such  innumerable  instances.  Here  is  one  of  the  most  import- 
ant elements  of  history  still  remaining  to  be  examined,  that  which  is,  in 
truth,  the  very  basis  upon  which  all  history  must  be  reared,  and  the  first  prin- 
ciple from  which  it  must  proceed.  This  of  all  subjects  should  be  thoroughly 
investigated  in  the  first  place ;  and  then  (to  which  philosophy  is  necessary) 
a  universal  history  ought  to  be  written,  which  should  exhibit  all  nations 
from  the  same  point  of  view.  This  point  of  view  Reinhold  beautifully 
defines  as  the  relation  between  reason  and  sensation.  When  this  univer- 
sal history  is  completed,  the  separate  history  of  each  country  should  follow. 
This  is  the  way  in  which  I  would  teach  history,  if  I  had  Hegewisch's 
learning  and  position.  But  the  latter  I  wish  for  less  and  less  the  more  I 
know  of  it.  H.  began  to  talk  to  me  one  day  as  if  he  wished  to  attract  me 
to  the  academical  profession ;  but  withdrew  his  proposals,  when  I  assured 
him  that  I  should  desire  a  life  of  greater  activity,  and  more  opportunity  to 
make  myself  useful,  especially  in  such  times  as  ours.  This  he  quite  ap- 
proved of,  and  advised  me,  therefore,  zealously  to  study  Roman  law,  and 
pitied  me  for  having  to  devote  so  much  time  to  other  things ;  but  as  to 
this  too  every  thing  depends  upon  the  point  of  view  from  which  we  regard 
our  studies,  and  the  manner  in  which  we  pursue  them.  I  have  not  yet 
told  Hensler  of  our  projects,  because  they  are  growing  rather  problematical 
to  me  ;  but  he  bids  me  take  courage  whatever  happen,  for,  he  says,  I 
should  be  certain  to  rise  by  my  own  exertion  without  any  occasion  for 
servility.  That  I  voluntarily  go  to  no  parties,  has  his  full  approbation. 
They  rob  me  of  the  evening  and  the  morning  hours ;  and.  what  is  still 
worse,  of  the  calmness  of  mind  which  must  be  undisturbed  by  dissipation, 
if  one  is  to  work. 


COLLEGE  LIFE.  51 

IV. 

K«L,  6th  July,  1794. 

My  health  ia  but  indifferent.  Hegewisch  leaves  this  week,  and  then  the 
lectures  on  German  History  will  be  over.  I  mean  to  employ  the  hours  I 
shall  then  have  at  liberty,  in  walking  to  Dusterabrook,  with  a  book,  and 
reading  there  till  toward  noon.  Of  course,  I  shall  not  at  first  take  the 
"Critique  of  Pure  Reason,"  or  the  "Theory  of  the  Representational 
Powers,"  to  amuse  myself  with;  but  a  simple  historical  work  or  a  poet, 
Hume,  Demosthenes,  Pope,  or  something  of  that  kind.  The  "  Critique  of 
Pure  Reason,"  however,  is  not  comparatively  so  very  difficult,  and  some 
chapters  seem  to  me  quite  easy  to  understand,  very  forcible,  and  when  you 
are  able  to  enter  properly  into  their  spirit,  very  clear.  Hensler  thinks  me 
already  quite  competent  to  take  the  "Critique"  in  hand,  but  forbids  me  to 
do  so  on  account  of  my  health. 

My  acquaintance  with  M.  has  been  pat  a  stop  to  by  the  difference  of 
our  principles ;  and  what  is  strange,  not  in  politics,  but  philosophy.  He 
denies  the  freedom  of  the  will,  and  the  moral  law ;  is  a  fatalist  and  indif- 
ferentist :  1  subscribe  to  Kant's  principles  with  all  my  heart.  I  have 
broken  with  M.,  not  from  any  dispute  we  have  had,  but  on  account  of  the 
detestable  conclusions  which  necessarily  follow  from  his  opinions,  conclu- 
sions that  absolutely  annihilate  all  morality.  I  really  loved  him  notwith- 
standing, but  with  such  principles  1  could  not  be  his  friend. 

V. 

KIEL,  20th  July,  1794 

You  will  see  from  the  above  that  I  am  in  good  spirits.  My  occupations 
acquire  new  charms  for  me,  and  grow  easier  too,  the  further  I  advance  and 

the  more  I  get  used  to  them. 

My  head  swims  when  I  survey  what  I  have  yet  to  learn — philosophy, 
mathematics,  physics,  chemistry,  natural  history.  Then,  too,  I  must  per- 
fect myself  in  history,  German  and  French,  and  study  Roman  law,  and  the 
political  constitutions  of  Europe  as  far  as  I  can,  and  increase  my  knowledge 
of  antiquities ;  and  all  this  must  DA  done  within  five  years  at  most,  so  far 
as  a  foundation  can  be  laid  in  that  time,  for  truly  it  will  not  allow  me  to 
accomplish  more  than  that  with  regard  to  most  of  these  things;  arid  it 
would  be  hard  indeed  if  I  could  not  find  time  and  opportunity  afterward  to 
complete  the  superstructure.  I  must  know  all  these  things,  but  how  I 
shall  learn  them,  Heaven  knows !  That  I  shall  require  them,  as  a  learned 
man,  or  in  any  position  I  may  occupy,  I  am  fully  convinced. 

VI. 

KIEL,  27*4  July,  1794. ' 

My  health  and  spirits  are  quite  restored,  my  dearest  parents.  I  feel 
that  I  have  made  some  progress  in  philosophy,  and  cleared  the  way  for 
much  more,  so  that  I  have  not  labored  in  vain;  I  see  at  last  what  I  have 
yet  to  learn,  and  why  I  must  learn  it.  I  have  received  much  assistance 
lately  in  this  respect  from  a  treatise  of  Spinoza's,  which  has  wonderfully 

strengthened  my  mind  and  cleared  up  my  thoughts I  mean  to 

make  an  abstract  of  all  the  best  works  that  I  read  in  every  department  of 
my  studies,   and   arrange   every  subject  under  certain  heads. ......      I 

think  I  shall  make  th«  most  rapid  progress  in  knowledge,  by  perfecting  my 


52  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

acquaintance  with  the  sciences  that  I  have  begun.  In  the  seven  years 
between  this  and  my  twenty-fifth  year,  I  should  like  to  lay  a  foundation  in 
all  the  sciences  that  will  be  useful  to  me,  so  that  afterward  I  might  be 
able  to  keep  pace  with  the  progress  of  the  age  on  all  subjects,  and  to  ad- 
vance before  it  on  some  points,  which  I  shall  be  all  the  more  capable  of 
doing  from  understanding  them  in  their  connection  with  the  rest.  I  think 
that  then  (though  I  might  reach  my  thirtieth  year  before  completing  the 
work  that  would  only  serve  as  an  introduction  to  any  creative  labors  of  my 
own  in  science),  I  should  know  all  that  Bolingbroke  requires  for  a  com- 
petent statesman.  And  though  I  have  quite  loat  the  foolish  ambition 
which  made  me  think  of  aiming  at  high  offices  of  state,  the  inward  gam 
would  still  be  left  me,  the  consciousness  of  having  developed  my  powers, 
and  rendered  myself  fit  for  usefulness. 

VII. 

KIEL,  2d  August,  1794. 

I  now  know  who  are  the  men  worth  knowing  at  the  university, 

and  can  reckon  all  the  best  of  them  among  my  friends,  or  at  least  my  ac- 
quaintance. We  form  a  sort  of  circle,  which  Thibaut  and  I  had  thought 
of  bringing  together  in  a  literary  club,  but  we  shall  hardly  be  able  to 
manage  it  this  whiter. 

Purgstall's  love  for  Greek  is  on  the  wane,  since  he  took  to  spending  the 
Saturdays  and  Sundays  in  the  neighboring  country  places ;  and  it  makes 
me  dislike  the  hour  from  six  to  seven,  that  I  sacrifice  to  him  out  of  friend- 
ship. I  am  vexed  at  it,  and  yet  I  do  not  like  to  let  him  see  this,  lest  he 
should  lose  all  liking  for  the  lesson ;  in  other  respects  I  like  him  as  well  as 
ever ;  perhaps,  too,  he  is  suffering  from  home-sickness. 

I  hope  much  from  the  winter,  when  I  shall  take  advantage  of  the  long 
candle-light  evenings  in  a  warm  room.  The  winter  after,  I  shall  spend  at 
home,  and  go  on  with  philosophy,  ancient  literature,  my  researches  in  Greek 
history,  and  mathematics.  How  much  I  shall  be  able  to  get  through 
then  in  six  or  seven  months  !  I  should  like  at  that  time,  by  way  of  prac- 
tice, to  deliver  some  lectures  on  the  principles  of  the  Critical  Philosophy 
to  my  friends.  I  should  not  bring  forward  any  new  doctrines ;  I  have 
not  capacity  for  that.  Probably  I  might  throw  light  on  some  points,  but 
history  is  my  vocation,  and  to  that  I  shall  perhaps  some  day  make  my 
philosophical  acquisitions  subservient.  I  shall  very  likely  attend  lectures 
on  the  Institutes  this  winter.  Reinhold's  "  Letters,"*  to  say  the  truth 
(and  a  great  part  of  the  "Elucidations"),  are,  to  my  taste,  as  insipid  as 
his  "  Theory"  is  delightful. 

If  I  could  introduce  to  you  the  friends  with  whom  I  am  on  terms  of  in- 
timacy, or  describe  them  to  you,  you  woul<!  say  I  had  chosen  well,  and 
esteem  me  happy  to  have  found  such  in  Kiel.  Of  some,  I  say  myself,  and 
you  know  I  am  not  over-modest,  that  they  are  better  than  I ;  of  most, 

those  would  say  so,  who  know  us  and  are  impartial In  Thibaut 

I  have  nothing  to  censure  but  a  little  obstinacy,  and  a  leaning  to  democ- 
racy, which  does  not,  however,  prevent  my  loving  him,  since  it  seems  to 
me  excusable  in  him,  considering  his  descent  from  the  refugees  of  the  last 
century ;  his  apparent  coldness  gives  way  with  frequent  intercourse,  and 
changes  into  the  sincerest  friendship ;  more  industry,  more  vigor  of  intel- 
*  The  Letters  on  Kant's  Philosophy,  mentioned  above. 


COLLEGE  LIFE.  63 

lect,  more  irreproachable  virtue  and  integrity,  can  not  be  desired  in  a 
human  being  than  he  possesses 

VIII. 

KIEL,  21**  Auerust,  1794. 

Yesterday  afternoon  I  felt  very  gloomy ;  I  set  off  to  Hensler's  to 

cheer  myself  up.  I  went  into  the  library,  and  had  not  been  long  there, 
when  the  servant  was  sent  to  ask  me  down  stairs.  I  fonnd,  besides  Hens- 
ler's wife  and  daughter-in-law,  the  mother  and  sister  of  th«  latter— con- 
sequently countrywomen  of  mine  from  Dithmarsh — and  several  others.  I 
felt  then  really,  to  a  painful  degree,  the  timidity  and  bashfulness  before 
ladies  of  which  I  wrote  to  you  lately.  However  much  I  may  improve  in 
other  society,  I  am  sure  I  must  get  worse  and  worse  every  day  in  their 
eyes ;  and  so,  out  of  downright  shyness,  I  scarcely  dare  speak  to  a  lady ; 
and  as  I  know,  once  for  all,  that  I  must  be  insupportable  to  them,  their 
presence  becomes  disagreeable  to  me.  Yesterday,  however,  I  screwed  up 
my  courage,  and  began  to  talk  to  Miss  Behrens,*  and  young  Mrs.  Hensler. 
Now,  in  gratitude  and  candor,  I  must  confess  that  they  were  sociable 
enough  toward  me  to  have  set  me  at  ray  ease  if  my  shyness  were  not  so 
deeply  rooted.  But  it  is  of  no  use.  I  avoid  them,  and  would  rather  be 
guilty  of  impoliteness,  by  avoiding  them,  than  by  speaking  to  them,  which 
I  should  now  feel  to  be  the  greatest  impoliteness  of  all.  At  last,  however, 
especially  through  taking  a.  walk  with  Hensler  and  Dr.  Behrcns,  I  got  so 
roused  up  that  my  awkwardness  vanished,  and  I  went  home  cured.  Thus 
I  was  healed  by  Hensler's  words  and  looks. 

IX. 

KIEL,  7tk  September,  1794. 

On  Monday  afternoon  I  received,  through  Purgstall,  an  invitation 

from  Madame  de  II.  to  spend  the  evening  with  her.  She  had  been  two 
days  floating  about  on  the  sea  between  here  and  Alsen,  or  whatever'  other 
more  flowery  mode  of  expression  she  may  have  selected.  I  tell  you — and 
I  do  not  know  how  I  shall  keep  it  to  myself  in  Meldorf — she  was  insuffer- 
able, beyond  comparison  worse  than  on  any  former  occasion.  With  a  tone 
of  great  unction,  she  began  to  hold  forth  in  such  an  absurd  style,  upon 
philosophical  subjects,  that  I  could  not  conquer  myself  so  far  as  to  let  my 
silence  be  construed  into  assent.  My  objection  was  indeed  an  modestly 
urged  as  if  it  had  been  directed  against  Eeinhold  himself;  that  I  held  doe 
to  the  lady ;  but  it  only  caused  the  fair  philosopher  to  produce  her  fancied 
arguments  with  all  the  greater  earnestness.  Positively  I  can  not  conceive 
how  we  could  all  take  her  for  a  philosopher.  She  is  nothing  but  a  miser- 
able twaddler,  shallow  and  insipid,  words  without  ideas.  Then,  too,  I  have 
learnt  to  see  through  her  conversational  artifices.  Three  times,  if  not 
more,  have  I  heard  her  tell  the  same  anecdote ;  twice  within  the 'last  few 
days  has  she  repeated  the  same  thing.  We  were  talking  about  Providence. 
The  lady  said  (God  knows  from  what  author  she  took  it)  that  Providence 
could  be  proved  more  convincingly  from  the  arrangements  of  nature,  than 
from  the  course  of  history;  and  I  maintained  the  contrary.  Providence,  I 
said,  like  the  existence  of  God,  was  a  matter  of  faith,  not  of  demonstration^ 
it  lay  beyond  the  province  of  reason,  as  the  "  Critique"  beautifully  shows 
*  Who  wa«  afterward  his  first  wife 


54  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTTHR. 

But  if  our  aim  was  to  find  a  support  for  our  transcendental  faith,  we  could 
not,  strictly  speaking,  rest  safely  on  arguments  about  the  arrangements  of 
nature,  which  could  not  do  more  than  strengthen  the  belief  in  a  supremely 
wise  Cause  of  the  universe,  and  could  not  even  place  this  quite  above  the 
reach  of  attack  from  materialists.  We  must  look  to  the  succession  of  his- 
torical events  for  a  confirmation  of  this  faith.  Perhaps  it  was  the  desire 
of  confounding  the  lady-philosopher  by  a  paradox,  that  incited  me  to  lay 
down  this,  in  itself,  very  tenable  proposition.  However,  it  was  a  barricade 
which,  with  all  her  loquacity,  she  could  not  get  through.  But  before  either 
she  had  owned  herself  vanquished,  which  she  never  would  have  done,  or  I 
had  abandoned  the  strife  from  politeness,  behold  !  there  came  the  master, 
Reinhold  himself,  and  she  was  silent.  I  might  have  talked  on  unrestrain- 
ed, for  I  knew  very  well  that,  to  be  consistent,  Reinhold  must  have  agreed 
with  me.  I  have  been  summoned  to  her  house  several  times  since,  and  on 
Thursday  was  even  invited  to  dinner.  She  has  left  now.  Has  Hamburgh 
changed  this  woman,  or  did  we  see  her  in  Meldorf  through  colored  glass  ? 
It  was  our  frivolity,  good  nature,  vanity,  and  all  out  respective  peculiarities 
of  thought  and  feeling,  which  we  discussed  till  we  brought  ourselves  into  a 
community  of  sentiment,  and  one  and  all  got  our  heads  heated  about  a 
woman  for  whom  the  heart  must  remain  cold,  unless  it  have  run  full  speed 
from  our  control,  and  is  seeking  the  first  gate  to  stop  at  (for  her  heart  is 
nothing  but  a  voice,  and  has  long  ago  evaporated  into  breath,  like  camphor 
in  the  air).  I  repeat,  it  was  our  own  weakness  and  sentimentality  that 
allowed  us  to  find  every  thing  ideal  in  this  woman,  as  ^aw  expositors  do  in 
the  Bible ;  which  is  all  the  more  natural  in  seclusion,  in  proportion  as  we 
have  endeavored  to  do  full  justice  to  what  we  do  not  possess  ourselves,  and 
the  more  ambitiously  we  strive  not  to  be  exposed  to  the  imputation  of 
stupidity,  from  a  want  of  appreciation.  We  were  blind  to  overweening 
pretensions  (which  certainly  indeed  did  not  come  up  to  those  of  yesterday) ; 
lectures,  which  were  meant  for  the  nourishment  and  satisfaction  of  her  un- 
bounded vanity,  we  believed  to  be  devoted  to  our  improvement ;  literally 
the  very  same  questions  have  been  put  to  us  again  upon  these  lectures,  till 
we  were  weary  of  them,  and  now  as  mechanically  as  if  the  word-machines, 
then  perhaps  new,  were  by  this  time  quite  worn  smooth  with  use.  We 
submitted  to  receive  honor  from  her.  However,  the  delusion  is  over  with 
me — a  delusion  that  has  been  dissipated  simply  by  reflection.  For  she 
has  done  me  honor  now  too,  and  no  sort  of  neglect  or  jealousy  has  warped 
my  judgment.  The  honor  that  is  my  due  can  only  be  conferred  on  me  by 
men  like  Reinhold  and  Hensler,  for  they  have  it  in  rich  abundance  to  be- 
stow ;  but  not  by  any  presumptuous  dispenser  of  a  usurped  possession.  I 
will  receive  roses  and  myrtles  from  female  hands,  but  no  laurels ;  I  only  wish 
that  I  may  plant  them,  and  then  be  crowned  by  three  or  five  men 

X.* 

KIEL,  29th  October,  1794. 

It  is  certain  that  I  feel  the  loss  of  all  much  more  deeply,  now 

that  I  have  enjoyed  these  lost  blessings  again  for  a  short  time  in  such  full 
measure,  than  I  did  before,  when  I  lived  in  complete  ignorance  of  the 
future,  and  then  too  forgot  so  many  things  almost  entirely  in  the  complete 
novelty  of  my  position.  What  I  miss,  and  always  shall  miss,  you  know ; 
*  Written  after  having  returned  from  Meldorf. 


COLLEGE  LIFE.  55 

and  I  am  not  sure  that  it  is  good  for  me  to  dwell  upon  it.  My  isolation 
—not  isolation  from  strangers,  that  is  salutary — but  isolation  from  my 
own  family,  from  those  who  are  nearest  and  dearest  to  me  in  the  world — 
this  is  what  would  still  frequently  depress  my  spirits,  if  I  did  not  strive 
with  all  my  might  not  to  feel  it.  The  beginning  of  next  month  shall  find 
me  diligent ;  as  intent  upon  banishing  troublesome  thoughts  as  upon  ad- 
vancing in  knowledge.  Knowledge,  what  is  commonly  called  .learning, 
mere  dull  memory-work,  will  never  be  the  aim  of  my  exertions.  The  one 
thing  needful  is,  to  cultivate  one's  understanding  for  one's  self,  so  as  to 
render  it  capable  of  production.  He  who  merely  crams  himself  with  the 
conceptions  of  other  men's  minds,  clothed  in  forms  foreign  to  his  own 
nature,  will  never  accomplish  much.  Quiet  and  independent  energetic  in- 
dustry can  alone  attain  to  what  is  true,  and  bring  forth  what  is  really 
useful. 

XI. 

KIEL,  I6lh  November,  1794. 

I  am  now  accustomed  to  my  solitude,  and  do  not  get  gloomy 

when  I  am  alone  the  whole  evening,  and  work  till  eleven  o'clock.* 

Yesterday  evening  I  was  much  pleased  to  hear  of  the  new  plan  of  education 
in  France.  "  Go  thy  way,  and  sin  no  more."  That  is  all  that  lies  in  our 

power It  would  heartily  rejoice  me  if  I  could  some  day  conclude  a 

history  of  all  those  horrors,  with  the  account  of  measures  through  which  a 
great  nation  might  become  happy  and  truly  enlightened,  and  should  live 
to  witness  the  result  of  these  judicious  plans 

Hensler  cherishes  views  with  regard  to  my  future  career,  in  which  I  can 
not  fully  concur.  He  wants  me  to  be  a  natural  philosopher,  and  to  make 
the  natural  history  of  antiquity  the  special  object  of  my  investigations 
This  is  a  good  and  worthy  and  beautiful  pursuit  for  those  who  like  it ;  but 
from  the  peculiar  direction  of  my  mind  and  talents,  I  believe  that  nature 
has  intended  me  for  a  literary  man,  an  historian  of  ancient  and  modern 
times,  a  statesman,  and  perhaps  a  man  of  tin-  world ;  although  the  last, 
thank  God,  neither  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word,  nor  in  the  horribla  one 
that  is  usually  associated  with  it;  Meanwhile,  my  individual  taste  will 
certainly  carry  the  day ;  and,  if  my  name-  is  ever  to  be  spoken  of,  I  shall 
be  known  as  an  historian  and  political  writer,  as  an  antiquarian  and 
philologist.  I  study  the  sciences,  which  Hensler  would  make  my  ultimate 
object,  merely  as  the  means  of  procuring  greater  richness  of  ideas,  render- 
ing my  heart  and  head  clear  and  bright,  or  rather  subjecting  my  poor 
heart,  which  will  go  on  sentimentalizing  and  blundering,  to  my  head. 
Meanwhile,  I  constantly  become  more  and  more  estranged  from  the  world, 
in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  term ;  but  the  less  I  mix  myself  up  with  it, 
the  more  affectionately  do  my  thoughts  turn  to  you ;  and  I. trust  that  some 
day,  through  my  love,  obedience,  and  the  fruits  of  my  honest  endeavors,  I 
may,  if  not  reward  you  for  your  love,  at  least  prove  that  ifc  has  not  been 
thrown  away.  Therefore  forgive  me  when  I  am  prolix,  and  forget  myself 
over  my  writing.  I  acknowledge  how  much  I  owe  to  your  care  and  affec- 
tion, and  I  only  regret  that  yon  were  not  stricter  and  more  severe  with 
me :  for  what  would  have  hurt  and  pained  me  at  the  time,  would  how  be 

"  While  it  appears  from  Letter  III.,  that  he  considered  it  late  when  he  was 
not  up  before  six  in  the  moruiug. 


56  MEMOIE,  OF  NIEBUHE. 

very  beneficial  to  me,  and  I  should  ere  this  have  attained  much  that  still 
costs  me  an  effort.  Therefore  I  would  warn  every  one,  whose  child  shows 
a  bad  disposition,  to  hold  him  in  while  he  is  young,  for  there  is  not  much 
fear  of  breaking  his  spirit.  His  innate  impudence  will  protect  him  from 
this ;  and  I  feel,  by  myself,  that  our  faults  can  not  be  torn  up  with  too 
much  violence  in  childhood,  before  they  have  taken  too  deep  a  root.  It  is 
not  every  one  who  is  so  deeply  in  earnest  in  the  effort  to  overcome  his 
faults  as,  God  knows,  I  am.  For  many  others,  therefore,  it  is  yet  more 
necessary;  and  it  is  better  for  him  who  has  a  proneness  to  frivolity  and 
other  vices,  to  "  suffer  in  the  body  that  the  soul  may  be  saved." 

XII. 

KIEL,  23d  November,  1794. 

•    I  will  not  deny,  my  dearest  parents,  that  I  was  distressed  and  hurt  by 
the  undeserved  tone  of  displeasure  which  seemed  to  prevail  in  both  your 
letters.     You  are  dissatisfied  with  me  because  I  seek  no  society,  or  rather 
because  I  avoid  parties But  you  will  allow  that  I  am  at  the  Uni- 
versity, not  to  lead  as  pleasant  a  life  as  I  can,  but  to  turn  all  my  time  and 
powers  to  account.     And  believe  me,  dearest  parents,  it  would  be  impossi- 
ble to  be  as  happy  in  much  society  as  I  am  in  the  feeling  that  my  solitude 
is  well  employed.     When  I  have  completed  my  studies  I  will  enter  the 
world.     Woe  be  to  the  fool  who  enters  it  before  he  has  knowledge  enough 
to  compensate  for  its  emptiness My  dear  parents,  do  not  misunder- 
stand me.     I  do  not  mean  to  be  an  oddity,  and  I  am  not  a  misanthrope. 
......  If  my  letter  has  really  the  morose  tone  which  you,  dearest  mother, 

think  you  perceived  in  it.  it  was  certainly  quite  accidental.  It  may  be 
that  the  strict  mode  of  life  which  I  impose  upon  myself  gives  a  sort  of 
rigidity  to  my  manners  and  every  thing  about  me,  even  to  the  tone  of  my 
letters.  But,  believe  me,  I  am  none  the  worse  for  it.  I  must  do  one  of 
two  things ;  either  I  must  accommodate  myself  to  the  manners  of  our 
vicious,  effeminate,  and  feeble  age.  or  I  must  keep  rny  own  manners,  con- 
sequently my  own  tone  and  mode  of  thinking  and  speaking.  In  the  first 
case,  I  may,  perhaps,  please  a  great  part  of  my  contemporaries,  but  cer- 
tainly not  the  better  part,  nor  myself,  nor  posterity.  In  the  second,  I 
must  indeed  offend  the  partisans  of  the  first,  but  it  will  be  possible  for  me 
to  live  so  as  to  deserve  my  own  approbation,  and  so  as  not  to  pass  away 
with  the  great  multitude  of  my  nameless  contemporaries 

XIII. 

KIEL,  30th  November,  1794. 

I  spent  an  evening  with  Behrens  lately,  and  we  laid  a  wager. 

He  asserts  that  within  a  year,  more  than  one  revolution  will  break  out, 
and  I  assert  the  contrary.  On  the  other  hand,  I  have  offered  to  lay  a 
wager  with  him,  that  in  four  years  a  monarchical  government  will  be  re- 
established in  France.*.  I  find  myself  constantly  confirmed  in  this  opin- 
ion as  I  read  the  English  history,  which  I  do  a -good  deal  in  my  leisure 
moments.  If  I  had  time,  I  should  like  to  get  more  facts  together,  and  as 
it  is,  I  have  found  in  the  very  rare  notices  which  are  inserted  in  the  notes 
to  Algernon  Sidney's  "Discourses,"  and  seem  to  be  quite  unknown  in 

*  If  Niebnhr  had  said_/?»e  years  he  would  have  gained  his  wager.    Napoleon 
was  created  First  Consul  on  the  10th  of  November,  1799. 


COLLEGE  LIFE.  57 

Germany,  very  striking  and  extraordinary  parallels.  Unfortunately  I  have 
no  time  for  employments  of  this  kind  at  present !  And  yet  history  grows 
dearer  and  dearer  to  me,  so  much  so  that  my  ardor  in  reading  history  in- 
terferes with  my  zeal  for  philosophy,  while  no  philosophy  can  blunt  my  in- 
clination to  history ...;..  Salchow  came  in  just  as  1  was  writing  about 
him.  We  took  up  our  usual  occupation.  I  am  dictating  to  him  a  short 
outline  of  the  history  of  the  French  war.  1  am  astonished  at  my  own 
memory,  for  I  still  remember  with  great  distinctness  the  merest  trifles  that 
have  occurred  from  1792  onwards.  •  ."" 

XIV. 

KIEL,  6th,  December,  1794. 

» This  day  is  the  anniversary  of  Algernon  Sidney's  death,  one 

hundred  and  eleven  years  ago,  and  hence  it  is  in  my  eyes  a  consecrated 
day,  especially  as  I  have  just  been  studying  his  noble  life  again.  May 
God  preserve  me  from  a  death  like  his,  yet  even  with  such  a  death,  the 
virtue,  and  holiness  of  his  life  would  not  be  dearly  purchased.  And  now 
he  is  forgotten  almost  throughout  the  world,  and  perhaps  there  are  not 
fifty  persons  in  all  Germany,  who  have  taken  the  pains  to  inform  them- 
selves accurately  about  his  life  and  fortunes.  Many  may  know  his  name, 
many  know  him  from  his  brilliant  talents,  but  they  formed  the  least  part 
of  his  true  greatness 

What  I  am  dictating  to  Salchow  is  not  a  history  of  the  Revolution,  but 
merely  a  brief  outline  of  the  war,  and  is  really  a  recreation  which  serves 
to  exercise  my  memory.  This  trusty  servant  has  preserved  dates  for  the 
last  two  years  of  which  I  have  rarely  thought  a  second  time.  Among  th« 
many  whimsical  crotchets  which  have  plagued  me  from  time  to  time,  I 
once  took  it  into  my  head  that  it  injured  the  judgment  to  strengthen  the 
memory,  and  therefore  resolved  to  give  up  the  latter.  But  nature  was 
kinder  to  me  than  I  deserved.  I  retained  every  thing  without  effort,  and 
now  I  am  as  anxious  to  strengthen  the  one  as  the  other 

My  dictating  to  Salchow  is  no  secret,  and  as  my  -attempt  seems  likely 
to  turn  out  very  well,  I  do  not  care  into  whose  hands  the  paper  may  fall. 
I  do  not  copy  it ;  what  I  have  once  given  forth  I  do  not  like  to  see  again. 
It  is  too  insignificant  to  be  worth  printing;  in  manuscript  it  might  be 
useful  to  an  officer. 

Niebuhr's  intercourse,  however,  during  his  college  life  at  Kiel, 
was  by  no  means  confined  to  the  professors  and  students  of  the 
University,  but  he  was  admitted  into  a  circle  of  the  intellectual 
society  of  Holstein,  which  then  comprised  some  of  the  most  highly 
gifted  persons  of  that  day  in  Germany. 

The  litlle  city  of  Eutin,  delightfully  situated  on  the  wooded 
shores  of  an  extensive  lake,  about  twenty  miles  from  Kiel,  formed 
a  sort  of  centre  to  this  circle.  It  had  formerly  been  an  imperial 
bishopric,  and  was  afterward  secularized  and  transferred  to  Old- 
enburg, with  which  duchy  it  came  into  the  possession  of  Den- 
mark but  still  retained  a  separate  administration,  the  president 

c* 


58  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHB,. 

of  which  at  this  time  was  Count  Frederick  Leopold  Stolberg. 
His  elder  brother  Christian — married  to  a  sister  of  the  two  Counts 
Reventlow — lived  at  no  great  distance  on  his  estates.  The  two 
brothers,  belonging  to  one  of  the  most  ancient  families  in  Ger- 
many, were  both  well  known  as  poets  and  public  men,  though 
the  younger  was  much  the  more  distinguished  of  the  two.  The 
elder  was  a  man  of  noble  and  pure  mind,  and  sincere  religious 
feeling,  and  possessed  talents  of  no  mean  order,  but  he  had  not 
the  originality  nor  the  fiery  depth  of  feeling  which  characterized 
Count  F.  L.  Stolberg.  The  latter  was  full  of  genius,  life,  and 
affection,  but  already  disturbed  by  the  consciousness  of  those  defi- 
ciencies in  his  hereditary  creed  and  church,  which  led,  three 
years  later,  to  his  making  a  profession  of  Catholicism.  The  sec- 
retary to  the  government  was  Nicolovius,  afterward  minister  of 
public  worship  in  Prussia,  whose  acquaintance  Niebuhr  seems  to 
have  made  at  this  time,  and  to  whom  several  of  his  letters  are 
addressed.  Voss  was  rector  of  a  gymnasium  at  Eutin,  and  the 
amiable  and  intellectual  philosopher  and  poet  Jacobi,  likewise 
resided  there  at  that  time.  Near  Kiel  lived  Count  Frederick 
Reventlow,  Curator  of  the  University  of  Kiel,  a  man  of  intellect, 
integrity,  and  high  cultivation ;  a  conservative  in  politics,  and  a 
strict  Lutheran  in  religion.  He  had  lately  returned  from  his 
mission  as  embassador  in  London.  His  wife,  a  sister  of  Count 
Schimmelman,  the  Danish  minister  of  finance,  exercised,  by  her 
brilliant  powers  and  unaffected  religious  fervor,  scarcely  less  in- 
fluence over  the  circle  of  their  associates  than  himself.  The  pro- 
fessors Hensler  and  Cramer  belonged  to  this  coterie.  All  its 
members  were  conservative  in  their  principles  excepting  Voss, 
whose  views,  indeed,  were  so  little  in  unison  with  those  of  the  rest, 
that  they  were  already  beginning  to  divide  him  from  his  friends. 
Niebuhr  spent  his  long  vacations  with  his  parents,  but  his 
shorter  ones  were  generally  passed  at  Eutin,  on  visits  to  Voss, 
Jacobi,  or  Count  F.  L.  Stolberg.  Of  these  Jacobi  had  the  great- 
est influence  over  him.  The  union  in  Jacobi,  of  candor,  amia- 
bility, high  refinement,  and  calm  philosophic  thotight,  with  taste 
and  susceptibility  of  feeling,  particularly  attracted  him.  The  pre- 
.dominance  of  the  moral  sentiment  in  both,  and  their  intense  rev- 
'  erence  for  all  that  was  exalted  and  holy,  was  a  link  between 
them,  and  Niebuhr's  letters  show  that  there  were  few  to  whom 
he  could  so  unreservedly  unbosom  himself.  His  friendship  with 


COLLEGE  LIFE.  59 

him  was  only  broken  by  the  death  of  the  latter  in  1819.  Nie- 
buhr  also  made  the  acquaintance,  about  this  time  of  Schlosser,* 
the  brother-in-law  of  Goethe,  mentioned  in  his  "  Bichtung  und 
Wahrheit,"  and  the  poet  Baggesen,t  whose  talents  he  greatly 
admired,  though  he  regretted  his  unsettled  life  and  character. 
During  the  second  year  of  his  college  life  Niebuhr  became  ac- 
quainted with  Count  Adam  Moltke,  then  residing  at  Kiel,  who 
was  several  years  older  than  himself,  but  admitted  him  to  as  close 
an  intimacy  as  if  they  had  been  on  a  footing  of  equality.  They 
soon  became  bosom  friends,  and  retained  their  affection  for  each 
other  through  life.  Moltke  is  thus  described,  as  he  was  a  few 
years  later,  by  the  eon  of  an  intimate  friend  of  both  himself  and 
Niebuhr. 

"  Count  Adam  Moltke  had  lived  from  about  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century  at  Niitschau,  an  estate  in  Holstein,  which  he 
had  received  as  a  compensation  for  the  loss  of  the  fief  formerly 
held  by  his  family  in  Zealand.  Outwardly  gifted  with  a  mag- 
nificent manly  figure,  a  noble  forehead  and  flashing  eyes,  inwardly 
overflowing  with  energy,  and  rich  in  imagination,  the  principles 
of  the  French  Revolution  had  taken  a  powerful  hold  of  his  mind, 
and  for  years  he  was  among  its  warmest  and  certainly  one  of  its 
purest  adherents.  After  having  visited  a  great  part  of  Europe, 
and  undergone  many  a  bitter  grief,  he  retired  to  Niitschau,  where 
he  strove — apart  from  political  employments,  but  full  of  interest 
in  public  events — to  endure  the  iron  age  in  patience  with  a  strong 
resignation.  He  needed  but  a  few  hours'  sleep,  and  sought  to 
still  his  inward  restlessness  by  the  earnest  and  continuous  study 
of  history ;  in  particular  he  made  himself  acquainted  with  the 
development  of  the  Italian  Republics  of  the  middle  ages  in  its 
minutest  details.  He  often  endeavored  to  give  a  poetical  form  to 
his  mental  life,  or  to  present  an  historical  picture  of  the  well 
known  political  relations  of  past  times,  but  he  was  unable  to 
clothe  the  ideas  floating  in  his  mind,  in  shapes  sufficiently  clear 
and  distinct,  to  render  them  fit  to  go  forth  into  the  external  world. 
Thus  it  was  denied  him  to  take  an  active  part  in  history  either 
by  word  or  deed ;  but  as  in  his  ardent  and  stirring  youth  he  had 

*  Author  of  several  papers  on  various  subjects  connected  with  juris  prudence, 
and  the  translator  of  Aristotle's  Politics  and  Longinns  on  the  Sublime. 

t  Professor  of  the  Danish  language  and  literature  in  Kiel.  lie  had  consider- 
able celebrity  as  a  poet,  both  in  Danish  and  German.  Bis  best  poem  in  the  lat- 
ter language  is,  "  Parthenais  oder  die  Alpenrciseu." 


60  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

exercised  an  irresistible  influence  over  every  one  who  came  in 
-contact  with  him,  so  when  a  man  he  brought  life  and  energy  into 
every  circle  he  entered.  '  He  had  reached  the  perfection  of  his 
nature,'  wrote  Niebuhr,  in  1806,  of  this  the  dearest  friend  of  his 
youth ;  '  he  had  tamed  the  lion,  the  restless  spirit  within  him, 
and  was  employing  his  Oriental  fire  in  the  animation  of  Greek 
forms.'  " 

Niebuhr's  letters  to  Moltke,  of  which  the  following  are  some 
extracts,  are  all  that  have  been  preserved  of  his  correspondence 
during  this  epoch. 

XV. 

TO  COUNT  ADAM  MOLTKE. 

KIEL,  \th  August,  1795. 

I  went  to  your  library  yesterday  to  fetch  Frisch,  for  which  I  thank  you 
in  your  absence.  Remember  Hickes,  for  truly  in  the  sweat  of  our  brow 
must  we  learn  our  mother  tongue,  for  the  jargon  which  we  speak  is  no 
longer  a  language.  Our  forefathers  were  better  off  before  the  Thirty 
Years'  War.  Then  there  was  but  one  speech  for  gentle  and  simple,  and 
that  was  German.  Ours  is  like  our  jurisprudence,  the  Divine-Mosaic-Ro- 
man-Lombard-canonical-German-statutary  code,  as  some  one  calls  it.  Our 
language  is  Greek-Roman-Gallic-German-provincial.  That  most  disas- 
trous of  wars,  which  made  our  princes  absolute  sovereigns,  the  Protestants 
of  Upper  Germany  Catholics,  and  those  of  Lower  Germany  orthodox — 
which  permitted  the  Jesuits  to  flourish,  desolated  the  whole  land,  robbed 
the  Empire  of  its  independence,  and  our  towns  of  their  power — that  la- 
mentable war  has  ruined  our  language  forever.  And  this  want  of  a  lan- 
guage adapted  at  once  to  literature  and  popular  use,  is  a  curse  that  rests 
perpetually  and  exclusively  on  our  nation. 

•  Let  us  deliver  ourselves  from  this  yoke  as  far  as  we  can  !  One  man 
has  done  so,  and  the  result  will  be,  that  this  element  of  his  intellectual 
greatness  will  cause  his  songs  and  orations  to  live  longer  than  those  of  all 
our  other  German  sages.  I  refer  to  Voss,  whose  "Luise"  has  lately  af- 
forded me  such  unequaled  enjoyment,  that  it  were  a  sin  against  friendship 
on  my  part,  if  I,  knowing  the  existence  of  such  a  masterpiece,  did  not  in- 
vite you  al£o  to  contemplate  and  admire  it.  He  may  be  (and  will  be  per- 
haps, for  after  ages)  to  Germany,  what  Homer  and  the  most  perfect  of 
the  Greek  poets  were  to  their  nation.  Did  he  meet  with  such  a  reception 
as  they  found  among  their  unrivaled  fellow-countrymen — were  his  idylls 
publicly  recited  to  the  people,  and  his  songs  sung  in  popular  assemblies, 
how  much  might  such  a  teacher  accomplish  !  He  would  effect  more  that 
was  really  good  and  great  than  the  only  true  philosophy,  should  that  ever 
be  discovered.  I  should  like  to  prescribe  Voss  and  Leasing,  for  you  and 
myself,  as  our  exclusive  aliment.  Voss  forbids  every  author  but  Leasing, 
whom  he  deems  perfect,  except  that  he  wants  rhythm  ;  he  did  not,  indeed, 
name  himself  as  the  second,  but  no  doubt  he  knows  what  he  is,  and  would 
despise  the  false  modesty  of  refusing  to  confess  it  on  a  fitting  occasion. 
Forsake  even  Klopstock,  and  measure  yourself  by  the  severe  standard  of 


COLLEGE  LIFE.  61 

these  men ;  such  at  least  is  my  resolution.  Not  without  reason  do  I 
speak  thus  warmly  of  "  Luise."  It  has  done  what  a  book  scarcely  ever 
did  before — drawn  tears  of  delight  from  my  eyes.  It  is  a  striking1  exam- 
ple that  to  move  the  reader  most  deeply,  the  author  must  be  in  perfect  re- 
pose, and  the  style  of  his  whole  work  calm  and  mellowed.  We  can  never 
sufficiently  study  and  examine  this  late-bom  Greek.  I,  at  least  with  Ho- 
mer, Sophocles,  ^Eschylus,  Pindar,  Horace,  and  him,  would  willingly  re- 
sign all  the  other  poets  in  the  world  :  yet  this  is  too  hastily  written — I 
could  not  relinquish  Theocritus  and  that  German-Greek.  Gessner.  It  will 
seem  strange  to  you,  perhaps  even  ridiculous,  that  I  should  pass  over 
K  kips  took.  It  has  cost  me  much  to  do  so,  but  if  strict  justice  be  done,  I 
fear  he  will  not  stand  before  the  Greek  tribunal.  I  must  except  the  most 
finished  of  his  odes,  which  Alcffius  himself  need  'not  blush  to  acknowledge, 
were  they  ascribed  to  him,  and  also  the  "  Republic  of  the  Learned,"  a 
thoroughly  German  work.  Voss's  criticism  has  robbed  me  of  the  "  Gram- 
mar," and  I  am  ashamed  of  the  praise  I  once  bestowed  on  it.  But  then, 
alas,  the  "Messiah  !"  This  rigid  justice  is  a  sacrifice,  and  as  you  know 
how  I  revere  this  great  creator,  or  rather  resuscitator,  of  our  literature, 
you  will  appreciate  it  as  it  deserves.  I  have  sat  at  his  feet,  and  am  at 
least  not  ungrateful. 

If  you  are  frequently  kept  waiting  for  an  answer  when  you  expect  one 
soon,  there  shall,  at  least,  be  no  delay  whenever  business  is  concerned. 
So  much  for  excuses  and  promises.  I  wish  you  health  and  happiness ! 

NIEBUHR. 

XVI. 

MKT.DORF,  tn  October,  1795, 

The  service  you  have- done  me  is,  as  you  know,  most  essential.  This 
book  shall  occupy  not  a  little  of  my  time  this  winter,  and  it  gives  quite  a 
different  insight  info  our  language,  usually  treated  HO  ignorantly  by  all 
our  modern  grammarians ;  for  who  can  pronounce  what  a  certain  thing 
ought  to  be,  and  what  it  ought  not  to  be,  without  having  traced  it  to  its 
origin,  and  thence  derived  the  laws  of  its  after  course  ?  Wolf,  in  Halle, 
makes  himself  indeed  somewhat  ridiculous  by  his  exaggerated  praises  of 
grammatical  studies  even  o{  the  most  trivial  nature,  for  he  ascribes  far 
too  much  of  the  literary  disgrace  of  our  modem  times  to  the  neglect  of 
such  pursuits,  but  there  is  too  plainly  some  truth  in  what  he  says.  But 
to  adduce  the  ill-effects  on  their  respective  languages,  of  the  rules  laid 
down  by  the  Alexandrine,  and  recently  by  the  Florentine  Academies,  as 
an  argument  against  all  attempts  to  give  a  language  fixed  grammatical 
forms,  is  quite  wrong.  For  these  Academies  set  to  work  in  the  wrong 
way,  they  took  their  forms  from  the  writers  of  their  golden  age,  and  in 
every  age  when  much  has  been  written,  and  by  men  of  talent,  the  lan- 
guage has  swerved  from  its  original  use.  But  it  is  only  from  its  primitive 
style  that  rules  can  be  drawn  why  a  man  must  express  himself  thus,  and 
no  otherwise,  if  he  will  speak  Greek  or  German.  No  instance  from  the 
most  intellectual  and  fertile  author  of  the  most  brilliant  period  can  justify, 
or  even  excuse,  his  successor  for  the  use  of  an  expression  which  offends 
against  those  fundamental  laws.  For  the  former  had  no  more  liberty  than 
I  have.  The  case  is  different  with  secondary  meanings-  and  shades  of 
meanings,  which  depend  more  on  the  spirit  of  the  age.  I  am  not  bonnd 


62  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

to  remain  absolutely  faithful  to  the  sense  which  the  most  ancient  writers 
may  have  affixed  to  a  worcT;  if  the  sense  ascribed  to  it  by  the  moderns  is 
more  suitable,  I  may  make  use  of  it,  and  perhaps  it  is  even  the  duty  of  an 
author  to  obey  custom  in  such  a  case,  in  order  to  make  himself  intelligible. 
But  it  would  certainly  be  advisable  for  our  philosophers  to  examine  into 
the  primitive  meaning  of  the  words  which  they  employ ;  they  would  not 
then  impose  on  them  so  much  more  than  they  can  bear,  and  it  might  lead 
them  to  some  conclusions  which  would  render  many  an  acute  dissertation 
unnecessary.  Hence  I  most  earnestly  wish  to  see  such  an  examination 
undertaken,  and  to  see  it  employed  as  the  foundation,  at  least  in  part,  of 
the  history  of  philosophy.  It  has  long  been  my  conviction  that  such  an 
investigation  must  begin  from  the  beginning,  and  gradually  descend  to  our 
own  times,  if  it  is  to  get  behind  the  scenes  of  the  history  of  systems  and 
opinions,  and  I  was  not  a  little  pleased  to  find  from  Jacobi,  when  he  was 

in  Kiel,  that  he  quite  agrees  with  me Before  all  things  I  must  say 

a  little  more  about  Jacobi.  He  seems  to  me  to  gain  indescribably  by  p^r- 
sonal  acquaintance,  and  to  display  in  all  his  manners,  and  his  whole  being, 
a  noble  nature,  which  his  later  writings  do  not  show  in  its  simplicity. 

To  me  this  shows  how  a  man  of  great  endowments  may  fall  into  thor- 
oughly bad-  mannerism,  and  if  this  once  happens,  there  is  a  danger  of  his 
sinking  into  it  ever  deeper.  But  as  to  the  man  himself,  his  kindness  and 
gentleness,  his  singular  urbanity,  his  eloquence,  the  grace  of  his  manners, 
and  the  rich  unbroken  flow  of  his  discourse,  I  find  that  none  of  his  many 
admirers  have  praised  him  too  highly ;  on  the  contrary,  all  these  qualities 
singly  and  in  combination  surpassed  far  and  far  every  expectation  I  had 
previously  formed.  You  know,  or  may  guess  from  a  conversation  we  had 
not  long  before  your  journey,  that  my  opinion  of  him  had  been  somewhat 
lowered  by  the  judgment  of  men  whom  I  respected.  I  silently  asked  his 
forgiveness  for  it  as  soon  as  I  saw  him,  and  still  more  when  I  knew  him 
better,  for  I  had  this  good  fortune,  and  was  able  to  ask  his  opinion  on 
many  subjects.  Rejoice !  •  He  says  Fichte  is  among  the  first  of  men  and 
philosophers,  and  is  on  the  right  road,  &c 

While  Niebuhr  was  on  a  visit  to  Eutin  in  January,  1796,  Dr. 
Hensler  received  a  commission  from  the  Danish  minister  of 
finance,  Count  Schimmelman,  to  ask  the  young  Niebuhr  if  he 
were  willing  to  accept  the  post  of  private  secretary  to  him  for  a 
few  years.  Some  of  Niebuhr's  productions  had  excited  Schim- 
melman's  interest,  and  he  had  also  frequently  heard  of  him  as  a 
young  man  of  very  eminent  talent  from  his  brother-in-law  Count 
Reventlow,  and  the  Stolbergs.  Dr.  Hensler,  who  was  on  the 
point  of  setting  out  for  Eutin,  took  Count  Schimmelman's  letter 
with  him,  and  communicated  it  to  Niebuhr.  Both  he  and  Hen- 
sler felt  some  hesitation  at  the  interruption  it  would  cause  to  his 
studies ;  still  they  both  perceived  the  great  advantages  of  such  a 
connection,  not  only  as  regarded  his  future  position,  but  also  his 
improvement  in  practical  knowledge. 


COLLEGE  LIFE.  63 

Hensler  knew  also,  that  although  only  nineteen  years  of  age, 
he  was  sufficiently  well  grounded  in  knowledge,  and  ripe  enough 
in  understanding  and  character,  to  perform  the  duties  that  would 
devolve  upon  him  to  Schimmelman'g  satisfaction,  and  to  enter  on 
the  great  world  without  peril  to  his  industry  and  morality.  Stol- 
berg  and  Jacobi  strongly  urged  his  acceptance  of  the  offer.  Nie- 
buhr  referred  the  -decision  unconditionally  to  his  father.  The 
elder  Niebuhr,  who  could  conceive  of  no  pleasure  so  great  as  that 
of  visiting  foreign  countries,  had  originally  wished  that  his  son 
should  follow  in  his  steps,  and  carry  out  the  enterprise  which  he 
had  himself  contemplated.  He  became  afterward  convinced  that 
his  son's  delicacy  of  health  would  prove  an  insuperable  obstacle 
to  such  plans,  but  still  wished  him  to  travel  within  the  limits  of 
the  civilized  world ;  and  when  he  hoped  to  see  him  filling  some 
diplomatic  office,  it  is  hard  to  say,  whether  he  most  desired  it  for 
its  own  sake  as  an  honorable  post  in  the  service  of  the  state,  or 
because  it  would  involve  a  residence  abroad.  For  the  present,  he 
advised  him  to  accept  Count  Schimmelman's  offer,  but  only  in 
the  first  instance  for  a  year,  or  a  year  and  a  half,  so  that  he 
might  afterward  be  at  liberty  to  pursue  his  studies  abroad. 

The  offer  was  therefore  accepted,  and  Niebuhr,  who  had  to 
enter  on  his  post  at  Easter,  left  Kiel  early  in  the  spring,  in  order 
that  he  might  spend  some  weeks  first  with  his  parents.  Moltke 
accompanied  him  to  Meldorf.  While  there,  he  paid  a  visit  to  Dr. 
Behrens,  the  prefect  of  North  Dithmarsh,  and  the  father  of  his 
friend  Madame  Hensler.  At  the  house  of  the  latter  he  had  al- 
ready been  introduced,  as  we  have  seen,  to  her  younger  sister. 
He  had  also  known  Dr.  Behrens  for  some  time,  and  had  a  high 
esteem  for  him  and  his  wife,  but  his  usual  shyness  in  the  society 
of  women  had  prevented  his  ever  entering  into  conversation  with 
the  daughters.  Now,  however,  he  had  a  common  topic  of  in- 
terest in  speaking  of  Madame  Hensler,  and  he  soon  became  deeply 
impressed  with  the  nobleness  and  worth  of  Amelia  Behreus, 
though  he  did  not  express  his  feeling,  and  indeed  scarcely  ven- 
tured to  encourage  the  idea  that  she  would  ever  return  his  at- 
tachment 


CHAPTER  III. 

NIEBUHR'S  FIRST  RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN.    1796—1798. 

COUNT  SCHIMMELMAN  was  the  son  of  a  man  who  had  made  an 
immense  fortune  by  contracting  for  the  army,  and  was  afterward 
ennobled  and  made  a  count.  This  second  count  was  for  thirty 
years  minister  of  finance  and  commerce  in  Denmark,  which  under 
his  administration  enjoyed  a  high  degree  of  prosperity  up  to  the 
time  of  the  ruinous  war  with  England  at  the  beginning  of  this 
century.  The  termination  of  the  slave  trade  and  the  emancipa- 
tion of  the  negroes  in  the  colonies,  were  owing  to  him  (though  he 
was  one  of  the  largest  landed  proprietors  in  the  West  Indies),  and 
he  was  also  the  author  of  many  other  measures  for  the  ameliora- 
tion of  their  moral  and  physical  condition.  Affairs  of  state  did 
not,  however,  engross  his  whole  attention ;  he  took  a  warm  interest 
in  science  and  art,  and  willingly  extended  help  and  encourage- 
ment to  those  engaged  in  their  pursuit.  Yet  this  extraordinary 
man  was  small  almost  to  insignificance  in  person,  of  a  nervous 
and  sensitive  temperament,  and  so  retiring  and  humble  in  his 
manners  that  a  stranger  would  have  fancied  him  quite  oppressed 
with  diffidence.  His  house  was  the  resort  of  all  who  were  dis- 
tinguished for  talents  or  cultivation,  whether  foreigners  or  resi- 
dents in  the  city.  Copenhagen  itself  was  perhaps  at  that  time  in 
its  highest  prosperity ;  its  trade  was  extensive  and  flourishing ; 
the  government  was  greatly  respected  both  at  home  and  abroad. 
Commerce  was  earned  on  with  great  activity ;  travelers  from  all 
regions,  and  natives  of  every  part  of  the  globe,  were  to  be  seen 
there. 

On  his  arrival  in  Copenhagen,  Niebuhr  was  received  by  Count 
Schimmelman  with  a  friendliness  which  at  once  inspired  him 
with  a  very  agreeable  idea  of  his  new  position.  His  first  im- 
pressions were  not  contradicted  by  his  further  experience.  In  a 
short  time  he  had  so  won  the  esteem  arid  confidence  of  Count 
Schimmelman,  and  discharged  the  duties  intrusted  to  him  so 
completely  to  his  satisfaction,  that  the  count  had  hardly  any 
secrets  from  him,  and  used  to  converse  with  him  openly  and 
familiarlv  on  the  weightiest  matters  of  state.  Others  also  sought 


FIRST  RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN.  65 

his  society,  not  only  because  he  was  a  favorite  with  Schimmelman, 
but  for  the  sake  of  the  more  than 'ordinary  life  and  interest  which 
his  intellect  and  vivacity  imparted  to  general  conversation.  His 
position  in  Schimmehnan's  house,  and  the  consideration  which 
his  father  enjoyed,  gave  him  access  to  the  houses  of  the  highest 
families  and  the  most  distinguished  officers  of  state  and  scholars 
in  Copenhagen,  as  well  as  those  of  the  principal  merchants. 

At  first,  Niebuhr  was  highly  delighted  with  this  new  world, 
but  he  soon  found  that  society  took  up  too  much  of  his  time,  and 
interfered  with  the  calmness  as  well  as  the  leisure  requisite  for 
study  during  the  hours  that  Schimmelman  did  not  require  his 
services.  The  consciousness  that  he  was  thus  wasting  his  time, 
and  the  self-dissatisfaction  that  ensued,  affected  his  health  and 
spirits,  but  he  now  found  it  difficult  to  draw  back.  This  was 
particularly  the  case  with  regard  to  the  parties  at  Schimmelman's 
house.  The  countess,  who  had  delicate  health,  and  on  this  ac- 
count usually  excused  herself  from  attendance  at  court,  and  visits 
out  of  her  own  house,  was  nevertheless  extremely  fond  of  society, 
and  apt  to  require  rather  too  much  attention  from  her  acquaint- 
ance. She  invited  Niebuhr  to  join  in  her  parties,  which  he  at 
first  did  very  willingly,  but  when,  feeling  the  necessity  of  econo- 
mizing his  time  for  better  objects,  he  gradually  withdrew,  it 
produced  an  unpleasant  state  of  feeling  between  him  and  the 
countess.  This  lasted  so  long  as  he  remained  in  the  house,  and 
rendered  his  position  there  often  extremely  uncomfortable,  but 
after  he  had  left  it,  the  offense  was  forgotten,  and  he  continued  to 
see  her  on  the  footing  of  an  intimate  friend. 

In  the  month  of  August,  however,  the  Prime  Minister,  Count 
P.  A.  BernstorfF,  offered  him  the  post  of  supernumerary  secretary  at 
the  Royal  Library,  with  no  salary  in  the  first  instance,  but  with 
permission  to  travel  abroad  after  a  time.  He  at  once  accepted 
this  offer,  but  in  compliance  with  Count  Schimmelman's  request, 
remained  in  his  service  till  the  count  could  find  a  suitable  person 
to  take  his  place.  As  Schirnmelman  was  not  able  to  do  this  for 
some  time,  Niebuhr  continued  to  act  as  his  private  secretary  till 
May  or  June,  1797. 

Niebuhr  had  accepted  the  post  at  the  library,  in  order  to  extri- 
cate himself  from  the  whirlpool  of  society  into  which  he  had  been 
drawn,  and  to  have  the  power  of  laboring  with  less  hindrance  in 
those  fields  of  science  to  which  his  taste  still  chiefly  inclined.  He 


66  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

partially  succeeded  in  this  attempt,  but  not  to  the  extent  he  had 
hoped.  His  talents  for  public  business  were  already  so  conspicu- 
ous, that  Schimmelman  often  intrusted  commissions  to  him, 
which  he  always  willingly  undertook  ;  and  he  was  also  disturbed 
in  his  pursuits  by  attractive  offers  from  other  quarters.  For  in- 
stance, he  writes  to  Mrs.  Hensler  as  early  as  August,  1796,  "  I 
have  received  from  France,  the  offer  of  a  post  of  literary  activity, 
which  would  have  involved  an  immediate  journey  to  Rome.  How 
much  there  was  against  the  thing  you  will  see  yourself.  I  in- 
formed Schimmelman  of  it,  who  saw  what  attractions  it  held  out 
to  me,  but  at  the  same  time  was  not  blind  to  its  disadvantages." 
On  Mrs.  Hensler's  expressing  her  fears  about  plans  of  this  nature 
in  such  perilous  times,  he  replies  in  September,  "  It  appears  to  me 
that  you  see  more  cause  for  alarm  than  really  exists.  At  any 
rate,  I  decided  long  ago  not  to  venture  on  this  seductive  step. 
How  indeed  could  I  bear  to  live  so  far  from  all  who  are  dear  to 
me — among  a  nation  to  whom  in  general  I  have  an  aversion  ? 
A  wish  was  afterward  expressed  to  see  me  in  the  suite  of  the 
next  Danish  embassy  to  Paris,  without  any  suggestion  of  the  kind 
on  my  part.*  You  know  that  this  accords  with  similar  wishes 
of  my  father's.  For  the  present,  however,  I  have  declined  the 
proposal.  You  know  that  I  am  appointed  secretary  at  the  library. 
This  is  exactly  what  I  could  have  wished ;  it  releases  me  from 
obligations  which  had  been  imposed  upon  me  over  and  above  my 
personal  duties  to  Schimmelman — from  waste  of  time — from  all 
bustle  and  distraction — gives  me  the  hope  of  living  with  Conrad 
Hensler  this  winter,  and  of  going  abroad  next  year  to  prosecute 
my  studies  with  all  earnestness.  How  much  I  mean  to  profit  by 
this  journey,  and  feel  that  I  need  to  profit  by  it,  I  have  already 
told  your  father  Dr.  Hensler." 

Niebuhr  remained  therefore  during  the  winter  of  1796—97,  at 
Count  Schimmelman' s,  in  his  former  position.  In  the  course  of 
this  winter  he  frequently  saw  Baggesen,  with  whose  intellect  and 
geniality  he  had  been  already  charmed  when  in  Holstein,  but 
whose  instability  of  character  both  in  thought  and  action  he 
always  deplored. 

In  the  spring  he  left  Count  Schimmelman's,  and  hired  apart- 
ments in  the  city,  but  remained  on  his  former  terms  of  friendship 

*  Probably  by  Grouvelle,  who  was  at  this  time  the  French  minister  in  Copen- 
hagen, and  who  tried  much  to  attach  Niebuhr  to  himself. 


FIRST  RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN.  67 

and  intimacy  with  the  count.  As  a  proof  of  the  esteem  in  which 
he  was  held  by  him,  it  may  he  mentioned  that  in  August,  1797, 
Sehimmelman  offered  him  the  situation  of  Consul-general  in 
Paris  during  the  war.  His  official  duties  in  this  post  would  prob- 
ably have  led  him  to  visit  the  southern  provinces  of  France,  and 
a  portion  of  Spain.  Before  Niebuhr  had  fully  decided  whether  to 
accept  it  or  not,  the  place  was  applied  for  by  a  man  whose  years 
and  length  of  service  entitled  him  to  consideration.  The  greater 
quiet  and  freedom  from  interruption  in  his  new  situation  was  very 
beneficial  to  Niebuhr.  In  August,  1797,  he  paid  a  visit  to  his 
friends  in  Holstein.  He  first  went  to  Kiel,  where  he  spent  a 
fortnight,  and  met  Amelia  Behrens  almost  daily  at  the  house  of 
Dr.  Hensler.  The  impression  which  she  had  made  on  him  a  year 
before  was  renewed  and  deepened.  His  secret  wishes  could  not 
escape  the  eye  of  Madame  Hensler.  She  spoke  openly  to  him  on 
the  subject  before  he  left  for  Meldorf,  begged  that  while  there  he 
would  seriously  examine  his  feelings  and  his  position,  consult  his 
parents,  and  regulate  his  conduct  toward  her  sister  accordingly. 
The  following  letter  he  wrote  to  her  in  reply : 

XVII. 

MELDORF,  20/A  Augutl,  1797. 

Yesterday  was  the  fourth  evening  since  our  conversation— a  conversation 
which  will  remain  eternally  imprinted  on  my  memory.  Since  then,  I  have 
not  only  visited  a  new  place,  which  till  now  has  always  been  enough  to 
run  away  with  my  imagination,  but  have  also  revisited  those  spots,  which, 
from  the  number  and  vividness  of  my  associations  with  them,  were  wont 
to  banish  for  a  time  all  other  thoughts.  I  have  seen  my  parents  and  sister, 
my  acquaintances,  and  our  friends,  the  Voss's— but  the  remembrance  of 
those  last  hours  is  still  fresh  in  ray  heart,  an  at  the  first  moment  of  oar 
parting. 

I  never  grieved  more  at  having  reached  the  end  of  a  happy  time,  and  yet 
never  felt  so  full  of  joy  and  hope  as  in  these  last  few  days.  You  and  your 
friends  made  me  very  happy  while  I  was  with  you.  I  told  you  my  sorrows, 
and  you  comforted  me ;  I  rejoiced  with  the  purest  joy  in  the  affection  and 
virtue  of  my  beloved  friends  ;  they  were  all  crowded  together  in  Kiel,  and 
knew  and  loved  each  other  well.  You  brought  me  nearer  to  those,  who, 
though  the  dearest  on  earth  to  you,  were  as  yet  almost  strangers  to  me.  I 
felt  that  my  friends  loved  me,  and  I  had  no  thought  beyond  the  preaent; 
at  last,  dear  friend,  you  did  more  than  this ;  you  had  guessed  my  wishes, 
and  seen  that  I  dared  not  express  them ;  you  gave  words  to  my  timorous 
thoughts,  and  in  so  doing  suffered  me  to  cherish  them.  What  a  change 
for  one  who  had  before  stood  alone,  and  looked  on  solitude  as  his  doom ! 

At  every  moment  that  I  have  had  to  myself  for  reflection,  I  have  pon- 
dered on  the  idea,  and  asked  myself  whether  the  reality  would  be  as  happy 
as  the  prospect  was  entrancing.  I  found  the  question  very  simple,  and  the 


68  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

answer  was,  "  Were  I  to  obtain  the  blessing  of  which  I  am  not  yet  worthy, 
1  should  have  more  than  I  ever  ventured  to  desire,  and  my  happiness  could 
only  be  disturbed  by  my  own  fault !"  It  is  not  necessary  to  know  your 
Amelia  long.  Can  one  help  believing  in  her  at  first  sight  ?  Why  should 
I  repeat  what  you  know  already,  that  her  presence  gave  me  such  unspeak- 
able, heartfelt  delight !  The  first  speaking  glance  of  her  clear,  beautiful 
eyes,  her  richly-cultivated  mind,  that  reveals  itself  so  simply  and  unassum- 
ingly, almost  timidly ;  her  purity,  her  tenderness,  shine  out  in  all  her  words 
and  motions,  and  would  be  evident  to  one  less  susceptible  than  I  am. 
I  see  no  shadow,  not  even  a  cloud,  to  dim  this  sunshine,  when  I  think  only 
of  myself. 

Your  objection  that  Amelia  is  nearly  three  years  older  than  I,  and  that 
even  equality  of  age  is  in  general  undesirable,  is  I  think  inapplicable  in  my 
case; — and  then  I  have  two  remarks  to  make  as  regards  myself: — First, 
that  two  years  of  strenuous  endeavor,  during  which  the  possibility  of  the 
new  position  you  have  pointed  out  to  me,  would  fill  my  mind  with  pictures 
of  a  happy  future,  would  resemble  hot,  sunny,  fertilizing  days,  in  which  the 
fruit  which  has  long  hung  green  and  hard  upon  the  tree,  rapidly  receives 
color,  perfume,  and  ripeness ;  without  metaphor,  that  these  two  years  would 
make  me  worthier  of  Amelia.  Secondly,  that  the  advice  of  a  wiser  friend 
has  ever  been  invaluable  to  me,  because  I  am  apt  to  neglect  the  small  duties 
of  daily  life ;  this  you  see  in  our  friendship,  and  how  much  more  with  such 
a  being  if  she  were  wholly  mine  !  But  I  dare  not  think  too  constantly  about 
it,  for  the  more  vividly  I  picture  to  myself  such  unclouded  happiness,  the 
more  painful  becomes  the  doubt  whether  Amelia  will  ever  consent  to  unite 
herself  to  me.  Just  what  makes  me  see  that  in  a  connection  with  her  I 
should  gain  a  sure  guide,  and  many  wounds  of  my  heart  would  be  gently 
healed— -namely,  her  decidedly  superior  maturity  of  character — must  pre- 
vent her  from  thinking  of  me.  We  all  strive  after  something  above  us,  to 
-support  and  elevate  us,  and  will  she  alone  be  unable  to  estimate  her  own 
worth  in  comparison  with  others'  ? 

I  wait  with  impatient  desire  for  your  next  letter.  Iwonder  whether  you 
have  as  much  hope  as  when  we  parted,  or  whether  you  will  advise  me  to 
suppress  the  beautiful  thought  before  it  grows  into  an  unconquerable  long- 
ing. 

After  staying  three  weeks  with  his  parents,  he  returned  to 
Kiel.  The  following  letter  to  Moltke  shows  with  what  result. 

XVIII. 

•     KIEL,  October,  1797. 

Dora  and  I  send  you  and  your  wife  this  messenger,  because  we  can  not 
bear  to  wait  several  days  before  writing  to  you,  especially  as  our  letter 
would  be  a  long  time  on  the  road ;  so  you  will  receive  this  before  another, 
that  Dora  wrote  to  you  two  days  ago,  which  announced  as  close  at  hand 
what  has  now  really  taken  place.  I  am  in  far  too  great  an  agitation  to 
say  much.  Each  of  you  take  one  of  our  letters  ;  Dora's  will  tell  yon  the 
most.  Yesterday  evening,  at  Dora's  house,  Amelia  decided  in  my  favor. 
Her  heart  had  already  decided.  Love  can  distinguish  between  truth  and 
pretense.  She  assumed  no  girlish  affectation  when  Dora  gave  words  to 


FIR'S!  RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN.  69 

feelings  that  had  before  scarcely  expressed  themselves,  and  joined  our  hands. 
This  pure  simplicity,  this  Roman  decision,  in  a  gentle  heart,  made  my  hap- 
piness perfect,  and  made  it  possible.  A  long  time  of  trial,  full  of  doubt  and 
uncertainty — servitude  to  win  a  love,  that  can  not  be  sustained  by  gal- 
lantry  and  pretty  flatteries,  but  must  take  root  in  the  heart — would  either 
have  frightened  me  away,  or  harassed  me  to.  death ;  and  yet  one  scarcely 
sees  any  thing  else,  except  where  the  suitability  of  the  connection  is  calcu- 
lated, and  every  thing  negotiated  by  the  papa  and  mamma  on  each  side. 
I  long  considered  this  servitude  as  the  only  means  of  becoming  intimately 
acquainted  with  a  girl,  for  the  gulf,  which  custom  and  our  folly  have  placed 
between  young  men  and  women,  seemed  to  me  impassable.  And  BO  it 
would  have  been  to  me,  had  not  Dora's  heart  and  Dora's  wisdom  allowed 
me  to  follow  my  nature  completely.  I  know  that  I  have  earnestly  endeav- 
ored not  to  deceive  Milly.  In  our  conversations  when  wo  met,  I  spoke  to 
her  from  my  inmost  heart,  and  took  pains  to  discover  to  her,  what,  if  con 
cealed,  might  have  deceived  her,  and  made  her  very  unhappy  hereafter ; 
for  I  thought  myself  bound  not  to  deny  what  still  flings  to  me  from  former 
evil  times  as  a  stain  to  be  washed  out ;  but  I  hope  to  God,  that  happiness, 
and  the  power  of  love,  this  new  unknown  force,  and  above  all,  the  contem- 
plation of  the  proud  joy  in  her  angelic  heart,  and  an  openness  that  will 
rather  gain  than  lose  through  absence,  will  purify  me  before  we  can  be 
united — for  absence  is  before  us.  The  letter  Dora  wrote  to  you  the  day 
before  yesterday  will  have  told  you  all  about  it.  It  is  inevitable,  and  you 
will  not  misunderstand  me  when  I  tell  you,  that  I  do  not  now  view  it  with 
dread.  0  who  could  feel  themselves  separated,  when  in  spirit  and  in  love 
they  are  so  inseparable  !  I  embrace  every  effort,  every  toil,  every  sacrifice, 
for  all  will  render  me  worthier  of  my  Milly.  It  i«  true  we  have  a  long 
future  before  us,  but  who  knows  how  it  may  be  shortened  ?  And  if  I,  who 
have  not  your  equability,  can  not  promise  Milly  your  evenness  of  temper, 
your  constant  warmth,  I  can  promise  her  inviolable  truth,  and  ever-growing, 
exclusive  love.  And  woe  to  him  who  does  not  repose  with  full  confidence 
upon  the  truth  of  a  pure-hearted  maiden !  I  shall  assuredly  know  neither 
euspicion  nor  jealousy.  And  she  who  equally  possesses  both  our  hearts, 
our  Dora,  who  can  now  live  wholly  for  us,  and  is  through  ns  brought  back 
to  the  world,  will  unite  us  by  the  rarest  bond.  Thank  you,  dearest  of 
friends,  as  much  a£  it  is  possible  to  thank,  for  the  kind  solicitude  that  you 
shared  with  Dora.  My  heart  was  sealed  up,  and  my  courage  gone.  Many 
a  pretty  face,  and  here  and  there  a  bright  creature,  had  given  me  a  pass- 
ing pleasure,  but  only  once  had  the  thought  of  a  connection  risen  vividly 
before  my  mind ;  and  when  the  event  made  me  angry  with  the  maiden  and 
despise  myself,  yet  consider  myself  happy  that  the  delusion  was  over,  my 
heart  seemed  quite  dead.  I  believed  no  longer  in  that  energetic  feeling 
which  irresistibly  fixes  our  destiny^ 

***.  .  .  Milly  has  a  Roman  character,  and  thi§  was  always  my  ideal  01  a 
citizen's  wife  ;  pride,  intellect,  the  most  retiring  modesty,  unbounded  lovo, 
constancy,  and  gentleness.  In  history  we  only  meet  with  such  women 
among  the  Roman  matrons — the  Calpurnias,  Portias,  Arrias.  Soft,  weak, 
tender  girlishness,  would  neither  have  elevated  nor  strengthened  my  char- 
acter. I  must  stop.  This  is  too  confused,  and  I  mast  go  and  take  these 
pages  to  Dora,  and  then  go  to  Milly  and  her  mother,  who  willingly  con- 
sents. Farewell. 


70  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  of  Conrad  Hensler's 
to  Niebuhr;  on  this  occasion : 

'^Dearest  Niebuhr,  doubly  and  trebly  do  I  wish  you  joy.  I  could  form 
no  slight  expectation  of  your  choice,  but  it  is  far  exceeded.  So  much  in- 
telligence arid  affection,  such  purity  of  mind  and  clearness  of  judgment,  such 
depth  of  feeling,  such  overflowing  affections — such  as  your  Amelia  is,  so 
ought  she  to  be  who  is  to  be  your  companion  for  life.  How  beautiful  is 
her  seriousness — even  her  reserve  !  She  does  well  to  maintain  her  reserve, 
for  if  she  breaks  through  it,  her  feelings  overflow.  So  self-relying,  so  un- 
exacting,  and  yet  such  delicate  and  tender  feelings,  such  fullness  of  affec- 
tion !  With  what  sweet  open  cordiality  she  greeted  me — she  who  formerly 
was  so  reserved  and  distant ;  it  was  so  visible  what  a  claim  it  gave  me 
upon  her  to  be  your  friend.  And  when  I  saw  her  again,  when  she  was 
cheerful,  even  merry  (your  letter  had  arrived),  how  beautiful  was  the  smile 
on  her  countenance !" 

After  Niebuhr's  return  to  Copenhagen,  he  continued  to  fulfill  his 
duties  as  librarian  during  the  winters  of  1797-98,  and  also  dili- 
gently carried  on  his  own  studies  in  private.  As  his  wishes  still 
inclined  toward  a  professorship  in  Kiel,  where  he  hoped  to  lead 
the  quiet  and  studious  life  most  suited  to  his  disposition,  he  di- 
rected his  reading  at  this  time  principally  to  philological  and  his- 
torical subjects. 

His  letters  to  his  betrothed  show  that,  though  no  longer  suffer- 
ing from  unsatisfied  aspirations  of  the  heart,  his  over-active  intel- 
lect occasioned  him  many  hours  of  depression  and  lassitude.  Un- 
conscious of  the  disproportion  between  his  mental  and  physical 
powers,  he  exerted  the  former  without  regard  to  the  latter ;  and 
when  experiencing  the  natural  consequences  of  such  a  course  in  the 
loss  of  mental  tone,  he  reproached  himself  bitterly  for  indolence 
and  want  of  proper  discipline  of  the  mind.  He  found  a  still 
stronger  source  of  dissatisfaction  with  himself,  in  the  belief,  that 
from  the  inadequacy  of  his  education  in  childhood,  and  his  too 
early  introduction  into  the  distractions  of  the  great  world,  his  mind 
had  received  a  wrong  direction ;  that  the  creative  faculty  which 
requires  self-concentration  had  been  lost,  and  but  poorly  replaced 
by  the  power  of  acquiring  and  elaborating  the  ideas  of  others.  He 
seerns  to  have  thought  that  his  mind,  which  might  have  been  a 
lamp,  had  become  a  mirror. 

The  following  extracts  from  his  letters  will  serve  to  illustrate 
this  period  of  his  life  : 


FI&ST  RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN.  Tl 

XIX. 

TO  COUNT  ADAM  MOLTKE.  - 

Written  in  April,  1796,  at  COPENHAGEN. 

It  is  rather  through  accident  than  fault  of  mine,  dear  friend  of  my  heart, 
that  you  have  had  no  letter  yet  worthy  of  the  name.     Yours  of  the  25th 
of  March  did  not  reach  me  till  the  8th  of  April ......    I  can  not  imagine 

who  has  given  himself  the  trouble  to  Interrupt  our  correspondence,  for  an 
inexplicable  delay  has  taken  place  somewhere.  As  long  as  no  letter  had 
arrived  from  you,  I  hesitated  whether  to  write  or  not,  and  the  following 

reasons  decided  me  to  wait I  wanted  you  to  know  all  about  my 

situation  here.  At  first  it  promised  wonders.  I  was  very  happy,  though 
not  so  much  as  with  you  at  Kiel.  I  was  made  much  of,  my  work  was 
easy,  and  I  got  on  well  with  it.  I  was  treated  like  a  friend,  and  found 
myself  in  a  family,  whose  head,  at  least,  commands  my  deepest  reverence. 
Then  the  variety  of  people  whom  we  sec  here,  afforded  me  a  fund  of  enter- 
tainment, though  I  could  not  help  despising  most  of  them.  One  sees 
queer  puppets  here.  To  write  to  you  then  would  have  been  like  writing 
in  a  fit  of  intoxication  or  a  dream.  The  intoxication  has  evaporated,  and 
the  dream  is  fled.  What  I  say  to  you  now,  is  what  you  will  always  hear 
from  me :  I  am  quite  convinced  that,  as  matters  stand,  I  could  not  have 
had  a  happier  lot  than  that  which  has  fallen  to  me.  Not  a  happier,  for 
whether  a  different  turn  of  events — the  obligation  and  the  leisure  to  devote 
myself  to  hard  study — might  not  have  been  more  wholetomt  for  me,  is 
another  question.  Such  a  vocation  would  at  least  have  conduced  much 
more  to  my  peace  of  mind.  That  this  is  now  often  much  disturbed"  by  the 
nature  of  my  position,  that  I  have  a  thousand  temptations  to  yield  to  a 
frivolous  vanity,  a  detestable  desire  to  please ;  that  there  are  numberless 
amusementii  to  entice  me ;  that  the  tone  universally  prevalent  among  the 
people  with  whom  I  have  to  do,  allures  and  tempts  me  to  ease  and  indo- 
lence, you  will  readily  conceive,  and  will  forgive  your  friend  if  he  should 
now  and  then  go  astray.  Yet  you  will  understand,  and  indeed  you  told 
me  long  ago,  that  good-fortune  had  done  every  thing  possible  for  me  in 
this  situation.  A  pleasant  life,  Schimmelman  as  a  friend  and  instructor, 
freedom  from  all  pecuniary  cares  during  my  youth,  the  best  opportunities 
of  being  initiated  into  statesmanship  with  Schimmelman.  of  advancing  in 
scholarship,  by  means  of  the  library  here ;  it  is  my  own  fault  if  such 
advantages  remain  unimproved.  But  they  are  like  precious  gold-mines, 
that  rarely  lie  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  require  much  toil  to  bring 
their  treasures  to  light.  I  did  not  believe  at  first  that  it  would  be  so 
difficult  to  profit  as  I  ought  by  these  gifts  of  fortune.  This  was  my 
dream,  the  illusion  of  my  intoxication.  I  over-looked  the  hindrances.  It 
is  not  Schimmelman,  nor  the  work  he  gives  me  to  do,  that  takes  up  my 
time  and  worries  and  harasses  me.  I  really  do  not  regret  being  obliged  to 
stay  at  home  every  evening  from  eight  till  eleven,  because  of  the  society  I 
meet  there.  But  what  does  vex  me  now  (at  first  it  was  neither  so  bad  in 
itself  nor  so  noticeable)  is  that  our  reading  is  so  often  interrupted,  so  uncon- 
nected, that  such  precious  time  is  thus  wasted.  Even  the  heartfelt  delight 
I  have  in  Schimmelman,  and  all  that  he  says,  can  scarcely  make  me  for- 
get it.  I  often  laugh  at  the  countess's  plans  and  speeches,  especially  her 
philosophical  discourses ;  seldom  let  them  provoke  me ;  never  talk  with 


72  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHB. 

her  on  philosophy.  What  annoy  me  most  are  our  parties,  especially  the 
stiff,  lifeless,  horribly  aristocratic,  state  assemblies,  though  these  do  not 
come  very  often.  Perhaps  I  shall  manage  to  get  excused  from  them  alto- 
gether. All  the  time  they  consume  is  utterly  wasted.  I  think  you  can 
hardly  imagine  how  I  love  that  noble  Schimmelman.  For  you  do  not 
know  him  but  by  daily  intercourse,  by  living  with  him  from  morning  to 
night  as  I  have  done  for  this  month  past ;  from  morning,  when  we  work 
together,  to  night,  when  we  read  together.  His  integrity,  his  cheerfulness, 
his  really  great  Intellect,  his  freedom  from  prejudice,  his  consistency — ought 
I  not  to  esteem  myself  most  happy  in  having  all  this  daily  before  my  eyes 
as  a  model  of  excellence  ?  One  thing  that  I  particularly  like  in  him  is  his 
habit  of  acting  without  much  talk.  The  only  thing  that  I  should  wish  to 
see  altered  in  him  is  that  he  should  be  more  careful  of  his  time.  He  has 
a  great  quantity  of  work,  it  is  true,  but  he  does  not  know  how  to  econo- 
mize the  time  that  is  so  invaluable.  Hence  also,  business  gets  into  disor- 
der, and  he  feels  more  over-burdened  than  he  really  is.  I  have  become 
acquainted  with  Grouvelle,  and  have  the  freest  access  to  him.  He  speaks 
of  you  with  the  interest  of  a  friend,  and  the  admiration  of  an  upright  and 
enlightened  man.  How  we  made  acquaintance  with  each  other,  and  got 
so  intimate  the  first  day,  that  he  did  not  even  wait  for  a  request  on  my 
part  to  open  his  house  to  me,  I  must  reserve  till  my  next  letter  which  you 
shall  have  a  week  after  this,  if  God  permit.  If  possible  write  to  me. 

XX. 

COPENHAGEN,  23d  April,  1790. 

I  have  just  found  from  a  letter  of  Hensler's — and  it  has  given  me  a 
painful  surprise — that  your  wedding  took  place  on  Wednesday,  therefore 
without  your  having  let  me  know  one  word  about  it.  This  breach  of 
promise  on  your  part  has  wounded  me  deeply  and  painfully,  so  that  I 
hardly  know  whether  to  be  more  grieved  or  angry.  I  not  only,  when  on 
my  journey,  stole  time  from  sleep  to  write  io  you ;  I  wrote  to  you  also  on 
the  first  morning  that  I  spent  here,  and  when,  after  a  three  weeks'  delay, 
I  received  a  short  answer,  I  s«nt  you  in  return  a  letter  which  was  at  least 
much  longer,  and,  however  much  it  might  be  wanting  in  arrangement, 
elegance  of  style,  or  profound  thoughts,  certainly  expressed  the  warmest 
friendship.  And  you  have  not  even  time  for  two  lines  to  enable  me  to 
celebrate  your  festival !  You  chose  an  earlier  day  than  you  told  me — 
you  made  it  impossible  for  me  even  to  guess  that  it  was  to  take  place  so 
soon-.  You  always  said  that  yott  would  let  me  know  when  your  mamage 
day  was  fixed.  You  told  me  so  many  times.  How  am  I  to  explain  this, 
Moltke  ?  For  amid  the  joy  that  your  happiness  really  gives  me,  I  still 
feel  the  sting  of  deeply-wounded  friendship.  Have  I  displeased  you? 
Have  I  offended  you  by  act  or  omission  ?  Truly  I  am  conscious  of  no- 
thing, and  if  any  thing  of  the  kind  had  happened  would  willjngly  wash  it 
out  with  tears,  or  my  blood.  Do  you  blame  me  ?  Then  why  now,  more 
than  at  any  other  time  ?  Once  you  loved  me ;  did  you  not  allow  me  to 
lay  open  my  faults  before  you,  when  I  would  not  suffer  you  to  think  better 
of  me  than  I  deserved  ?  What  has  opened  your  eyes  so  suddenly,  and 
why  would  you  not  open  them  before  ?  I  know  in  my  conscience  that  I 
never  wished  to  deceive  you.  I  love  you  deeply,  with  all  the  strength  of 
my  heart,  with  a  love  that  will  stand  all  trials,  and  will  never  conceal 


FIRST  RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN.  73 

our  friendship,  even  in  the  midst  of  your  bitterest  enemies.  This  I  have 
already  shown  here,  but  not  all  who  call  themselves  friends  do  the  same. 
In  spite  of  my  impatient  desire  for  letters  from  you,  in  spite  of  our  wish 
and  resolution  to  hear  often  of  each  other7  s  welfare,  in  spite  of  your  re- 
proaches when  you  thought  me  careless  in  writing,  I  am  left  in  ignorance 
of  the  most  important  day  of  your  life,  and  even  now  know  nothing  of  it, 
but  from  others !  I  thought  I  perceived  a  visible  coolness  in  the  only 
letter  you  sent  me  here.  0  Moltke,  I  love  you ;  I  am  jealous  and  eager 
for  your  love.  Can  any  one  have  stolen  it  from  me  ?  Explain  yourself, 
and  let  us  not  become  cool  or  mistrustful.  You  would  despise  me  if  I 
were  to  permit  such  an  injury  to  pass  unresented ;  but  I  should  despair  of 
all  friendship  if  you  could  mistake  the  spirit  of  this  letter.  No,  you  are 
no  hypocrite ;  you  never  dissembled.  At  our  last  parting,  your  heart  was 
certainly  mine,  for  you  said  so.  I  entreat  you,  make  all  clear  between  us. 
I  lore  few  aa  I  do  you,  but  if  it  must  be,  if  I  must  lose  you,  an  open, 
bleeding  wound  were  better  than  a  hidden  one,  than  a  disease  of  the  soul 
which  would  at  last  fill  the  whole  heart  with  bitterness,  and  the  mind  with 
night.  Am  I  unjust  to  you  ?  No,  for  I  accuse  you  of  nothing.  Fears, 
anxiety,  mortification,  are  not  accusations,  but  you  must  answer  me  as 
quickly  as  possible,  within  three  days  at  the  most  after  receiving  this  let- 
ter, or  I  shall  hold  all  my  fears  for  truth.  Through  your  silence  you  have 
not  received  the  "  Nedham,"  the  token  of  my  joy  at  your  union.  Did  you 
wish  not  to  have  it?  I  am  so  vexed  and, unhappy  that  it  is  impossible 
for  me  to  speak  a  single  word  of  joy.  Do  not  be  offended  at  my  warmth. 
Only  set  ray  mind  at  peace,  and  I  will  write  to  you  immediately ;  but  first 
of  all,  I  pray  for  God's  blessing  on  you  and  your  wife,  and  give  my  lovo 
to  her,  who  has  certainly  no  part  in  your  fault.  NIEBUHR. 

XXI. 

,    9*A  December,  1796. 

What  do  you  say  to  the  moral  tono  of  our  poets  ?  Our  philoso- 
phers and  scholars  have  long  since  distinguished  themselves  in  that  re- 
spect. But  Schiller's  Almanac  for  this  year  ill  It  is  a  comfort  to  me  to 
be  able  to  share  my  exasperation  at  it  with  Baggeeeo ;  for  all  the  rest  of 
the  "literati"  here  are  unanimous  in  its  praise.  The  Germans  admire  its 
wit  and  raciness,  the  Danes  find  so  much  "  smag"  hi  it,  and  such  "  deylige" 
verses.*  The  lady  at  our  house  is  of  the  same  opinion,  and  is  never  weary 
of  extolling  it,  though,  perhaps,  she  does  so  chiefly  to  provoke  Baggescn  and 
me.  Do  you  know  Falk's  Satires?  the  prayers  in  the  last  Gottingen 
Mu.sen- Almanac,!  and  another  in  the  Deutschen  Merkur?)  If  you  have 
read  them,  did  you  not  rejoice  in  the  hope  of  a  German  Juvenal  ?  And 
has  not  your  pleasure  been  converted  into  indignation  by  the  scurrility  and 
the  hackneyed  witticisms  of  his  "Pocket  Book?"  It  is  time  to  attack 
this  evil  very  seriously.  I  write  to  you  about  it,  because  I  could  fain  do 
it  myself.  Do  you  in  Holstein  read  as  little  as  we  do  here  ?  It  seems  an 
if  the  literature  of  Germany  were  visibly  on  the  decline.  Schiller  and 

*  Smag,  taste ;  deylige,  charming. 

t  Published  by  the  celebrated  Poets'  Club  [Dichter  Verein]  at  Gottingen. 
numbering  among  its  members  Voss,  the  Stolberpg,  Burger,  Holty,  Miiller,  dec. 
Boje  was  its  editor  for  some  time,  afterward  Burger. 

f  Edited  by  Wieland. 

D 


74  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

Goethe  are  worse  than  dead.  Wieland's  Agathodsemon  is  insufferable. 
The  new  generation  is  dwarfish.  Is  Voss  to  stand  alone  ?  Even  Klop- 
stock  has  by  no  means  distinguished  himself  in  his  last  production.  0 
confess  it,  Moltke  ;  the  bloom  of  our  literature  is  over,  and,  besides  the 
usual  course  of  nature  which  has  proved  itself  the  same  in  all  nations,  it 
is  the  French  revolution,  our  infamous  policy,  and  shameful  undervaluing 
of  our  own  people,  the  want  of  cultivation  among  them  resulting  from  this 
general  indifference,  and  the  desecration  and  shocking  abuse  of  philosophy, 
that  have  brought  us  to  this  wretched  pass.  Innocence  and  light-hearted- 
ness  have  vanished.  I  must  break  off,  dissatisfied  with  what  I  have  writ- 
ten. I  have  been  on  the  point  of  tearing  up  my  letter,  but  I  will  venture 
to  send  you  the  stuff,  for  I  have  a  presentiment  that  our  correspondence 
may  suffer  a  long  interruption,  and  I  really  feel  as  if  I  must  write  to  you. 
I  wanted  to  add  : — and  we  can  only  make  satires  to  mock  our  own  degra- 
dation, or  a  history  that  would  have  the  effect  of  a  satire.  This  afternoon 
Kirstein,  who  much  admired  the  Almanac,  has  had  the  candor  to  send  me 
the  masterly  review  of  it  in  the  Niirnberger  Zeitung.  Give  yourself  the 
pleasure  of  reading  the  avenging  article.  I  shall  copy  that,  and  not  write 
another  word  against  the  gentlemen.  Baggesen  entreats  your  wife  for  an 
answer.  I  have  understood,  dear  Moltke,  how  happy  you  are  going  to  be ! 
I  rejoice  with  you  in  your  happiness,  and  in  the  thought  of  what  an  ex- 
cellent father  you  will  make.  Dear  friend,  we  shall  have  but  a  short  time 
together  next  summer,  but  I  should  like  to  have  a  few  days  alone  with 
you.  I  enjoy  the  very  thought  of  it.  I  shall  at  least  enjoy  them  by  anti- 
cipation. We  shall  hardly  go  to  Italy  together  now.  Probably  you  will 
not  even  visit  Switzerland  ? 

XXII. 

EXTRACT  FROM  AN  UNFINISHED   LETTER  TO  HIS  PARENTS, 
PROBABLY  NEVER  SENT. 

COPENHAGEN,  5th  March,  1797. 
......  You  will  not  be  sorry  to  hear,  my  dear  parents,  were  it  only  as 

a  good  testimonial  of  your  son,  that  notwithstanding  the  short  time  which  1 
am  able  to  devote  to  Persian,  my  progress  is  very  considerable ;  that  in 
ordinary  authors  I  can  already  understand  the  sense  of  whole  periods,  and 
have  only  to  contend  with  single  words,  for  which  the  Dictionary  gives 
several  meanings,  among  which  the  sense  must  decide.  It  will  please 
you  too  that  Ludolf  is  extremely  well  satisfied  with  me,  and  even  finds  his 
expectations  exceeded,  so  that,  with  the  help  of  Arabic,  he  now  thinks  it 
possible  for  his  pupil  to  acquire  such  a  close  acquaintance  with  the  Persian, 
as  at  first  he  always  represented  as  quite  unattainable.  But  you  will  be 
still  more  glad  to  hear  that  Ludolf  shows  himself  more  and  more  a  warm 
and  sincere  friend,  as  he  perceives  the  success  of  his  undertaking,  and  that 
he  removes,  by  a  thousand  little  marks  of  his  good  will,  all  the  scruples 
which  I  might  otherwise  feel  at  such  an  apparently  unnatural  connection 
as  that  between  a  man  of  his  standing,  and  a  young  scholar  as  yet  undis- 
tinguished. He  not  only  takes  a  sincere  pleasure  in  forming  a  connoisseur 
and  student  of  his  favorite  language,  it  gives  him  delight  even  to  have 
some  one  with  whom  he  can  converse  about  his  general  reading  (for  though 
not  ignorant  of  European  literature,  he  is  not  well  versed  in  it),  and  still 
more,  to  be  able  to  describe  with  enthusiasm,  yet  without  fearing  to  make 


FIRST  RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN.  75 

himself  ridiculous,  his  youthful  years  in  Constantinople,  which  place  he 
much  prefers  to  Europe. 

But  I  shall  only  allow  myself  to  fancy  that  all  this  may  give  you  half 
as  much  pleasure,  my  dearest  parents,  as  you  have  given  me  in  consenting 
to  my  plan  of  going  to  England  next  year.  The  necessity  of  being  bur- 
densome to  you  is  certainly  more  unpleasant  to  me  than  to  you  ;  but  your 
ready  consent,  and  the  conviction  that  so  it  is  best,  set  my  conscience  at 
ease  about  the  matter.  I  shall,  therefore,  next  summer  (if  a  devastating 
revolution  has  not  broken  out  in  England,  first)  read  and  make  extracts 
from  the  seven  or  eight  folio  volumes  of  Mirchond,  in  the  Radcliffe  library 
at  Oxford,  read  as  much  as  possible  of  the  moro  or  less  important  Persian 
classics  which  are  preserved  there  in  great  number,  and  write  notices  of 
them  which  may  lay  the  foundation  of  a  Biblwtheca  Persica.  As  it  is  im- 
possible, between  now  and  then,  to  gain  more  than  a  mere  school-boy 
knowledge  of  Arabic,  and  as  it  is  besides  by  no  means  advisable  to  try  to 
embrace  everything,  I  shall  devote  all  my  attention  there  to  the  Persians. . . . 

It  is  a  great  pity  that  you,  my  dearest  parents,  will  always  persist  in 
fancying  that  the  praises  I  bestow  on  Persian  literature  proceed  from  par- 
tiality only,  and  are  not  deserved.  If  I  could  but  translate  something  for 
you,  or  lay  before  yon  English  translations !  Hafiz  has  been  compared  to 
Anacreon,  and  it  has  been  considered  a  great  compliment  to  him  ;  but 
the  pseudo- Anacreon,  who  is  commonly  read  for  the  genuine  one,  and  even 
the  few  remains  we  have  of  the  real  poet,  are  not  to  be  compared  with  some 
of  the  best  odes  of  the  poet  of  Schiras,  selected  in  the  Asiatic  Miscellany. 
In  general,  the  Persians  stand  far  behind  the  Greeks.  Firdusi  has  natural 
disadvantages  from  the  immense  length  of  his  poem  (of  60,000  distich* 
at  least,  four  times  as  long  as  both  the  poems  of  Homer)  and  from  the 
circumstance  that  he  wrote  in  rhymed,  decasyllabic  iambics,  which  we 
must  take  into  the  account  if  we  compare  him  with  Homer.  But  is  it  not 
extraordinary  enough  that  it  is  possible  to  compare  him  with  such  a  poet 
even  if  he  loses  by  it  ?  The  excessive  grammatical  freedom  of  the  Per- 
sian language,  and  its  corruption  with  Arabic,  are  very  injurious  to  it; 
still  no  language  is  so  sweet  and  fascinating. 

I  will  now  tell  you  of  a  proposal  which  will  not  be  indifferent  to  you, 
and  I  hope  not  disagreeable. 

Since  the  war,  which  has  ruined  the  commeroe  of  England  and  Hol- 
land in  the  Levant,  there  is  an  opening  for  Denmark  to  carry  on  a  trade 
there,  particularly  from  the  port  of  Altona  :  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  peace, 
or  rather  the  treaty  of  subjection  to  France,  will  not  injure  these  prospects. 
For  this  object,  consulates  are  in  course  of  establishment  in  all  quarters 
of  the  Levant ;  and  as  a  consul  is  to  be  appointed  at  Constantinople  as 
well,  with  a  liberal  salary  moreover,  Schimmelman  has  -proposed  to  me  to 
fill  this  office,  after  a  time,  for  a  few  years,  in  which  he  haa  perhaps  been 
chiefly  actuated  by  Ludolfs  earnest  assurances  that  the  school  of  the  East 
is  in  that  city.  On  my  return  the  desired  professorship  would  certainly  bo 
given  me. 

You  see,  my  dear  parents,  that  I  lay  this  project  openly  and  honestly 
before  you,  and  leave  it  to  my  dear  father  to  discern  for  himself,  and  com- 
municate to  you  in  particular,  dearest  mother,  the  great  advantages  it 
presents.  Without  taking  Ludolf  s  assurances  that  people  there  are  much 
happier  and  better  than  in  Europe  for  much  more  than  the  expression  of 


76  MEMOIR  OF  N1EBTJHR. 

a  warm  and  tender  heart,  and  well  knowing  that  just  what  must  make 
that  place  so  peculiarly  dear  to  him,  parents  and  home,  is  an  objection  to 
every  one  else  ;  yet  I  must  put  it  to  you,  whether,  for  a  young  man  who 
is  fond  of  antiquity  and  has  made  it  his  study,  a  life  of  some  years  in 
Greece  (through  which  my  way  would  lend  me,  after  I  had  spent  a  few 
months  in  Portici,  which  I  could  examine  more  in  detail  on  my  return), 
would  not  be  the  most  desirable  thing  imaginable  ?  Whether  Constanti- 
nople, in  whose  great  library  are  preserved  all  the  extant  works  of  value  in 
the  Persian  language,  and  which  would  afford  me  living  practice  in  writing, 
speaking,  and  intercourse  with  the  natives,  would  not  be  much  more  in- 
teresting than,  for  example,  a  European  capital  ?  And  whether  it  would 
not  be  very  advantageous  for  a  young  man  (and  this  is  no  slight  consider- 
ation) who  has  had  the  misfortune  to  be  known  too  early,  and  has  thereby 
become  more  inconsistent,  more  showy,  and  less  solid  than  he  ought  to  be, 
to  find  such  a  retreat,  where  he  might  acquire  greater  serenity  and  a  more 
complete  cultivation  of  mind  ?  What  outward  things  society,  intercourse, 
civilization,  and  the  like  can  give,  I  have,  to  a  considerable  extent,  enjoyed, 
and  am  not  wholly  unthankful  for  it ;  but  my  inward  cultivation,  during 
many  periods  of  my  life,  has  been  unhappily  only  too  much  neglected. 

I  am,  however,  particularly  glad  that  it  is  not  to  be  for  long,  but  only 
for  a  few  years.  Schimmelman  can  not  be  at  a  loss  for  a  consul  there, 
and  so  we  may  reckon  upon  it  with  certainty,  that  no  forced  prolongation 
of  my  stay  can  arise  from  this  source,  which  would  otherwise,  I  think,  be 
the  greatest  objection  to  the  plan.  It  is  true  letters  talje  a  month  in 
going  from  here,  or  from  Holstein  by  way  of  Vienna,  before  they  reach 
their  destination ;  and  it  would  be  still  more  impossible  to  wait  for  an- 
swers there  than  it  is  between  Copenhagen  and  Meldorf.  But  if  it  is  true 
that  we  have  no  advantages  without  corresponding  disadvantages,  and 
that  we  always  must  submit  to  this  condition,  we  ought  not,  I  think,  to 
condemn  such  a  plan  on  account  of  this  circumstance,  as,  on  account  of 
the  quieter  life  I  should  lead  there,  I  should  certainly  be  able  to  write,  in 
comparison,  more  to  you,  and  more  interestingly  than  I  do  here.  So  tell 
me,  dearest  parents,  what  you  think  about  it. 

XXIII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

COPENHAGEN,  8lk  July,  1797. 

Schimmelman  had  a  favorite  idea  lately,  which  he  was  extreme- 
ly anxious  to  carry  into  execution.  He  read  me  an  excellent  paper  that  he 
had  written  upon  the  subject.  He  wished,  namely,  to  make  known  the 
actions  of  the  Government  in  the  most  complete  and  authentic  manner.  For 
this  purpose  he  wanted  to  set  up  an  official  journal,  uniting  correctness 
with  a  high  moral  tone,  and  announcing  the  measures  proposed  by  the  Gov- 
ernment, their  adoption  as  laws,  all  important  acts  of  the  executive,  par- 
ticularly all  the  appointments  to  offices,  perhaps  the  names  of  all  the  candi- 
dates, giving  at  all  events  a  trustworthy  account  of  the  one  chosen,  and  of 
all  the  leading  questions  of  the  day,  &c.  Such  a  paper,  circulated  gratis 
through  the  whole  country,  could  hardly  fail  of  producing  the  effect  that 
bchimmelman  hoped  and  intended,  of  bringing  more  life  into  the  relation 

of  the  subject  to  the  Government You  may  see  by  this  how  little 

bchimmelman  keeps  to  the  beaten  track. 


FIRST  RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN.  Y7 

I  spent  a  delightful  evening  with  him  yesterday,  and  staid  very  late. 
We  could  not  get  away  from  each  other.  It  was  a  most  lovely  summer 
day ;  the  soft  air — the  beauty  of  the  sea-shore  (and  it  was  the  first  time 
this  year  that  I  had  gone  that  way) — the  sense  of  having  performed  a  task 
really  worth  doing,  and  of  use  to  Schirnmelman,  to  whom  I  was  bringing 
rt — a  serene  and  happy  mood  that  has  hardly  been  interrupted  since  our 
last  parting — a  strong  attraction  toward  Schirnmelman  himself — all  this 
happy  combination  of  circumstances  completely  took  possession  of  me,  and 
put  me  into  the  brightest  state  of  mind.  I  could  feel  sure  too  that  I  gave 
pleasure  to  my  noble-minded  friend. 

XXIV. 

MELDORF,  24th  August,  1797. 

At  last  I  am  able  to  announce  to  you  the  decision  of  my  political 
fate.* 

In  order  fully  to  understand,  and  to  give  lectures  upon  ancient  literature, 
and  ancient  history,  which  forms  a  part  of  it,  it  is,  in  my  opinion,  abso- 
lutely necessary  that  I  should  have  read  through  all  the  ancient  writings 
still  extant,  at  least  once,  with  the  cioMot  attention— tns  more  tnrporfart 
works  many  times — and  acquired  a  living  and  familiar  acquaintarice  "gith 
each  period.  There  may  possibly  be  some  exceptions  to  this  rule  in  the  case 
of  special  sciences,  which  must  forever  remain  a  mystery  to  the  uninitiated. 
This  undertaking  was  carried  out  by  Milton  long  ago.  '  There  would  scarcely 
be  found  many  to  do  it  now,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  it  is  what  I  undoubt- 
edly ought  to  attempt. 

A  profatttd  «ad  TMgUgjL-JgJj^frtoaMbJPtlk-the  grammar  of  the  two 
classical  ianpua^eg  rnflflft  by  ftbftafoiad,  partly  by  IMM*  Wtnwiotu  treat- 
i-.'-s  on  that  subject  ;ni.l  |.;irtly  fr..in  t!i"  lit'-ratHf  . .f  t!i"  l:ui^na^"--  tli.-ni- 
selves.  A  systematic  philosophy^  as  the  groundwork  nf  ill  tiitlnd  rnnrlr 
tions1  and  all  accuf«*«  thnnpht  ;  ^rh«t  ^vjaraapi  «till  more  important, 
in^thrwi  ]n  thinking  writing,  and  study  ing  j  added  to  these,  various  exer- 
cises in  the  art  of  composition,  and  a  thorough  command  of  our  mother 
tongue,  are  indispensable  requisites  for  any  one  who  steps  forth  before  the 
public,  and  seeks  to  obtain  a  high  standing.  It  is  no  more  than  a  man 
demands  of  himself. 

These  then  are  the  preliminary  tasks  that  I  should  have  to  execute,  be- 
fore I  could  accept  a  professorship  in  Kiel  without  a  blush,  and  discharge 
its  duties  without  disgracing  or  overworking'  myself.  As  one  can  not  do 
every  thing,  and,  least  of  all,  prolong  one's  preparations  ad  infinitum,  it 
appears  to  me  that  other  studies  which  H.  and  my  father  wish  me  to  un- 
dertake, must  only  be  carried  on  in  subordination  to  this  object. 

I  have,  perhaps,  already  reminded  you  of  Hume's  example,  who,  in  or- 
der to  bring  his  mind,  which  had  got  into  confusion  in  consequence  of  an 
ill-regulated  education,  into  the  right  track  again,  and  to  strengthen  his 
powers  by  peaceable  seclusion,  lived  unknown  for  several  years  in  La  Fleche, 
and  then  came  back  another  man  from  what  he  was  when  he  left  home. 
Now,  it  is  true  it  would  be  presumptuous  to  institute  a  comparison,  which 
would  allow  me  to  hope  for  such  results  as  proceeded  from  Hume's  talents ; 
and  besides,  he  and  I  should  have  different  requirements  and  ideals  of  hap* 
piness ;  but  an  analogy  may  nevertheless  subsist. 
*  See  page  66. 


78  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBT7HR. 

I  do  not  think  of  traveling  so  long  as  three  years. 

What  do  you  say  to  my  spending  this  winter  in  Kiel,  as  I  am  no  longer 
bound  to  my  post  in  Copenhagen  either  by  duty  or  interest  ?  It  would 
be  no  mere  pretext,  and  no  doubt  a  decisive  argument  with  Schimmelman, 
that  if  I  go  back  and  resume  my  former  mode  of  life,  my  health  will  return 

to  its  former  indifferent  state In  Kiel,  as  my  father  knows, 

I  should  be  able  to  carry  on  all  my  studies  with  the  aid  of  Hensler's 
library 

XXV. 

MELDORF,  yith  August,  1797. 

I  can  not  help  writing  to  you  again  to-day.  You  know  that  my  emo- 
tions are  apt  to  carry  me  away  with  their  violence.  Thus  your  letter  has 
made  me  so  wild  with  delight  that  I  have  felt  full  of  affection  to  every 

creature  that  has  come  in  my  way 

My  father,  my  dear  father,  clings  with  such  conviction  and  firmness  to 
the  idea  of  some  journey  or  other,  that  he  would  consent  with  reluctance  to 
an  earlier  settlement  in  Kiel.  He  would  consent,  for  he  would  be  ready  to 
sacrifice  any  thing  to  me  now.  I,  too,  can  not  help  believing  that  if  it  were 
possible  for  me  to  win  such  an  affection  as  might  deepen  into  a  heartfelt 
willingness  to  unite  herself  eternally  with  me,  absence  and  distance,  cheer- 
ed by  such  a  prospect  and  trust,  and  unremittingly  devoted  to  my  cultiva- 
tion, could  be  only  beneficial  to  me.  I  should  see  a  foreign  country,  and 
must  be  a  gamer  by  it.  A  somewhat  lengthened  preparation  for  the  holi- 
est society,  when  one  has  been  already  long  accustomed  to  think  of  one- 
self as  engaged,  must,  it  seems  to  me,  have  great  advantages.  And  so 
many  of  my  present  deficiencies  I  might  strive  to  supply.  Dear  friend,  I 
should  not  like  to  owe  any  thing  to  fortune,  to  her  prepossessions  in  my 
favor,  nay,  not  even  to  your  sisterly  interest  in  me.  You  will  surely  not 
misunderstand  me  here.  What  we  do  not  possess  in  and  through  our- 
selves, is  not  truly  ours.  I  will  strive  and  toil  not  to  be  unworthy  of  your 
sister,  and  to  deserve,  if  I  can  not  win  her  affection.  So  much  is  in  my 
own  hands. 

The  idea  shall  not  have  uncontrolled  sway;  the  annihilation  of  a  ruling 
passion  that  must  be  conquered,  is  too  terrible,  and  the  higher  and  intenser 
its  life,  the  more  convulsive  is  its  resistance  to  extinction.  And  must  I 
not  fear  the  possible  necessity  of  its  extinction  ?  Its  seat  in  my  heart  is 
light  and  warm,  my  life  is  joyful  and  deep,  my  mind  open  to  all,  all  that 
human  love  can  embrace. 

The  first  few  days,  my  mother  showed  some  annoyance  at  the  length  of 
my  stay  with  you,  and  she  was  displeased  too  with  my  carelessness  in  dress, 
and  my  refusal  to  pay  all  sorts  of  visits.  But  the  mother's  love  soon  pre- 
vailed. Her  affection  for  me  was  always  vehement,  and  therefore  always 
exacting.  I  have  told  you  that  I  have  inherited  the  vehemence  and  sen- 
sitiveness of  my  disposition,  together  with  my  features,  from  my  mother. 
To-day  is  my  birthday,  and  all  my  family  have  greeted  me  with  the  warm- 
est affection.  One  word  more  about  my  sister.  She  seems  to  me  so 
wcrthy  of  love,  that  she  must  win  yours  too  some  day. 

Farewell. .  . 


FIHST  RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN.  79 

XXVI. 

MKLDORF,  31«f  Avgvtt. 

You  accuse  me  of  a  propensity  to  idealize. 

I  am  sorry  that  you  do  not  give  me  credit  for  sufficient  true-heartednesa 
to  love  the  Beautiful  devotedly  without  the  necessity  of  coloring  it  more 
highly  by  any  imagination.  If  it  were  aa  you  say,  I  should  be  fated  to 
turn  perpetually  to  new  objects,  till  cold  experience  gradually  taught  me 
better,  and  warned  me  against  such  folly  with  bitter  mockery — till  I  sank 
into  hopeless  misery.  Such  a  warmth  is  not  that  of  life  but  the  unhealthy 
and  transitory  glow  of  fever. 

If  I  have  any  thing  to  thank  nature  for,  her  best  gift  to  me  was  a  cor- 
rect and  very  rapid  judgment,  a  facility  in  detecting  every  thing  false,  in- 
correct, untrue,  that  can  hardly  be  imposed  upon.  While  I  am  ready  to 
adopt  any  well-grounded  opinion,  my  inmost  heart  revolts  against  receiv- 
ing the  judgments  of  others  respecting  persons,  and  whenever  I  have  done 
no,  I  have  bitterly  repented  of  it. 

Manly  worth,  ihv^l  ftf  'ntel'^t  and  enthusiasm,  are  to  me  the  no- 
Ll'.-ot  things  on  •.•a.rth,  superhuman,  and  the  best  pledge  of  our  higher  des- 
tination, heavenly  origin,  and  divine  illumination.  I  can  not  worship  the 
abstractions  of  virtue— she  only  charms  me  when  she  addresses  herself  to 
my  heart,  speaks  through  the  love  from  which  she  springs.  I  am  not 
blind  to  the  faults  of  those  I  love,  because  I  do  not  speak  of  them.  Either 
faults  cease  to  exist  where  there  is  true  excellence,  or  they  are  only  imper- 
fections. I  have  never  fancied  any  one  perfect,  indeed  I  have  rather  Veen 
liable  to  err  through  mistrust  and  suspicion.  I  really  love  nothing  but 
what  actually  exists  :  virtue,  love,  sincerity^purity ;  where  these  are,  what 
more  need  I  seek  for  ?  I  believe  that  where  these  qualities  are  irradiated 
by  the  JQ^uaafias_fif.JWlS2fiflBfie,  and  fortified  by  a  clear,  active,  cultivated 
ioUlWt,  we  have,  without  any  idealizing,  the  only  thing  that  remains  to 
us  from  the  golden  age 

If  you  reveal  my  wishes  to  Amelia,  you  must  let  her  know  that  she  is 
not  the  object  of  a  blind  passion — that  it  is  my  first  endeavor  to  acquire 
her  esteem. 

XXVII. 

MILDOBF,  &th  September,  1797. 

Even  while  I  was  writing  my  last  letter  to  you,  I  began  to  feel  the  sort 
of  stupor  and  gloom  creeping  over  me  that  I  have  on  my  dark  days. 
Whether  this  is  physical,  or  whether  the  dazzling  brightness  of  a  succession 
of  happy  days  is  necessarily  followed  by  a  fit  of  exhaustion,  when  external 
circumstances  do  not  feed  the  flame,  is  a  mystery  to  myself.  I  have  at 
last  succeeded  by  strenuous  efforts,  in  driving  away  the  blackest  clouds  and 
to-day  your  welcome  letter  has  kindled  a  fresh  life-giving  spark  within 
me. 

But  all  my  life  this  inequality  of  spirits  has  been  my  torment.  When 
ever  I  have  worked  hard,  of  course  I  mean  in  special  investigations  which 
only  serve  as  means  to  aa  end,  or  amidst  the  confused  heap  of  materials 
required  by  some  other  object,  I  seem  as  if  paralyzed.  When  a  few  days 
have  elapsed,  and  my  new  acquisition  has  fallen  into  its  place,  then  comes 
my  brightest  -time.  But  meanwhile  I  am  good  for  very  little. 

The  lot  of  the  scholar  working  amidst  his  books  is  a  wearisome  one. 


80  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

He  is  ever'  treading  on  the  brink  of  pedantry,  a  yawning  chasm,  in  which, 
if  we  were  laughing  on  the  subject,  we  might  say  he  would  be  buried  in 
dust  and  dead  leaves,  if  he  made  a  false  step.  He  has  to  extract  honey 
from  wormwood.  He  must  constantly  keep  his  mind  on  the  stretch ;  can 
only  succeed  by  slow  degrees  in  his  task  of  self-culture,  and  measures 
every  thing  by  an  ideal  standard,  which  he  is  often  unable  to  attain  from 
the  poverty  of  his  materials — still  oftener  from  his  own  want  of  talent. 
Sciences  which  are  entirely  based  on  speculation,  such  as  philosophy  and 
mathematics,  are  free  from  this  disadvantage  ;  and  all  occupation  with 
them  refreshes  and  quickens  the  mental  powers,  when  one  has  fairly  got 
into  their  spirit.  Neither  are  those  liable  to  get  depressed  by  their  studies, 
who  collect  and  compare,  often  without  the  least  philosophy,  single  inter- 
esting things,  such  as  natural  objects.  But  he  who  studies  grammar,  and 
rhetoric,  and  style,  seeks  and  deduces  rules  and  laws,  or  learns  those  that 
others  have  found,  which  are  indeed  important  to  him  as  regards  the  re- 
finement of  his  taste,  and  perhaps  something  higher,  but  which  are  so  dry — 
taken  singly,  for  the  most  part  so  unimportant — must  constantly  stim- 
ulate his  ardor,  and  keep  his  affections  in  play,  or  he  will  be  in  danger  of 
either  relaxing  his  exertions,  or  acquiring  a  mechanical  pleasure  in  mere 
words.  In  the  study  of  history  there  is  a  much  higher  species  of  interest. 
But  its  immense  extent,  the  difficulty  of  imprinting  all  that  is  needful  on 
the  memory,  the  almost  greater  difficulty  of  steadily  maintaining  a  cor-, 
rect  point  of  view,  the  toil  of  collecting  the  most  interesting  fragments 
from  innumerable  books  and  relics,  while  conscious  of  their  incompleteness, 
the  repulsive  task  of  wading  through  an  immense  amount  of  what  is  bad 
(though  in  this  respect  people  generally  of  their  own  free  will  do  more  than 
is  necessary),  until  at  last  you  have  so  far  reduced  all  to  order,  that  you 
can  begin  to  mould  the  mass  into  a  beautiful  form  (which  it  takes  years 
to  do) — these  preparatory  difficulties  almost  overpower  any  one  who  per- 
ceives them. 

I  have  long  attributed  to  this  cause,  and  to  the  still  worse  state  of  the 
professional  sciences,  -which  have  long  been  an  empty  husk,  the  inertia  of 
the  best  intellects  among  us.  The  life  of  the  ancients  in  small  States,  was 
like  that  in  a  large  family;  even  Rome  itself  was,  in  reality,  as  a  State, 
confined  within  its  walls,  and  to  the  spots  consecrated  to  the  popular  as- 
semblies, notwithstanding  the  enormous  extension  of  its  boundaries. 

War  and  the  discharge  of  public  functions  were  extremely  liberal  occupa- 
tions, and  it  was  considered  that  good  sense  and  practice  were  sufficient 
qualifications  for  either.  Then  there  were  very  few,  whose  minds  had  not 
been  developed  by  the  active  discharge  of  these  functions,  which  were  not 
confined,  any  more  than  learning,  to  a  particular  class.  We  see  nothing 
among  ourselves  that  can  be  compared  to  the  indefatigable  power  and 
activity  of  the  ancients.  They  were  at  all  times  men  and  free  citizens. 
We  are  obliged  to  make  a  special  class  of  learned  men;  and,  in  conse- 
quence, we  lose  sight  of  the  world,  of  active  life,  of  the  best  part  of  our- 
selves, of  reality ;  and  cling  to  book-knowledge  alone.  A  few  escape  this 
fate,  to  whom  their  kind  genius  has  given  the  good  fortune  and  the  energy 
to  separate  the  kernel  from  the  shell,  in  spite  of  all  difficulties,  and  to  keep 
their  hearts  warm  and  active. 

The  ancients  invented  the  sciences;  the  elements  of  which  were  not 
diffused  among  the  vulgar,  producing  a  shallow  knowledge ;  men  sought 


FIEST  RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN.  81 

for  insight  in  converse  with  sages,  and  there  were  only  two  kinds  of  knowl- 
edge, the  common  and  the  philosophical.  We  lose  the  simple  aspect  of 
nature  long  before  we  are  able  to  comprehend  the  expositions  of  philoso- 
phers. We  hear,  as  children,  that  the  earth  turns  round  the  sun,  before  the 
words  can  convey  any  idea  to  us ;  for  the  sense*  will  not  suffer  the  imagin- 
ation to  grasp  an  image  of  such  magnitude.  It  is  the  same  with  every 
thing.  On  all  hands  there  abound  crude  doctrines,  patchwork  theories, 
assertions  on  authority. 

It  is  impossible  for  us  to  see  as  clearly  as  the  ancients  did.  And  then 
their  philosophy  of  human  affairs  does  not  satisfy  us :  we  rack  our  brains 
and  split  hairs,  and,  after  all,  do  not  think.  Why  were  they  so  free  from 
the  monstrous  absurdities  by  which  we  are  surrounded  ? 

1  have  wandered  far  from  my  subject,  but  all  that  I  have  said  has  s 
bearing  upon  it ;  for  what  I  mean  is,  that  there  are  two  things  which  have 
a  very  mischievous  effect  upon  my  mind — the  disadvantages  of  ray  occu- 
pations, which  are,  nevertheless,  the  only  ones  open  to  me  in  these  days, 
and  my  own  inequality  of  temperament. 

I  must  tell  you  a  little  about  Yny  life  here.  My  friend*  evince 

the  deepest  affection  for  me ;  but  I  am  almost  frightened  to  see  the  exag- 
gerated opinion  my  father  has  of  me,  and  his  propensity  to  look  upon  all 
his  aspirations  for  me  as  so  certain  of  accomplishment,  that  he  regards 
every  difficulty  I  see  in  the  way  as  mere  nonsense.  One  trait  that  is  com- 
mon to  all  of  us,  has  often  deprived  us  of  many  a  happy  hour,  we  are  too 
apt  to  be  irritated  by  opinions  opposed  to  our  own,  and,  instead  of  testing 
them,  either  to  reject  or  be  persuaded  into  them.  You  may  find  in  this  an 
explanation  of  many  points  in  my  character,  particularly  my  habit  of  hasty, 
passionate  condemnation. 

XXVIII. 

MEI.DORF,  18/A  September,  1797. 

I  have  written  a  tremendously  long  letter  to  Deaaugiers*  about 

the  unhappy  revolution  in  Paris,  t  and  endeavored  to  set  in  the  clearest 
light  the  merits  and  the  innocence  of  the  now  proscribed  party,  and  the 
black  guilt  and  inexpiable  crime  of  the  triumphant  faction,  with  all  the 
force  of  language  and  logic  at  my  command.  It  is  the  only  homage  which 
a  remote  foreigner  can  bring  to  oppressed  virtue.  This  has  cost  me  much 
titne  and  paper 

I  am  quite  decided  not  to  go  to  Paris  at  present.  It  is  a  lucky  thing 
for  me  that  the  post  there,  which  was  offered  to  me,  has  fallen  to  another 
candidate.  I  could  neither  endure  the  sorrow  of  seeing  such  a  complete 
triumph  of  villainy  over  virtue,  of  barbarism  over  intellect  and  accomplish- 
ments, nor  yet  of  listening  to  the  shameless  insults  and  groundless  impu- 

*  The  French  Chared  d' Affaires  at  Copenhagen. 

t  The  Revolution  of  the  18th  Fructidor,  when  the  democratic  majority  of  the 
Directory,  alarmed  by  the  growing  influence  of  the  moderate  and  monarchical 
sentiments  in  the  nation,  which  threatened  the  ascendency  of  the  violent  Jacobin 
party,  resolved  to  overturn  the  Constitution,  surrounded  the  Councils  of  Five 
Hundred  and  of  the  Ancients  with  troops,  dispersed  the  majority  of  the  members, 
annulled  the  motions  unfavorable  to  their  interests,  and  condemned  the  leaders 
of  the  opposite  party,  including  most  of  the  men  of  genius  and  principle  in 
France,  to  transportation  to  Guiana.  The  immediate  results  of  this  revolution 
were  the  abolition  of  the  freedom  of  the  press,  and  of  the  institution  of  juries,  and 
the  re-enactment  of  the  laws  enjoining  the  banishment  of  the  noblea  and  priests. 

D* 


82  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

tations  heaped  upon  the  proscribed  by  their  victors ;  and  as  little  could  I 
submit  to  the  degrading  humiliation  of  associating  with  men  whom  I 
abhor. 

XXIX. 

TO  AMELIA. 

COPENHAGEN,  4th  November,  1797. 

Your  remembrance  and  your  image,  thank  God,  are  always  present  to 
me.  Hence  my  solitude  depresses  me  less  than  it  ever  did  before  ;  hence, 
in  society,  I  feel  more  strange,  embarrassed,  and  unsympathizing  than 
ever.  The  first  is  good,  but  the  second  frightens  me,  and  I  feel  that  it  is 
not  right.  Schimmelman  and  Prehn  are  the  only  persons  with  whom  I 
speak  of  you.  No  one  else  has  any  idea  of  our  engagement.  A  greater 
change  has  taken  place  in  my  character  than  at  any  former  time.  1  shall 
certainly  be  further  than  ever  from  foolish  and  unworthy  conduct.  Till 
now,  I  have  been  very  idle.  Strictly  speaking,  nothing  has  yet  been  done. 
Of  course,  I  am  never  quite  without  reading.  Homer,  Plato,  and  Cicero 
lie  before  me ;  but  I  have  only  read  a  little  of  Homer.  The  constant  fogs 
and  clouds  prevent  me  from  going  on  with  astronomy.  Here,  too,  I  per- 
ceive with  humiliation  the  bad  effects  of  my  long  continued  careless  inob- 
servance  of  nature,  and  feel  the  necessity  of  a  tolerably  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  phenomena  before  proceeding  to  science,  at  least,  if  I  am  to  learn 
it  independently  and  with  insight.  Beyond  the  first  evening  I  have  not 
had  any  pleasant  time  yet  with  Schimmelman.  We  have  been  interrupted 
by  strangers.  I  am  fairly  besieged  with  invitations ;  but  I  have  now  an 
object,  and  work  toward  it  without  suffering  myself  to  be  drawn  aside.  I 
owe  it  to  you  that  I  am  infinitely  more  tranquil  than  I  ever  was  before. 
You  will  certainly  change  your  wavering,  restless  friend  into  a  firm,  calm 
man,  worthy  of  your  love. 

XXX. 

llth  November. 

I  have  had  numerous  invitations.     You  know  that  I  did  not  wish 

to  see  Grouvelle  again,  and  certainly  meant  not  to  visit  him.  This  I  kept 
to,  and  should  have  continued  to  do  so,  but  he,  not  to  be  repulsed,  sent  my 
friend  Desaugiers  to  me,  with  an  invitation ;  and,  moreover,  with  strict 
orders  to  bring  me  back  with  him.  He  has  once  since  then  forced  me  to 
come  to  his  house  in  the  same  way.  I  confess  that  I  have  no  pleasure 
even  in  rny  intercourse  with  Desaugiers,  though  he  has  an  excellent  heart, 
because  he  is  always  occupied  with  ideas  which  have  become  abhorrent  to 
me,  since  it  has  grown  so  evident  that  the  fearful  tragedy  is  issuing  in  a 
disgusting  farce,  as  if  in  both  halves  it  were  played  by  devils.  I  plainly 
declare  that  I  do  not  wish  to  have  any  thing  to  do  with  Grouvelle,  whose 
pociety  was  once  sought  by  all  the  refined  and  intellectual  world  of  Paris. 
I  feel  that  such  intercourse  does  me  no  good.  It  is  dazzling  outwardly, 
but  hollow,  mere  empty  talk ;  it  goes  against  my  conscience.  Nothing  but 
the  impossibility  of  escaping  from  it  without  an  open  breach,  has  made  me 
put  up  with  it  so  long.  My  staying  away,  making  difficulties,  or  giving 
downright  refusals,  would  have  made  any  one  else  give  me  up  as  an 
obstinate  fellow.  Desaugiers  has  here  no  more  intimate  friend  than 
myself;  perhaps  not  even  among  his  early  acquaintance.  But  here  the 


FIRST  RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN.  83 

difference  between  the  friendship  of  our  circle  and  that  of  foreigner*  is  moat 
striking.  The  life  and  food  of  our  intimacy  is  the  communication  of  our 
inmost  thoughts,  absolute  confidence,  constituting  an  individual  relation. 
But  between  foreigners  there  is  nothing  but  a  higher  degree  of  kind  feeling, 
if  help  is  wanted,  openness  and  confidence ;  otherwise,  the  attention  of  both 
is  only  directed  to  outward  objects.  The  relation  is  easily  broken,  and  may 
be  dissolved  by  a  neglect  in  the  degret  of  attention. 

XXXJ. 

TO  HIS  PARENTS. 

COPKNHAOX*,  Zd  January,  1798. 

I  will  not  begin  my  first  letter  hi  •  the  new  year  to  you,  ray  dearest 
parents,  with  general  wishes  for  your  happiness,  for  you  will  take  these  for 
granted,  knowing  them  to  be  ever  in  ray  mind ;  but  with  wishes  for  the 
health  of  us  all,  for  an  uninterrupted  harmony  of  feeling,  and  for  external 
prosperity.  With  regard  to  the  last,  I  have  for  some  time  past  felt  much 
inquietude,  which  I  no  longer  hide  from  you,  since  the  moment  of  decision, 
one  way  or  the  other,  is  daily  approaching.  Probably  rumors  of  a  French 
expedition  against  Hanover  and  Hamburgh  may  have  reached  Holstein, 
even  the  newspapers  have  alluded. to  it,  and  it  has  long  attracted  our 
attention.  We  can  scarcely  picture  to  ourselves,  in  all  their  details,  the 
frightful  consequences  of  such  an  enterprise :  but  it  would  be  childish  not 
to  see  that  the  French,  after  coming  so  far  to  destroy  English  commerce, 
would  inevitably  require  us  to  close  the  Sound  to  all  English  vessels,  and 
place  a  garrison  in  Friedensburg  to  insure  our  compliance.  However,  no 
salvation  could  have  been  looked  for  from  a  continuance  of  the  war,  if  the. 
late  King  of  Prussia  had  lived.  His  death,  combined  with  the  great  im- 
pression which  the  conduct  of  Austria  made  on  Germany,  awakened  at 
first  great  hopes ;  and  we  ventured  to  look  forward  to  seeing  a  powerful, 
well-supported  Prussian  army  on  the  Rhine.  Nor  were  we  deceived  in  the 
disposition  of  the  young  king ;  we  must  not  call  him  cowardly  and  weak 
because  he  surrendered  the  last  yet  unconquered  fortresses  on  the  frontier 
of  Germany,  for  his  kingdom  is  as  yet  unprepared,  and,  at  the  first  out- 
break, the  enemy's  forces  could  occupy  all  Lower  Saxony  and  Westphalia 
before  any  opposition  could  be  offered  by  a  Prussian  army.  Thus  all 
persons  here,  who  are  informed  as  to  the  movements  of  the  great  powers, 
live  in  a  state  of  the  most  anxious  expectation.  An  army  is  forming,  all 
officers  and  soldiers  on  furlough  are  recalled,  and  Magdeburg  placed  in  a 
state  of  defense.  If  France  makes  a  sudden  incursion,  Prussia  will  scarcely 
venture  upon  a  war  for  the  recovery  of  Hanover.  If  Prussia  has,  time  to 
prepare,  will  she  not  require  all  the  assistance  from  Holstein  which  the 
latter  can  afford,  after  having  already  contributed  to  the  defense  of  the  line 
of  demarkation  ? 

And  is  not  the  cause  of  Hanover  and  Hamburgh  our  own  ?  Must  we 
not  submit  to  every  demand  of  France,  when  she  has  possession  of  these  ? 
Will  she  not  occupy  Holstein,  even  though  we  may  endeavor  to  satisfy  her 
by  submission  ?  Thus  fearful  is  our  position  as  long  as  France  holds  h«-r 
present  views.  And  it  is  not  probable  that  she  will  give  them  up  a*  long 
as  the  war  with  England  lasts.  And  a  termination  to  this,  by  menus  of 
a  fair  peace,  seems  at  present  hopeless.  The  congress  of  Rastadt  may  de- 
cide the  fate  of  Hanover ;  but  even  if  the  dangers  now  threatening  us  are 


84  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

diverted  for  a  time,  it  is  but  too  probable  that,  at  a  future  period,  we  may 
find  submission  to  France  the  only  means  of  saving  the  existence  of  our  State. 

So  the  most  earnest  wish  for  us  all  must  be  peace,  and  the  independence 
and  inviolability  of  our  soil.  Holstein,  which  contains  all  that  is  dearest 
to  me  in  the  world — you,  and  those  whom  I  have  made  mine  by  choice — 
and  which  will,  perhaps,  be  the  scene  of  my  future  life,  is  unquestiona- 
bly in  danger.  If  we  can  gain  time,  it  is  certain  that  a  courageous  resist- 
ance— let  it  be  understood,  a  resistance  to  which  we  bring  our  utmost  re- 
sources— might  preserve  our  soil  from  devastation,  and  all  we  love  from  the 
horrors  of  war,  and  so  fearful  an  enemy  as  the  French  armies  of  the  Rhine  ; 
arid  no  less  certain  that  we  can  not  in  any  case  lose  more  than  by  sacri- 
ficing Prussia,  if  Prussia  is  willing  to  rise. 

But  if  we  choose  this  plan,  we  must  count  the  cost  of  all  our  sacrifices, 
and  make  an  unalterable  determination  not  to  survive  disgrace 

XXXII. 

COPENHAGEN,  30th  January  1798. 

The  kind  manner  in  which  you,  my  dearest  parents,  have  received  my 
account  of  Moldenhawer's  proposition  has  given  me  great  pleasure.*  My 
last  letter  renders  any  further  details  unnecessary,  and  you  will  there  find 
all  your  questions  already  answered. 

It  has  rejoiced  me  to  see  that  you,  dearest  father,  express  a  just  indif- 
ference as  to  the  kind  of  appointment  I  may  receive,  provided  that  it  af- 
fords us  a  sufficient  income,  and  a  sphere  of  action  at  once  useful  to  others 
and  congenial  to  my  talents.  My  engagement  has  placed  me  in  a  nar- 
rower circle  and  led  me  to  renounce  all  plans  involving  uncertainty  as  to 
results,  a  great  length  of  time  for  their  execution,  or  a  residence  in  any 
distant  country  ;  thus  freeing  my  mind  from  many  chimeras,  and  unset- 
tling yet  impracticable  projects,  and  fixing  my  thoughts  with  infinitely 
greater  earnestness  on  what  lies  near  at  hand,  and  the  use  I  can  make  of 
it,  in  my  time  as  well  as  in  my  occupations. 

We  can  not  now  build  castles  in  the  air,  to  be  realized  in  some  distant 
future — of  a  residence  of  some  years  abroad  during  my  youth,  which  should 
procure  me  cultivation  and  polish  almost  without  effort  on  my  part.  My 
travels  can  now — and  in  this  light  I  have  always  viewed  them  myself — 
be  only  diligent  study  on  an  ever  changing  scene 

XXXIII. 

COPENHAGEN,  2d  February,  1798. 

I  shall  therefore  decline  Moldenhawer's  offer  unreservedly.  I  am  now 
most  anxious  to  hear  your  opinion  of  Schimmelman's  proposals,  which  have 
at  least  this  recommendation,  that  they  come  from  a  man  who,  I  may 
almost  say,  loves  and  trusts  me  as  a  son,  who  has  my  welfare  at  heart, 
and  who  is  capable  of  sympathy,  affection,  and  enjoyment  to  a  degree 
very  rarely  to  be  met  with.  In  accepting  them  I  should,  it  must  be  con- 
fessed, involve  myself  in  government  business,  but  only  partially  so,  and  I 
could  easily  withdraw  as  soon  as  a  chance  of  a  professorship  in  Kiel  offer- 
ed. Business  of  this  kind  is  not  new  to  me,  and  presents  no  difficulties. 

*  Niebuhr  here  refers  to  an  offer  that  he  had  received  of  the  chair  of  ancient 
languages  and  literature  in  a  philological  academy  about  to  be  founded  in  Den- 
mark. 


FIEST  RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN.  85 

For  the  chief  talent  I  possess,  or  hare  preserved,  besides  that  of  memory 
(and,  indeed,  it  is  the  cause  of  the  latter),  is  a  very  quick  comprehension 
of  the  matter  in  hand,  a  correct  and  clear  perception,  which  almost  inva- 
riably seizes  at  once  on  the  tnte  state  of  the  case.  This  sares  me  an  infi- 
nite amount  of  time,  and  as  we  should  restrict  our  society  to  a  very  nar- 
row circle,  I  should  still  have  leisure  enough  not  wholly  to  lose  sight  of  my 
favorite  pursuits. 

Amelia  would  wish  my  journey  to  be  shortened,  and  I  agree  with  her. 
England,  and  at  the  most  two  or  three  months  in  France,  now  fall  of  vain 
glory  over  her  triumphs,  will  furnish  me  with  sufficient  instruction,  and  a 
vast  field  for  observation.  But  time  must  decide  for  us  on  this  point. 

You  ask  after  my  health,  dearest  father.  For  some  time  it  was  not  as 
I  could  wish-—  my  head  was  unusually  heavy  and  stupid.  My  labors  in 
the  cold  halls  of  the  Library  brought  on  another  attack  of  my  complaint. 

I  have  re-arranged  and  supplied  the  deficiencies  in  one  portion  of  the 
historical  department.  But  my  health  is  not  so  bad  as  last  spring,  when 
I  was  imprudent  enough  to  go  straight  to  work  in  the  halls  of  the  Library 
heated  and  lightly  dressed  as  I  had  come  from  Count  Ludolf  s.*  Some- 
times, too,  I  read  there  extracts  of  works  which  I  can  not  well  take  home 
with  me  ;  thus  I  have  lately  read  parts  of  Theophanes,  and  Luitprand 
on  the  Byzantine  Empire,  and  yesterday  meditated  on  some  passages  of 
Xenophon  concerning  the  Greek  tactics,  which  I  have  been  studying  among 
other  things  this  winter,  and  of  which  I  have  obtained  a  tolerable  concep- 
tion, especially  those  of  the  Macedonians  and  Lacedemonians. 

XXXIV. 

TO  AMELIA. 

CoPEXHAOBir,  34  February,  1799. 
......  How  will  you  bear  my  asperities  and  all  my  faults  ?     There 

are  defects  of  temperament  which  can  scarcely  be  conquered.  *  My  irrita- 
bility, my  egotism,  is  of  this  kind.  To  efface  these  without  filling  their 
place  with  any  other  feeling  produces  apathy  and  injures  the  character. 
Love  may  conquer  them.  To  be  strong  in  love  is  the  only  way  to  become 
noble,  and  all  softening  through  education,  which  is  not  based  on  love,  w 
merely  pernicious.  I  remember  that  I  was  terribly  passionate  in  my 
childhood,  but  being  often  reproved  for  it,  strove  with  «nch  success  to  at- 
tain indifference,  that  for  a  time  I  was  as  if  dead,  and  only  by  degrees  re- 
covered at  all  a  vivid  feeling  of  real  injuries.  It  won  Id  have  been  better 
to  hare  let  me  alone,  till  nobler  feelings  had  replaced  this  vehemence. 

XXXV. 

TO  HIS  FATHER. 

,  \3tk  February,  1798. 


.....  In  the  great  world  here  every  one  lives  in  a  constant  round  of 
gayety.  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  other  classes,  according  to  their  differ- 
ent ranks.  Business  is  hurried  through,  to  leave  time  for  amusements 
These  form  the  staple  of  conversation,  and  one  party  furnishes  the  poverty- 

*  The  Austrian  embassador,  who  had  kindly  assisted  Niebahr  in  his  Fenian 

.....  Hfj 


86  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

stricken  materials  for  another.  Next  to  these,  politics  possess  the  strong- 
est interest,  yet  even  they  not  a  very  vivid  one.  In  some  houses  they  are 
the  all-important  topic,  and  swallow  up  every  thing  else.  One  would 
think  there  could  now  be  but  one  voice  on  these  questions,  that  the  Gal- 
lomaniacs must  be  silent,  and  the  arch-aristocrats  descend  from  their 
claims  and  their  credulity,  but  unfortunately  it  is  quite  the  contrary.  The 
former  ignore  all  the  excesses  of  the  French  government,  and  openly  re- 
joice in  its  overweening  power,  while  the  latter  are  filled  with  indiscrimin- 
ating  anger. 

Thus  it  is  impossible  to  agree  with  either  side,  and  to  avoid  the  dislike 
of  both.  For  my  part  I  really  do  not  seek  disputes,  though  my  position 
has  exercised  my  lungs,  my  tongue,  and  my  logic  considerably. 

The  apprehensions,  of  which  I  lately  wrote  to  you,  dearest  father,  may 
apparently  be  laid  aside  for  the  present.  The  firmness  of  the  King  of 
Prussia  seems  to  have  diverted  the  French  from  their  project  of  occupying 
Hanover,  and  without  ceremony  taking  it  away  from  the  King  of  England, 
according  to  the  same  rule  of  force  by  which  they  seize  on  every  thing  that 
excites  their  desires.  Probably,  too,  the  consciousness  of  their  irresistible 
strength,  as  it  has  induced  them  to  make  some  temporary  concessions,  will 
enable  them  to  exercise  coercion  at  any  future  moment  as  successfully  as 
at  the  present.  Who  knows  that  they  are  not  hoping  to  find  some  ground 
of  quarrel  with  Hamburgh,  by  means  of  their  commissioner  in  that  city, 
and  that  they  may  not  yet  bring  forward  at  Rastadt  a  demand  for  the  se- 
questration of  Hanover  ?  for  as  they  treat  justice  with  contempt,  they  in- 
variably contrive  to  throw  the  blame  of  the  failure  of  their  attempts  at 
peace  on  their  adversaries,  whereas  their  own  requisitions  are  always  un- 
precedented, and  such  as  the  opposite  party  can  not  concede.  To  hear 
such  conduct  defended,  and  the  principle  advocated  that  the  utmoet  possi- 
ble increase  of  their  power  is  to  be  desired — a  principle  whose  partisans, 
though  for  the  most  part  hypocrites  themselves,  talk  as  if  the  right  were 
exclusively  on  their  side,  and  calumniate  and  misrepresent  the  opinions  of 
their  antagonists — is,  indeed,  perfectly  intolerable.  I  am  very  curious  to 
see  whether  any  of  our  convoyed  vessels  will  be  captured  ;  whether  the 
defense  of  our  ships  of  war  will  be  regarded  as  a  crime ;  whether  requisi- 
tions will  be  made  to  Hamburgh  to  close  the  Elbe,  and  expel  all  emi- 
grants, and  similar  demands  made  to  this  country ;  whether  Grouvelle 
will  be  sent  as  minister  to  Sweden,  and  Leans-Bourdon,  the  thoroughly 
Jacobinical  commissioner  at  Hamburgh,  be  made  embassador  here  in  his 
place — all  possible  contingencies,  and  all  dreadful  to  us. 

I  foresaw  the  absorption  of  Switzerland.  As  to  England,  I  am  in  a 
state  of  doubtful  expectation.  I  do  not  believe  in  a  naval  expedition 
against  her.  Would  it  were  true  5  for  a  dozen  barges  filled  with  bombs 
would  infallibly  destroy  the  monster,  if  it  were  not  dispersed  or  shattered 
by  the  waves.  The  good  fortune  and  boldness  of  the  French  causes  me 
much  more  alarm.  Several  squadrons,  starting  from  several  different 
points,  and  consisting  of  a  multitude  of  armed  vessels  of  all  kinds,  might 
attack  the  English  coasts  at  the  same  time  ;  could  they  succeed  in  land- 
ing troops  every  thing  might  be  feared  from  the  bravery  and  discipline  of 
their  soldiers,  the  unserviceableness  of  the  English  forces,  and  from  the 
rebels  in  Ireland,  and  the  traitors  in  England 


FIRST  EESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN.  87 

XXXVI. 

TO  AMELIA. 

COPENHAGEN,  24  March,  1798. 

As  I  was  standing  here  about  noon,  the  sun  shone  so  warmly  into 

my  dull  room,  and  the  sky  was  so  brilliantly  blue  above  the  high  roofs  of 
my  neighbors,  that  I  could  not  refrain  from  going  out  into  the  fresh  air, 
which  I  have  not  tasted  for  a  long  time,  and  not  desired  for  still  longer. 
The  air  was  even  more  refreshing  than  I  expected,  and  allured  roe  on  and 
on,  though  there  was  as  yet  no  sign  of  life  in  grass  or  tree,  no  sign  of  rich- 
ness or  beauty.  There  is  a  great  charm  in  the  mildness  of  early  spring,  it 
affects  the  feelings  so  gently  and  soothingly.  You  reminded  me  once,  that 
the  first  time  we  saw  each  other  at  your  father's,  I  told  you  of  my  dislike 
to  bright  winter  days.  This  feeling  is  still  invincible,  and  the  cloudy  au- 
tumn, and  the  depth  of  winter,  whose  shadows  invite  to  social  pleasures 
and  to  meditation,  are  as  dear  and  welcome  to  me,  as  the  shivering  spring 
is  disagreeable.  The  latter,  indeed,  generally  brings  sickness  to  me,  for  the 
unhealthy  air  after  the  rough  cold  winds  of  winter,  and  the  exhaustion  of 
my  solitary  toils,  is  more  than  I  can  stand ;  and  then,  too,  nothing  is  so 
hateful  to  my  eyes  as  the  dead  earth  in  the  glare  of  light.  Certainly  we 
ought  not  to  allow  ourselves  to  be  too  much  under  the  control  of  such  im- 
pressions, but  one  can  not  entirely  get  rid  of  their  influence  where  they  are 
very  strong. 

XXXVII. 

TO  HIS  PARENTS. 

6tk  March,  1798. 

I  have  only  spoken  warmly  of  Sonza  two  or  three  times  to  you,  and  yet 
he  has  gained  a  very  high  place  in  my  affection*. 

Perhaps  it  falls  to  the  lot  of  very  few  young  people  to  have  advances 
made  to  them  by  so  many  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  the  day  as  my 
good  or  evil  genius  has  brought  me  in  contact  with ;  and  no  one  has  dis- 
played more  cordiality  toward  me,  a  more  decided  wish  to  contract  a  last- 
ing friendship  with  me,  than  this  most  amiable  man.  Jacob!  had  pre- 
possessed him  in  my  favor,  and  Schimmelman  had  strengthened  the  im- 
pression ;  thus  he  saw  me  through  my  friends'  eyes.  I  have  by  no  means 
availed  myself  of  his  advanced  to  the  full  extent,  but  I  have  nevertheless 
seen  enough  of  him  to  love  him  heartily,  and  to  possess  full  intimacy  with 
him. 

He  has  a  great  amount  of  information,  is  a  very  good  speaker,  has  seen 
a  great  deal,  is  a  very  thinking  man,  and  has  withal,  the  very  agreeable 
characteristic,  that  by  the  kindness  of  his  manners,  nay,  even  by  the  noble- 
ness of  his  physiognomy,  he  draws  out  those  with  whom  be  converses,  so 
that  with  him  you  find,  you  can  not  tell  why,  that  yon  have  a  much  greater 
flow  of  words,  and  more  available  thoughts,  than  in  ordinary  conversation. 
Unfortunately  he  has  been  recalled  hence  very  quickly,  and  goes  on  Friday 
to  Hamburgh :  I  am  uncertain  whether  to  engage  in  business  of  his  own, 
or  to  enter  on  a  dangerous  mission  from  his  court,  for  on  this  subject  he 
observes  a  silence  that  I  have  no  right  to  break.  My  journey  to  England 


88  MEMOIR,  OF  NIEBUHR. 

pleases  him  much  ;  he  has  visited  that  country,  and  has  a.  real  attachment 
to  it,  though  not  so  strong  as  he  once  had.  He  has  given  me  a  letter  to 
one  of  his  friends,  Sir  Thomas  Rivers,  and  offered  me  one  to  Lord  Lans- 
downe,  and  one  to  Mr.  Wyndham,  in  order  that  I  may  be  personally  ac- 
quainted with  the  English  minister;  but  I  hesitate  about  making  use  of 
the  last.  Sir  Thomas  Rivers  is  a  great  scholar.  Count  Rantzau  gives 
me  a  letter  to  William  Uoscoe,  and  I  reckon  on  having  letters  from  you  to 
Schonborn,  Rennell,  and  Russell.  Moldenhawer  gives  me  introductions  to 
Watson,  Former,  Ford,  and  Bryant ;  and  Torkelin  has  offered  me  one  to 
Lord  Moira 

XXXVIII. 

KIEL,  13th  May,  1798. 

The  weather  was  beautiful  when  I  got  to  Hamburgh,  and  when  I 

inquired  at  the  coach-office  for  Jacobi's,  a  note  was  handed  to  me  whose 
contents  were  equally  delightful  and  unexpected,  for  it  contained  an  invita- 
tion to  stay  at  his  house ;  thus  the  main  object  of  my  journey  was  much 
facilitated.  But  this  offer  stood  in  the  way  of  other  plans,  for  how  could 
I  stay  away  any  length  of  time  from  Jacobi,  after  he  had  treated  me  with 

so  much  kindness 

I  hope  I  have  learnt  much  from  Jacobi  this  time,  his  society  is  more 
improving  than  that  of  any  other  man  I  know ;  he  treated  me  like  a  broth- 
er, and  my  conversations  with  him  are  among  the  best  hours  of  my  life. 
Souza  was  equally  affectionate.  Klopstock  was  unchanged,  and  delighted 
to  see  me.  We  arrived  here  yesterday.  The  Henslers  remain  in  town 
till  Friday.  The  Vosses  arrive  this  evening,  and  we  shall  most  likely  go 
with  them  to  Eutin.  We  shall  visit  Moltke  afterward. 

To  these  letters  may  be  added  a  few  extracts  from  Niebuhr's 
Diaries,  which  are  calculated  to  throw  light  on  his  character 
during  this  period  of  his  life  : 

Probably  written  in  the  autumn  of  1794. 

"  I  made  it  my  first  occupation  to-day  to  pursue  my  meditations  on  what 
experience  and  reflection  have  shown  me  to  be  the  daily  duties  of  pure 
morality  and  wisdom,  and  to  note  down  what  should  serve  me  as  a  guide 
and  rule.  This  new  essay  is  to  be  instead  of  that  which  I  wrote  in  the 
spring,  and  of  which  I  am  now  almost  ashamed,  though  I  do  not  like  to 
destroy  it.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  cheering  witness  to  me  that  I  have 
not  worked  in  vain,  but  have  really  advanced  in  goodness  and  knowledge. 
How  weak  I  was  this  spring;  how  governed  and  led  by  passion  and  vague 
opinions!  I  could  not  say  positively,  I  will;  I  was  obliged  to  make  it 
conditional,  and  so  accomplished  nothing.  Now,  I  do  not  ask  myself 
whether  I  can  do  a  thing,  I  command  myself  to  do  it.  I  hope  I  have  by 
this  time  brought  my  passions  tolerably  under  control.  Vanity  is  now 
the  chief  enemy  that  I  have  to  contend  against,  and  absence  of  mind  ; 
uninterrupted  work  is  the  best  defense  against  both.  In  this,  therefore,  I 
must  not  relax,  and  hence  must  be  on  my  guard  against  society  and  dissi- 
pation." 


FIRST  RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN.  89 

A  page,  written  probably  hi  the  spring  of  1797,  contains  the 
following  passages : 

"  I  have  been  too  remits ;  I  must  be  more  strict  with  myself  if  1  am  to 
reach  my  goal  with  honor." 

"  So  long  as  we  receive  what  is  delivered  to  us,  with  the  ears  and  eyes 
rather  than  with  the  understanding,  we  can  not  survey  it  with  rapidity  and 
insight ;  hence,  also,  depth  and  comprehensiveness  of  view  are  impossible. 
Words  are  the  dangerous  shallows  that  so  often  obstruct  my  progress.  0, 
what  will  help  me  to  inward,  voluntary,  deep  thought  ?  What  will  break 
the  talisman  that  still  keeps  me  spell-bound  under  the  yoke  of  imagination  ?" 

"  One  hour,  at  least,  every  morning  to  be  devoted  to  clearing  up  my 
thoughts  on  a  given  subject. 

"  Two  hours  to  mathematics,  algebra,  chemistry,  natural  philosophy. 

"  An  extensive  knowledge  of  fact*  ;  astronomy,  mathematical  and  phys- 
ical geography ;  these  are  the  rational  and  scientific  basis  of  political  ge- 
ography, ancient  as  well  as  modem,  and  of  history. 

"  General  laws  of  material  nature,  and  meteorology. 

"  Description  of  natural  objects,  animal,  vegetable,  and  inorganic. 

"  Distinct  consciousness  of  the  rules  of  my  moral  being.     Philosophy. 

"As  my  historical  study,  to  work  out  the  chapter  on  chronology  and 
chronometry;  also  (before  my  return)  that  on  grammar. 

"  The  problem  is  to  get  through  the  greatest  quantity  possible  each  day, 
taking  care,  at  the  same  time,  not  to  overstrain  the  power  of  application. 

"  1 .  To  avoid  all  that  taxes  the  powers  fruitlessly  ;  all  dreamy  activity. 

"  2.  Self-examination ;  clearness  of  thought ;  accurate  definitions ;  ex- 
ercises of  the  imagination. 

"  3.  Diligent  reflection  ;  weighing  the  work  performed  ;  real ;  to  harden 
myself  against  effeminacy." 

In  another  paper,  probably  written  rather  later,  which,  as  it  is 
said  to  be  intended  only  fbr  his  own  eye,  can  not  be  inserted,  he 
expresses  "the  holy  resolve,  now  more  and  more,  to  purify  his 
soul,  so  that  it  may  be  ready  at  all  times  to  return  without  fear 
to  the  Eternal  Source  from  which  it  sprang." 

There  are  several  papers  of  a  similar  kind  in  his  diaries,  which 
express  the  purest  resolves  and  purposes  of  a  noble  youthful  soul ; 
and  through  all  there  breathes  the  spirit  of  the  purest  morality, 
and  severe  self-judgment. 

After  passing  the  winter  in  Copenhagen,  he  returned  to  Hoi- 
stein,  in  April,  1798,  in  order  to  spend  a  few  months  there  before 
setting  out  on  his  travels  to  England.  His  chief  aim  in  going 
thither,  beside  the  general  advantages  of  a  residence  in  a  foreign 
country,  and  the  further  prosecution  and  extension  of  his  studies, 
was  to  brace  up  and  strengthen  both  his  mental  and  physical 
energies,  in  preparation  for  active  life.  He  felt  that  the  one 


90  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTTHR. 

needed  bracing,  since  from  never  having  been  obliged  to  regulate 
his  habits  according  to  those  of  others,  except  during  the  short 
time  that  he  was  at  Count  Schimmelman's,  he  had  become  too 
dependent  on  the  little  details  of  life  ;  and  the  other,  in  order  to 
counteract  a  certain  one-sidedness  in  his  cast  of  mind  that  had 
caused  him  to  neglect  entirely  the  study  of  natural  objects.  He 
felt  that  he  stood,  so  to  speak,  outside  the  world  of  realities ; — 
that  nature  and  human  life — the  various  functions  of  civil  life 
which  are  closely  connected  with  the  internal  economy  of  the 
State,  were  unknown  regions  to  him,  which  it  was  necessary  for 
him  to  survey  before  he  could  take  a  comprehensive  view  of  the 
relations  of  the  external  world,  and  of  the  various  conditions  of 
humanity,  either  as  a  scholar  or  a  statesman. 

His  three  months'  stay  in  Holstein  passed  away  very  happily  in 
the  society  of  those  who  were  dearest  to  him  on  earth. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

NIEBUHR'S  JOURNEY  TO  ENGLAND,  AND  RESIDENCE  IN  LON- 
DON AND  EDINBURGH,  FROM  JUNE,  1798,  TO  NOVEIUBER,  1799. 
—VISIT  TO  HOLSTEIN,  AND  APPOINTMENT  IN  COPENHAGEN, 
MAY,  1800. 

TOWARD  the  end  of  June  Niebuhr  sailed  from  Cuxhaven,  to 
which  place  his  father  had  accompanied  him,  and  landed,  after  a 
tedious  voyage  of  more  than  a  week,  at  Yarmouth. 

Of  Niebuhr's  residence  in  England,  we  have  no  account  but 
from  his  letters  to  his  betrothed  ;  no  others  of  that  date  have  been 
preserved.  Those  to  his  parents,  which  were  so  unfortunately 
burnt,  contained  many  details  of  general  interest  respecting  En- 
glish political  and  civil  institutions,  the  character  of  the  nation, 
and  remarkable  individuals.  The  letters  to  his  betrothed  are  of 
a  more  personal  character.  They  aflbrd  a  general  view  of  what 
he  learnt  during  his  absence,  and  the  advantages  he  derived  from 
it ;  and,  above  all,  a  delineation  by  his  own  hand  of  the  inward 
workings  of  his  own  mind,  and  the  characteristics  of  his  nature, 
from  which  we  can  see  how  thoroughly  he  knew,  and  how  severe- 
ly he  criticised  himself,  and  watch  the  struggles  of  a  noble  spirit 
to  realize  its  highest  aspirations. 

In  his  journal  there  occurs  the  following  list  of  the  aims  which 
he  wished  more  especially  to  keep  in  view,  during  his  stay  in 
London : 

';  1  will  strive  to  obtain  by  reading  and  inquiry. 

1.  A  more  complete  notion  of  the  constitution  of  England. 

2.  A  fuller  acquaintance  with  its  topography. 

3.  A  knowledge  of  the  ordinary  measures,  weights,  prices,  &c. 

4.  Information  respecting  the  character,  talents,  and  lives  of  dis- 

tinguished persons. 

5.  "   .      "  literary  institutions,  education,  schools. 

6.  "          "  mode  of  life  of  the  different  classes. 

7.  "  imposts. 

8.  -M         "  army  and  navy. 

9.  "          "  banks  and  trade. 

10.  "'         "„  literature  of  all  kinds,  authors;  publishing  trade. 

II."         "  East  and  West  Indies. 


92  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

In  Dalrymple's  library,  to  make  catalogues  of  the  Hindoo  books  under 
the  following  heads  : 
(a)   Those  concerning  the  Hindoo  nation, 

1.  Matters  relating  to  antiquities,  history,  and  national  character.. 

2.  History  of  the  provinces  and  of  the  Mogul  Empire. 

3.  Modern  history  since  the  fall  of  ditto. 

4.  Descriptions  of  single  provinces. 
(6)    Those  concerning  the  Company, 

1.  Its  charter  and  privileges. 

2.  Its  direction,  trade,  and  European  affairs. 

3.  Its  establishments  in  the  East  Indies,  their  constitution  and  ad- 

ministration." 

Niebuhr  became  acquainted  with  many  distinguished  men  in 
England  and  Scotland.  The  first  friendship  which  he  formed  in 
London  was  with  the  aged  Schbnborh,  who  resided  there  at  that 
time,  and  acted  sometimes  as  Secretary  of  Legation,  sometimes  as 
the  Danish  Charge  d'Affairs,  of  whom  a  spirited  and  well  written 
memoir  appeared  in  1836,  entitled,  "  Schonborn  and  his  Contem- 
poraries." He  was  a  very  original  man,  of  remarkable  talents 
and  information ;  profoundly  versed  in  ancient  and  modern  sys- 
tems of  philosophy,  and  familiar  with  the  ancient  writers  on 
mathematics  and  natural  philosophy.  He  had  been  for  four  years 
Danish  consul  at  Algiers ;  was  a  contemporary  and  friend  of 
Klopstock  and  the  Counts  Stolberg,  and  known  in  his  earlier 
years  by  several  poems  in  the  Pindaric  style,  which  appeared  in 
the  Deutsches  Musseum  and  other  periodicals.  At  a  later  period 
he  retumed  to  Holstein,  where  he  retired  into  private  life.  His 
friendship  with  Niebuhr  subsisted  till  his  death.  At  the  time  of 
which  we  are  now  speaking,  it  was  the  depth  of  his  intellect  and 
the  uprightness  of  his  character  which  won  Niebuhr 's  respect  and 
attachment ;  it  was  not  until  a  later  period  that  his  young  friend 
learnt  to  estimate  the  warm  affection  which  flowed  in  the  depths 
of  his  soul  with  almost  youthful  enthusiasm,  while  outwardly  he 
appeared  cold  even  to  indifference. 

Niebuhr  had  letters  of  introduction  to  many  of  the  political 
characters  of  that  day,  as  well  as  to  most  of  the  noted  men  of 
letters.  He  only  availed  himself  of  a  few  of  the  former  class,  but 
the  latter  procured  him  almost  every  where  a  friendly  reception 
through  the  reputation  which  his  father  enjoyed  in  England. 
Those  with  whom  he  became  most  intimate  were,  in  England, 
Rennel,  Russell,  Marsden,  Banks,  Dalrymple,  Mallet  du  Pan,  and 
Borne  others,  but  especially  Wilkins,  who  had  been,  from  1760  to 


VISIT  TO  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND.  93 

1786,  in  the  civil  service  in  the  East  Indies,  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  Asiatic  Society  in  Calcutta,  and  has  since  acquired 
celebrity  by  his  grammars  and  lexicons  of  Sanscrit  and  other 
Oriental  languages,  and  his  translations  of  various  Oriental  works. 
In  Edinburgh,  where  he  entered  himself  as  a  student  at  the  Uni- 
versity, Niebuhr's  chief  friends  were,  Playfair  (with  whom  he  re- 
newed his  acquaintance  at  Rome  many  years  after) — Coventry, 
Robinson,  Hope,  Gregory,  Home,  Rutherford,  Walker,  Grant,  who 
had  long  resided  in  the  East  Indies,  and  above  all  Mr.  Scott,  an 
old  friend  of  his  father's  in  India.  He  became  acquainted  with  a 
great  number  of  his  fellow-students,  but  formed  no  intimacy  with 
them ;  there  were  only  two  among  them,  named  Moorhouse  and 
Lambe,  to  whom  he  became  really  attached.  His  acquaintance 
with  the  English  meji  of  letters  was  only  slight,  owing  to  his 
visiting  London  during  the  summer  months,  when  nearly  all  of 
them  were  absent. 

He  always  retained  a  great  predilection  for  the  English  nation. 
Their  great  consistency  of  character,  their  general  strict  integrity, 
and  their  great  truthfulness,  raised  them  in  his  estimation  above 
every  other  nation,  excepting  his  own ;  and  therefore  he  was 
more  disposed  to  form  lasting  connections  with  individuals  belong- 
ing to  it  than  with  any  other  foreigners ;  in  fact  most  of  his  for- 
eign friendships  were  with  Englishmen. 

The  subjects  which  Niebuhr  principally  studied  in  Edinburgh, 
were  mathematics  and  the  physical  sciences ;  among  the  latter 
chiefly  natural  philosophy,  chemistry,  agriculture,  and  mineralogy. 
Philological  and  historical  studies  he  only  prosecuted  by  himself, 
and  by  way  of  recreation.  In  these  departments  he  regarded  the 
learned  men  there  as  incomparably  inferior  to  the  Germans.  But 
besides  the  scientific  knowledge  which  he  acquired  in  the  course 
of  his  attendance  on  the  college  lectures,  he  gained  during  his 
visit,  through  observation,  intercourse,  and  research,  an  insight 
into  the  mutual  relations  of  the  various  parts  of  the  state  machine, 
which  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  him  to  obtain  elsewhere. 
The  information  which  he  thus  acquired,  may  certainly  be  con- 
sidered as  the  real  foundation  of  his  political  and  financial  emi- 
nence, although  he  attended  no  lectures  on  these  subjects  in  Scot- 
land. He  indeed  frequently  expressed  the  opinion,  that  finance, 
considered  in  its  practical  application,  was  rather  an  art  than  a 
science,  and  could  not  be  handed  down  from  the  professorial 


94  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

chair,  but  was  only  to  be  learnt  by  personal  investigation,  and 
study. 

Niebuhr  often  acknowledged  with  thankfulness  how  much  En- 
gland had  taught  him.  He  had  previously  been  only  capable  of 
making  such  additions  to  his  knowledge  as  he  could  derive  from 
conversation,  or  books ;  now  he  had  learnt  to  read  nature  also, 
and  the  objects  that  spoke  to  the  eye  alone.  He  felt  too  that  he 
had  gained  much  in  courage,  experience,  and  aptitude,  through 
this  tour. 

He  left  London,  toward  the  end  of  October,  for  Edinburgh, 
Where  he  remained  about  a  year,  made  some  little  excursions  into 
the  southern  part  of  the  Highlands,  and  then  returned,  by  way  of 
Manchester,  Sheffield,  &c.,  to  London,  where  he  only  staid  a  few 
days  on  this  occasion.  He  had,  in  the  first  instance,  formed  plans 
of  more  extended  travel  in  the  interior  of  England,  chiefly  in 
order  to  visit  the  great  manufacturing  towns ;  he  also  wished  to 
have  penetrated  further  into  the  Scottish  Highlands  ;  why  these 
schemes  were  only  partially  carried  into  execution,  will  appear 
from  his  letters  to  his  betrothed,  which,  besides  some  recollections 
of  his  own  verbal  accounts,  are  the  only  source  from  which  any 
records  of  this  period  of  his  life  have  been  obtained. 

In  the  beginning  of  November,  1799,  Niebuhr  returned  to 
Holstein,  and  spent  the  following  winter  there  among  his  friends. 
In  the  middle  of  April,  1800,  he  proceeded  to  Copenhagen,  where 
he  met  with  a  hearty  welcome  from  Count  Schimmelman,  and 
was  received  with  great  kindness  by  the  Crown  Prince. 

A  few  weeks  after  his  arrival,  he  was  appointed  Assessor  at  the 
Board  of  Trade  for  the  East  India  Department,  and  secretary  and 
head  clerk  of  the  standing  Commission  of  the  affairs  of  Barbary 
(or  the  Direction  of  the  African  Consulates),  with  a  salary  which 
was  not  indeed  large,  but  sufficient  for  his  wishes,  and  for  a  quiet 
retired  life,  such  as  he  and  his  Amelia  had  firmly  determined  to 
lead  ;  a  life  that  was  in  accordance  with  their  tastes,  and  from 
which  they  were  both  resolved  not  to  depart,  in  spite  of  all  aDure- 
ments  to  the  contrary. 


VISIT  TO  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND.  95 

EXTEACTS  FROM  NIEBUHR'S  LETTERS  DURING  HIS  STAY  IN 
ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND,  1798-1799. 

XXXIX. 

TO  AMELIA. 

jklir-'  ClIX  HAVES,  28th  Ju lit,  1798. 

Good  morning,  dearest !  You  are  most  likely  writing  at  this  moment, 
and  »o  we  may  fancy  ourselves  sitting  opposite  to  each  other :  this  sense 
of  your  nearness  consoles  me  for  our  separation,  and  its  good  effect  will  be 
strengthened  when  the  compulsory,  prison-like  inactivity  to  which  I  am 
doomed  at  present  is  succeeded  by  uncontrolled  activity  :  then  I  shall  look 
up  to  you  in  thought,  to  see  if  your  glance  of  satisfaction  sets  the  seal 
upon  my  performances,  or  your  sad  eye  says  that  I  have  failed  in  my  duty. 

I  have  been  sitting  in  a  little  room  here  for  several  hours  this  morning, 
which  I  have  spent  in  reading  an  English  magazine,  and  have  been  very 
agreeably  surprised  by  one  of  its  articles— a  notice  and  specimens  of  a  poem 
that  has  just  come  out,  "Naucratia,  or  Naval  Dominion,"  by  H.  G.  Pye. 
There  is  a  great  bustle  in  the  house,  and  the  mingled  sounds  of  children 
crying,  nurses  singing,  people  shouting,  the  loud  voices  of  the  Englishmen 
calling  to  the  waiters,  and  the  still  more  resounding  and  unintelligible  con- 
versation  among  themselves,  has  as  stunning  an  effect  upon  me,  sitting  all 
alone  in  my  little  room,  as  the  noise  of  a  set  of  drunkards  upon  their  sober 
comrade.  Meanwhile,  I  have  already  found  that  necessity  is  an  excellent 
teacher — that  nothing  makes  us  so  active  as  having  no  one  to  help  us,  so 
discreet  as  having  to  rely  upon  ourselves  alone,  so  self-collected  as  feeling  our 
own  individuality  sharply  outlined  off  from  all  others,  which  must  be  the  case 
with  the  utter  stranger ;  and  thus  I  am  full  of  hope  that  th«  bitter  cup  of 
separation  will  strengthen  my  enervated  soul  as  much  as  we  expect,  and  im- 
mensely invigorate  my  energies.  That  must  be  our  best  consolation 

XL. 

LORDOW,  91*1  July,  1798. 

I  find  very  little  that  interests  me  in  the  mere  external  appearance  even 
of  the  most  remarkable  city ;  and  London,  however  little  it  resembles  our 
towns,  has  extremely  little  variety  in  itself.  Perhaps,  on  this  account,  I 
am  not  adapted  for  a  traveler,  and  still  less  because  what  is  foreign  has,  in 
general,  little  attraction  or  value  for  me . 

The  day  before  yesterday,  I  presented  my  father's  letters  to  Russell,  Ren- 
nell,  and  Mallet  du  Pan,  and  enjoyed  a  very  pleasant  day  in  consequence. 
The  two  first  are  very  unaffected,  warm-hearted  men,  who  were  evidently 
glad  to  see  me,  and  do  all  in  their  power  to  help  me. 

What  Mr.  Russell  has  done,  out  of  regard  to  my  father,  would  not  often 
be  done  with  us ;  and  it  is  perhaps  the  main  distinction  between  our 
method  of  treating  a  stranger  and  that  here,  that  we  more  quickly  conceive 
a  personal  attachment  and  try  to  give  pleasure ;  while  the  English,  in  the 
same  case,  spare  no  pains  to  be  of  use,  but  leave  their  friend  to  seek  out 
his  amusements  for  himself.  Russell  has  had  a  fever,  and  is  still  taking 
quinine ;  he  looks  older  than  my  father  and  seems  much  more  infirm 
nevertheless,  he  took  me  yesterday  to  Sir  Joseph  Banks  and  thfl  British 
Museum,  where  he  introduced  me  to  all  the  curators  ;  asked  Dalrymple  to 
introduce  me  to  the  meeting  of  the  Royal  Society,  and  finished  by  intro- 


96  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

ducing  me  to  a  Dr.  Gartshorn,  who  has  asked  me  to  dine  with  him  to-day 
Rennell's  kind,  simple,  animated  face  impresses  you  still  more  agreeably, 
and  it  is  principally  through  him  and  his  directions  that  I  can  obtain  what 
may  prove  the  way  to  my  appointment  in  Kiel.  He  has  a  family,  and 
speaks  with  so  much  feeling  of  the  happiness  he  enjoys  in  it,  that  I  wish 
above  all  things  to  win  his  confidence  and  get  intimate  with  him.  Mars- 
den,  whose  book  is  so  excellent,  seems  jovial  and  open-hearted  ;  he  in- 
terests me  much,  and  I  should  fancy  him  a  most  highly  cultivated  man ; 
but  he  is  probably  too  wealthy  and  too  fashionable  to  admit  me  to  famil- 
iar intercourse. 

The  dinner  at  the  Royal  Society  fully  justified  the  sentence  that  has 
often  been  passed  upon  such  meetings.  It  was  a  feast,  and  the  conversa- 
tion extremely  indifferent ;  in  fact,  below  the  every-day  conversation  of 
learned  men  in  Germany.  We  must  not  be  unjust  to  ourselves  :  it  is  our 
own  fault  that  we  are  not  nobler  than  we  are  in  general ;  but  whether  the 
Good  and  the  Beautiful  find  a  temple  in  more  hearts  here  in  England,  is  a 
great  question,  and  worth  the  solving,  if  it  can  be  solved.  Every  body 
here  is  in  action ;  idleness  and  half-done  work  are  certainly  less  common 
than  with  us ;  practical  ability  is  certainly  more  general — a  false  show  of 
knowledge  rarer ;  a  smooth  exterior  gains  little  respect ;  the  word  of  a  man 
may  be  depended  on,  and  I  believe  the  better  sort  trouble  themselves  little 
about  the  opinion  of  others.  But  it  can  not  be  denied  that  mediocrity  is 
very  common,  and  is  by  no  means  looked  down  upon  :  that,  as  Schonborn 
says,  it  is  a  question  whether  genius  is  an  attribute  of  this  nation,  and 
certain  that  true  warm-heartedness*  is  extremely  rare ;  a  little  of  the  fog 
that  "Allwill"t  talks  about  seems  very  prevalent — hence,  also,  the  great 
indifference,  the  one-si dednoss,  the  self-will.  You  see  that  novelty  has  not 
so  raised  my  opinion  as  to  place  me  in  danger  of  having,  hereafter,  to 
moderate  a  flaming  enthusiasm.  It  would  indeed  need  much  to  make  me 
feel  here  as  in  my  fatherland — to  make  other  advantages  compensate  for 
the  absence  of  that  harmony  of  sentiment,  which  made  me  happy  in  the 
society  of  our  friends,  even  before  you  were  mine. 

I  think  that  most  learned  men  here,  as  elsewhere,  look  more  to  the 
authority  that  a  man  brings  with  him,  than  to  his  talents  and  intellect. 
My  father's  name,  which  is  very  celebrated  here,  introduces  me  every 
where.  But  I  look  forward  with  pleasure  to  the  time  that  will  transfer  me 
from  a  rather  too  conspicuous  position  to  the  quiet  of  Scotland. 

XLI. 

LONDON,  27tk  July,  1798. 

London  does  not  exercise  a  cheering  influence  on  me,  though  I 

have  had  occasional  hours  of  intense  enjoyment  here 

I  owe  my  pleasantest  moments  in  London  to  the  arts.  My  good  fortune 
has  ordained  it  so,  that  a  splendid  collection  consisting  of  paintings  of  the 
Italian  school,  with  some  antique  busts  and  vases,  which  is  about  to  be 
disposed  of,  has  been  on  show  for  the  last  few  weeks.  It  contains  pieces 
by  all  the  greatest  masters ;  but  after  the  chcf-d'ccuvres  of  Raphael,  &c., 

*  Innigkeit. — The  term  warm-heartedness  is  scarcely  an  adequate  translation 
of  the  German  word,  though  perhaps  the  nearest  to  it  oar  language  affords. 
Innigkeit  implies  depth  and  sincerity  in  addition  to  warmth  of  feeling. 

t  Allwill's  Letters,  a  novel,  by  Jacobi. 


VISIT  TO  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND.  97 

the  Lucretia  of  Guercino  has  filled  me  with  more  admiration  than  any 
thing  else.  It  waa  almost  the  first  thing  I  had  seen  in  England  that  I 
felt  a  very  strong  impulse  to  describe  to  you ;  but  what  words  could  repro- 
duce the  impression  made  by  the  countenance  of  this  fair,  youthful  matron  ? 
These  paintings  have  taught  me,  for  the  first  time,  how  high  art  can  rise, 
and  how  great  is  its  power ;  and  further,  how  first-rate  excellence  alone  is 
worth  any  thing  in  works  of  art. 

You  have  probably  heard  of  the  Shakspeare  Gallery,  which  owes  its 
origin  to  a  few  publishers  and  picture-dealers,  who  have  brought  out  a 
magnificent  edition  of  the  poet,  with  copper-plates,  for  which  they  have 
pr<x-iin:d  drawings  from  the  best  English  artists  by  high  payment,  :yid  ap- 
pealing to  their  patriotism  (where  they  have  it).  Very  few  of  these  en- 
gravings have  pleased  me  ;  but  the  productions  of  a  young  man,  named 
Weatall,  form  a  decided  exception.  He  has  also  drawn  a  series  of  illus- 
trations to  Milton,  which  indicate  real  genius. 

I  have  not  seen  much  of  Schonborn  for  the  last  week  past ;  two  days 
he  has  been  out  of  town,  and  on  the  rest  I  have  hardly  been  able  to  find 
him  at  home.  On  Sunday  we  had  another  conversation,  in  which  we 
came  a  great  deal  nearer  to  each  other ;  at  least,  I  have  conceived  a  high 
respect  for  his  philosophical  knowledge  and  his  extraordinary  acquaintance 
with  all  the  philosophical  and  mathematical  writers.  It  was  interesting 
to  me  to  watch  his  bold  intellect  as  it  played  with  the  exposition  of  my- 
thology, even  when  he  did  not  interpret  the  legends,  but  only  imposed  a 
moaning  on  them. 

If  we  lived  longer  in  the  same  neighborhood — had  I  systematic  knowl- 
edge which  I  could  really  call  my  own — could  I  repay  him  with  the  same 
pure  silver  (all  personal  conversation  may  be  compared  to  private  bank- 
notes, which  are  valueless  beyond  their  own  narrow  sphere  of  circulation), 
no  doubt  the  barriers  of  which  I  spoke  to  you  in  my  last  would  give  way. 

If,  even  with  him,  I  feel  oppressed  in  finding  a  want  of  personal  interest, 
you  can  easily  imagine  how  much  more  this  is  the  case  with  the  English. 

The  superficiality  and  insipidity  of  nearly  all  the  conversations  to  which 
I  have  listened,  or  in  which  I  have  joined,  is  really  depressing.  As  far 
as  I  hear,  Kttle  is  said  about  politics,  which  is  a  good  thing — much  better 
than  our  German  mania  for  going  beyond  our  depth  on  such  subjects;  but, 
that  narrative  and  commonplaces  form  the  whole  staple  of  conversation, 
from  which  all  philosophy  is  excluded — that  enthusiasm  and  loftiness  of 
expression  are  entirely  wanting,  depresses  me  more  than  any  personal 
neglect  of  which,  aa  a  stranger,  I  might  have  to  complain;  for  of  this 
my  share  is  not  large,  and  I  bear  it  easily.  I  am,  besides,  fully  per- 
suaded that  I  shall  find  things  very  different  in  Scotland;  of  this  I  am 
assured  by  several  Scotchmen  whom  I  already  know 

I  have  not  availed  myself  of  my  introductions  to  fashionable  society, 
and  hesitate  considerably  to  expose  myself  to  the. mortification  of  a  haugh- 
ty reception,  though  it  is  also  possiDlo  that  they  might  procure  for  me  much 
that  would  be  interesting. 

XLII. 

Loroo'x,  10th  Auffutt,  1798. 

Really,  in  summer,  London  is  not  a  very  interesting  city,  and  the 

libraries  are  at  present'my  chief  sources  of  information.     In  the  morning, 

E 


98  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

from  eleven  or  twelve  till  toward  four,  I  am  at  Sir  Joseph  Banks's  library, 
which  is  very  liberally  opened  to  all  scholars ;  on  Thursday,  during  the 
same  hours,  I  was  at  that  of  the  Roy al  Society ;  in  the  afternoon  I  am  at 
Dalrymple's.  Sir  Joseph's  librarian,  a  Swede  named  Dryander,  who  is 
very  civil  to  every  one,  and  still  more  to  me,  as  a  sort  of  fellow-country- 
man, because  we  understand  one  another  when  he  speaks  Swedish  and  I 
Danish,  affords  me  every  possible  facility  in  the  use  of  any  book  which 
may  be  of  importance  to  me. 

I  ani  extremely  sorry  that  I  have  found  no  friend  inclined  to  take 
me  about,  and  explain  to  me  what  is  most  worthy  of  observation,  nor  to 
remove  by  his  experience  the  obstacles  which  necessarily  lie  in  the  path  of 
one  who  has  not  beeen  accustomed  to  find  his  own  way  into  unknown  re- 
gions. I  regret  that  Schonborn  has  not  shown  more  zeal  in  this  respect, 
or  perhaps  has  not  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  men  and  things  ;  for  I  feel  that 
this  valuable  time  might  certainly  have  been  better  spent  than  among 
books,  though  I  am  also  perfectly  aware  that  this  mode  of  passing  my  time 
is  far  better  than  that  of  many  travelers,  who  run  hither  and  thither  and 
look  and  wonder  without  comprehending.  Vauxhall,  Raneleh,  Astley's, 
the  Royal  Circus,  &c.,  &c.,  which  one  likes  to  see  as  favorite  amusements 
of  the  public,  are  scarcely  worth  the  money  and  the  time.  I  have  seen  St. 
Paul's,  and  mean  sometime  to  ascend  the  dome,  whence  there  is  a  fine 
view  over  the  city.  I  have  also  lately  visited  Westminister  Abbey,  and 
looked  with  reverence  and  gratitude  upon  the  busts  of  so  many  great  men. 
But  how  characteristic  is  the  equally  honorable  position  accorded  to  so 
many  nameless  and  insignificant  persons  by  the  side  of  the  noblest  dead  ! 
What  a  quantity  of  nonsense  is  to  be  seen  on  these  venerable  walls  !  One 
man  writes  a  Hebrew  inscription  on  the  tomb  of  his  daughter;  on  another, 
I  think  also  belonging  to  a  woman,  there  is  an  Abyssinian  inscription  ; 
Chatham  has  an  absurdly  over-burdened  allegorical  monument ;  Sidney 
and  Russell  have  none  at  all,  and  on  Milton's,  the  man  who  erected  it 
gives  his  own  name  and  title  in  several  lines  :  Milton  is  mentioned  in  the 
quietest  manner. 

At  Sir  Joseph  Banks's  I  have  made  the  acquaintance  of  Dr.  Afzelius,  a 
Swede,  who  was  with  Wittstrom  in  Africa ;  he  is  by  all  accounts  an  excel- 
lent man ;  his  exterior  gives  me  the  impression  of  sociability  and  sincerity. 
Africa  and  the  new  discoveries  there  have  been  the  subject  of  many  con- 
versations with  my  acquaintance 

To  have  some  society  in  the  evening,  I  went  to  Mallet  du  Pan's.  The 
party  there  presented  the  attractions  and  the  defects  of  true  French 
society ; — interesting  anecdotes  were  related  in  well-chosen  language,  but 
there  was  an  utter  absence  of  dignity,  wisdom — all  that  speaks  to  the 

heart 

17th. — I  saw  last  week  Captain  Bligh,  who  has  introduced  the  Bread- 
fruit tree  into  the  West  Indies,  and  whose  crew  during  the  first  attempt 
had  mutinied,  and  cast  him  out  in  an  open  boat,  in  which  condition  he  per- 
formed a  voyage  of  many  hundred  miles.  He  has  a  noble  physiognomy 

XLIII. 

LONDON,  7th  September,  1798. 

The  autumn  draws  on,  and  the  bright  season  of  the  year  is  over.  With 
the  cold  foggy  mornings  and  the  dark  evenings,  I  have  grown  serious  too ; 


VISIT  TO  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND.  99 

I  feel  the  alterations  which  the  change  of  the  seasons  always  works  in  ray 
•till  too  susceptible  organization.  I  always  suffered  so  under  these  various 
changes  that  I  used  to  fancy  myself  a  new  man  with  every  season  of  the 
year,  because  my  new  sensations  and  emotions  were  so  powerful  just  when 
the  old  ones  had  become  so  weak ;  and  this  revolution  raised  me  heaven- 
high  for  a  time.  It  can  not  deceive  me  now ;  I  can  not  even  be  grateful 
for  so  delusive  a  favor.  What  is  good-humor,  what  is  gayety  worth,  if  its 
source  is  not  in  ourselves  ?  To  find  the  inward  source  is  what  I  strive 
after :  to  succeed  in  this  endeavor  demands  faith  in  the  free  energy  of  the 
will  for  its  support  and  animation. 

Perhaps  the  sensations  produced  by  the  changes  of  the  seaaons  have 
some  effect  upon  every  one  whose  life-thread  the  Fates  have  spun  finer 
than  that  of  common  men. 

We  all  share  something  of  the  nature  of  the  world  which  surrounds  us, 
and  are,  perhaps,  in  closer  dependence  on  it  than  our  fair  dreams  will 
allow  us  to  confess ;  and  the  consciousness  of  this  is  doubtless  the  most 
vivid  in  him  who  strives  the  moot  earnestly  to  obtain  deliverance  from  it. 
But  if  he  can  in  some  measure  succeed,  he  will  find  that  he  has  gained 
freedom  in  many  other  ways  besides. 

My  thoughts  often  travel  back  a  year,  when  I  am  alone  and  unoccupied. 
Then,  indeed,  I  saw  a  light ;  but  it  was  a  light  in  a  storm,  a  flickering 
glow,  the  sun  had  not  yet  risen  that  has  now  scattered  the  clouds  from 
which  the  storm  broke. 

I  have  read  a  good  many  political  writings  .lately,  indeed,  devoted  a 
great  part  of  the  day  to  them.  Now  I  have  got  so.  far  that  I  shall  soon 
be  able  to  give  up  this  employment.  I  have  groped  Into  every  hole  and 
corner  for  information,  in  order  to  obtain  a  correct  notion  of  the  very  com- 
plicated politics  of  this  empire,  and  of  the  present  crisis,  which  to  the  super- 
ficial reader  must  appear  a  tedious  confusion,  barren  of  celebrated  men—- 
to the  careful  examiner,  a  wonderful,  unprecedented,  but  horrible  drama. 
My  heart  has  been  wounded  more  deeply  with  every  step  toward  its  devel- 
opment, and  all  ideal  notions  of  the  people's  capability  of  great  things  in 
a  state  of  liberty,  which  were  hitherto  such  welcome  intruders,  are  now 
fled  forever.  I  can  not  bear  to  spoil  a  letter  to  you  with  the  account  of 
actions  and  men  which  do  not  concern  us.  But  because  it  has  occupied 
me,  and  because  I  should  tell  you  all  about  it  if  we  were  together,  I  will 
say  this  much  to  you,  that,  in  the  printed  documents  of  the  conspirators,  I 
have  learnt  to  know  men,  who,  while  possessing  almost  unequaled  elo- 
quence, began  a  career  which  led  them  into  crime,  and  made  them  the  cause 
of  deep  misery  to  numbers  of  their  fellow-citizens ;  very  different  men  from 
thoae  who  are  the  objects  of  admiration  to  our  fools ;  extraordinary  men, 
but  men  whose  existence  is  the  curse  of  their  country.  The  politics  of 
such  a  party  is  something  higher  than  those  which  we  both  disapproved  on 
principle,  and  which  I  promised  you  to  handle  cautiously  in  spite  of  the 
current  of  inclination. 

What  I  have  been  studying  lately  borders  on  history;. it  does  not  con- 
cern the  color  of  the  garment,  but  the  shape  of  the  figure  ;  but  as  regards 
this  topic  also,  I  shall  soon  have  reached  my  goal,  and  shall  then  turn  my 
attention  easily  and  completely  from  thife  field. 

I  continue  to  derive  much  instruction  from  the  library  of  the  distin- 
guished man  who  has  treated  me  with  «o  much  kindness,  but  I  shall  soon 


100  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHE. 

have  attained  all  the  advantage  I  want  from  it ;  that  is,  I  shall  have  ex- 
tended my  own  literary  knowledge  as  far  as  time  and  opportunity  permit, 
and  finished  a  notice  of  the  German  books  it  contains,  which  I  am  writing 
for  its  owner,  as  the  only  way  in  which  I  can  in  some  measure  repay  his 
kindness 

XLIV. 

LONDON,  21s<  September,  1798. 

My  favorite  amusement  here  is  the  theatre.      In  spite  of  all  its 

defects  we  have  nothing  like  it  across  the  water.  Many  foreigners,  who, 
in  general,  can  enter  very  little  into  the  spirit  of  any  thing  truly  English, 
find  a  thousand  things  here  to  carp  at,  and  in  truth  there  is  much  to 
criticise.  But  however  hypochondriacal  and  ill-humored  a  man  may  feel, 
if  he  is  not  too  stupid  to  understand  a  joke,  the  English  comic  stage  will 
certainly  put  him  into  spirits  again,  for  it  is  rich  in  interesting  plays  and 
clever  actors.  Tragedy  has  only  two  great  artists  :  Mrs.  Siddons,  who 
played  Lady  Macbeth  lately  in  the  most  elevated  style,  quite  free  from  the 
national  fault  of  a  false  declamation  of  the  serious  passages,  and  from 
every  impropriety  of  demeanor ;  and  a  celebrated  actor,  who,  however, 
stands  far  below  Mrs.  Siddons  in  correctness  of  expression 

XLV. 

LONDON,  Mth.  September,  1798. 

Last  Sunday,  a  heavenly  autumn  day,  I  went  to  see  Psicolai,  at  Rich- 
mond. We  took  a  boat  across  the  Thames,  and  I  made  a  pilgrimage  to 
Twickenham  to  see  Pope's  garden.  Oh  !  that  I  could  thus  visit  with  you 
the  monuments  of  those  men  whose  memory  excites  a  wish  to  have  lived 
in  their  times.  The  garden  has  been  preserved  unaltered,  as  Pope  laid  it 
out.  The  monument  he  erected  to  the  mother  he  so  dearly  loved  is  still 
standing ;  but  the  cypresses  that  he  planted  round  it  have  all  died  out 
except  two,  which  still  show  here  and  there  a  green  shoot.  Hedges  and 
old-fashioned  flower-beds  occupy  the  left  side  of  the  garden,  and  in  the 
centre  stands  a  bower,  the  trees  of  which  have  now  grown  to  a  gigantic 
height,  and,  with  the  recollection  of  the  great  men  who  once  trod  this 
sward,  inspire  the  awe  of  a  sacred  grove.  They  who  will  may  call  the 
grotto,  the  cool  retreat  in  which  Pope  loved  to  sit  with  his  most  intimate 
friends,  a  toy — to  me  it  was  more.  The  prospect  it  commands  must  be 
allowed  by  all  to  be  enchantingly  beautiful — the  Thames  and  its  incom- 
parably charming  banks.  Before  the  grotto  stood  an  old  weeping-willow, 
now  almost  dead,  and  propped  up  with  care,  also  from  Pope's  times. 
The  house  is  not  shown.  It  is  inhabited,  and  therefore  frequent  visits 
would  probably  disturb  the  occupants.  But  it  ought  not  to  be  inhabited  ; 
it  ought  to  be  a  temple  for  the  grove.  The  many  beautiful  views  from 
Richmond  also  afforded  me  extrem'e  delight. 

XLVI. 

TO  COUNT  MOLTKE. 

LONDON,  Otk  October,  1798. 

You  will  have  heard  most  of  my  adventures  from  Milly,  when 

she  had  the  happiness  of  seeing  you  and  your  wife  again  after  your  jour 


VISIT  TO  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND.  101 

nry.  In  future  I  will  send  something  to  you  also  aa  opportunity  offers. 
This  will  be  rather  subjective  than  obj*>'t?ve.  •  I  know  TIT  nution  to  which 
I  would  rather  beloag  aa  a  citizen,  thu'i  '.he  Erfglish  ;  not  only  on  account 
of  their  Constitution,  but  from  ray  delight  in  the  hard-working,  active  in- 
tellect,  and  the  strong,  straigfht-forwa.d  conrrrrm  .,e<\n^  of:tho  thinking 
men,  and  because  of  the  superior,  almost  universal- cultivation  of  the 
burgher  class,  strictly  so  called,  and,  as  I  believe,  of  the  farmers,  who 
might  put  to  shame  many  a  conceited  scholar,  and  many  a  high-bred,  pol- 
ished aristocrat.  Of  the  English  scholars,  on  the  contrary,  I  have  a  very 
mean  opinion:  I  keep  to  my  assertion,  that  they  are  without  originality; 
also,  that  England  can  boast  of  no  true  poets  at  the  present  time.  And 
yet  literary  men  are  the  only  people  with  whom  a  foreigner  can  come  into 
close  contact ;  for  only  a  very  brilliant  intellect  or  external  advantages  can 
procure  him  admittance  to  the  interior  of  families.  These  are  only  open 
to  natives,  and  I  think  it  right  that  it  should  be  so,  for,  in  fact,  what  can 
a  foreigner  bring  with  him,  unless  he  be  an  extremely  distinguished  man, 
to  make  his  friendship  wanted,  when  people  have  been  long  surrounded 
with  friends  already  ?  I  positively  shrink  from  associating  with  the  young 
men  on  account  of  their  unbounded  dissoluteness,  which  makes  me  feel  that 
I  should  be  more  likely  to  meet  with  uncourteousness  and  repulse  from 
them  than  cordial  friendship.  Tou  see,  therefore,  dearest  Moltke,  how 
lonely  I  still  am,  for  you  know  that  I  do  not  go  where  I  might  have  the 
entree  if  I  do  not  like  the  people,  and  you  can  pretty  well  estimate  how 
much  I  trouble  myself  about  the  scholars ;  and  that,  if  I  should  like  to  be 
a  citizen  of  England,  it  would  be  an  essential  condition,  not  only  to  have 
Milly  unalterably  my  own,  but  to  plant  a  colony  of  you  friends  around  us. 
Whether  it  will  be  different  on  the  other  side  of  the  Tweed,  a  few  weeks 
will  show  me.  However,  your  friend  is  a  silly  child  to  dislike  England 
because  of  the  unpleasantness  of  his  isolated  position.  For  nature  is  very 
lovely  here ;  it  is  cheering  to  see  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  the  pros- 
perity of  the  inhabitants ;  and  the  immense  accumulation  of  "industry, 
wealth,  and  resources  throughout  the  empire  is  most  magnificent.  You 
very  likely  know  from  Milly,  that  if  Schbnborn  were  not  here  I  should  lit- 
erally live  in  solitude.  But  this  friend  I  shall  never  forget,  and  can  not 
give  you  too  high  an  idea  of  him ;  and  when  I  am  alone,  my  time  is  not 
wasted.  I  have  more  than  ever  turned  my  thoughts  inward,  and  striven 
to  attain  mental  freedom ;  I  have  begun  to  reflect  more  than  formerly, 
and  felt  the  need  of  extent  and  completeness  of  cultivation  with  a  force 
that  has  shaken  the  empire  of  indolence,  of  "chaos  and  old  night,"  and 
will  at  last  assuredly  destroy  it.  I  feel  that  I  am  capable  of  great  things, 
and  called  to  perform  them.  I  have  vowed  to  myself  to  clear  up  the  con- 
fusion that  has  always  reigned  in  my  mind,  and  to  replace  it  by  order. 
These  efforts  will  gain  strength  in  Edinburgh,  whatever  the  professors  may 
be,  for  if  they  can  not  teach  me  mathematics  and  astronomy,  I  will  teach 
myself;  and  chemistry,  natural  history,  and  agriculture  are  indisputably 
well  taught  there.  I  ardently  long  to  form  friendships  there,  ascribe  my 
difficulty  in  finding  friends  to  my  own  defects,  and  regret  it,  but  in  any 
case  meau  to  keep  a  good  courage,  and  look  forward  to  the  time  when  I 
skull  bt  truly  happy  '.  0,  how  great  a  thing  it  u  to  be  able  to  express  this 
confidence ! 


102  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

XLVII. 


NEWCASTLE,  25<&  October. 

A  day  of  rest  sifter  tbrfce  Wary  'days  of  traveling  ......  I  will  take  the 

best  hours'  of  -'to-day  for  you,  and'  in'  the  occupation  of  telling  you  all  that 
is  most  interesting  about  my  journey,  seek  the  resting-point  from  which 
to  control  the  whirl  of  continual  change  ;  so  I  will  talk  to  you  this  evening, 
in  the  gloomy,  dirty  inn-parlor,  hundreds  of  miles  away,  as  if  we  were  sit- 
ting together  before  the  fire. 

The  modes  of  traveling  in  England  are  very  different  from  those  which 
are  so  far  in  use  among  us,  as  are  also  the  posting  regulations. 

Open  carriages  are  something  unheard  of,  even  to  the  country  people,  as 
far  as  I  yet  know  England  ;  in  Yarmouth  only  a  sort  of  car  is  used.  All 
burdens  are  carried  on  carts  of  an  excellent  build  and  extraordinary  strength 
in  general  with  two  wheels,  only  the  heavy  wagons  have  four;  the  for- 
mer, drawn  by  from  one  to  four  horses  harnessed  before  each  other  ;  the 
latter,  sometimes  by  eight,  or  perhaps  even  more,  both  for  agricultural 
purposes  or  the  carriage  of  goods.  Even  the  common  people  do  not  will- 
ingly travel  on  foot,  and  I  believe  you  would  nowhere  meet  fewer  people 
walking,  than  here  in  the  country.  Hence  you  find  remarkably  few  foot- 
paths, either  across  the  fields,  or  by  the  road-side,  and  in  consequence  the 
country  looks  almost  destitute  of  human  beings,  to  one  traveling  through 
it.  Thus,  those  who  do  not  travel  on  horseback,  must  either  travel  by 
post-chaise,  by  mail,  or  by  stage-coach  ;  in  any  case  you  travel  in  a  close 
carriage.  The  first  are  very  pretty  half-coaches,  holding  two  ;  but  as  they 
cost  as  much  in  proportion  as  our  extra-post  are  too  dear  for  me.  The 
second  is  a  letter-post,  a  public  undertaking  ;  a  very  rapid  mode  of  con- 
veyance, and  safe,  as  it  has  an  armed  guard  ;  but  inconvenient  from  the 
smallness  of  its  build,  and  particularly  liable  to  be  upset.  The  last  are 
something  like  our  traveling-post,  but  belong  to  private  individuals.  In 
traveling  by  them  you  have  no  further  trouble  than  to  take  your  place  in 
the  office  for  as  far  as  you  wish  to  go  ;  for  the  proprietor  of  the  coach  has 
at  each  stage,  which  are  from  ten  to  fifteen  English  miles  at  most  from 
each  other,  relays  of  horses,  which,  unless  an  unusual  amount  of  traveling 
causes  an  exception,  stand  ready  harnessed  to  be  put  to  the  coach.  Four 
horses  drawing  a  coach  with  six  persons  inside,  four  on  the  roof,  a  sort  of 
conductor  beside  the  coachman,  and  overladen  with  luggage,  have  to  get 
over  seven  English  miles  in  the  hour;  and  as  the  coach  goes  on  without 
ever  stopping,  except  at  the  principal  stages,  it  is  not  surprising  that  you 
can  traverse  the  whole  extent  of  the  country  in  so  few  days.  But  for  any 
length  of  time  this  rapid  motion  is  quite  too  unnatural.  You  can  only  get 
a  very  piecemeal  view  of  the  country  from  the  windows,  and  with  the 
tremendous  speed  at  which  you  go,  can  keep  no  object  long  in  sight  ;  you 
are  unable  also  to  stop  at  any  place. 

In  a  coach  of  this  kind  I  took  my  place  on  Monday  morning.  I  found 
myself  with  two  females,  one  of  whom  looked  like  a  married  woman.  A 
good-looking  man  had  accompanied  her  to  the  carriage,  and  said  a  "  God 
bless  you,"  by  way  of  farewell.  The  woman's  face  was  red  with  weeping. 
The  appearance  of  these  women  showed  that  they  could  not  belong  to  the 
wealthier  classes;  but  this  was  proved  by  their  traveling  at  all  in  this 


VISIT  TO  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND.  103 

mode.  I  could  not,  however,  make  up  my  mind  to  what  class  they  might 
belong.  That  in  the  ordinary  course  of  things  they  were  sure  to  be  re 
apectable  seemed  certain  to  me ;  and  that  was  the  main  thing ;  for  on 
short  excursions  I  had  often  found  myself  in  the  same  coach  with  creatures 
of  a  very  different  kind.  Meanwhile  the  tears  of  the  first  woman  dried 
amazingly  fast,  and  her  countenance  cleared  up  instantly.  Thus  I  saw 
that  she  was  either  destitute  of  deep  feeling,  or  had  been  only  playing  a 
part  before.  On  the  road  an  extremely  vulgar  shopkeeper's  wife  got  in 
for  a  part  of  the  way.  In  Hertford  we  picked  up  another  companion,  a 
middle-aged  man.  who  at  first  seemed  to  me  ill-bred  but  he  soon  gave  me 
a  much  more  favorable  impression.  I  found,  to  my  surprise,  a  man  of  rare 
polish  and  sociability,  well-informed,  both  by  reading  and  experience,  and 
very  witty.  His  name  I  did  not  learn,  but  we  parted  at  York  with  a 
friendly  farewell.  It  is  said  that  the  English  are  a  people  of  few  words : 
this  is  only  so  far  true,  that  they  would  rather  sit  dumb  than  drag  on  a 
conversation  by  empty  questions  like  the  French  Neither  do  they  speak 
without  consideration.  Besides,  formulas  and  formalities  play  a  more  im- 
portant part  in  English  conversation  in  society  than  in  the  French,  which 
is  much  more  unfettered.  This  conventional  politeness  1  have  not  as  yet 
been  able  to  acquire,  and  hence  I  always  feel  embarrassed  with  strangers. 
My  companion  possessed  it  completely,  and  seemed  anxious  to  make  me 
forget  ray  deficiencies  in  this  respect. 

On  Monday,  as  long  as  daylight  lasted,  our  road,  after  leaving  Middle- 
sex, with  its  hedges  fall  of  trees,  and  long,  low  hills,  and  town-built 
houses,  lay  through  Hertfordshire,  whose  not  very  fertile  soil,  though  ren- 
dered fruitful  by  most  skillful  culture,  yields  no  profit  to  the  husbandman, 
and  then  through  barren,  heathy  Bedfordshire,  with  its  miserable  villages. 
In  Northamptonshire,  which  did  not  seem  rduch  better,  nightfall  interrupt- 
ed my  observations.  In  Stamford,  the  first  town  in  Lincolnshire,  I  could 
perceive,  by  the  moonlight,  evidences  of  considerable  importance  and  beau- 
ty. The  whole  country,  a  rich,  level  pasture  ground,  evinced  prosperity, 
and  when  the  daylight  afforded  a  distinct  view  of  the  rich  county  of  Not- 
tingham, my  eyes  were  greeted  with  such  a  spectacle  of  universal  rural 
prosperity  as  I  had  never  before  seen-;  a  multitude  of  little  peasants'  cot- 
tages, all  smiling,  built  of  bricks  ;  here  and  there  a  larger  and  roomier 
one  ;  every  thing  finished  to  the  last  degree.  Probably  many  foreigners 
imagine  .the  whole  of  England  like  this ;  but  even  an  unromantic  ex- 
pectation would  be  disappointed  at  the  sight  of  the  dirty  huts  and  the  un- 
fruitful district  mentioned  before ;  huts  to  which  I  should  prefer  many  a 
serfs  dwelling.  But  throughout  there  is  not  a  field  on  the  way  uninclosed 
and  wild. 

XL  VIII. 

EDINBURGH,  Saturday,  ntk  October. 

I  arrived  here  about  half-past  eleven  to-night.  The  last  day's  journey, 
116  English  miles,  was  the  most  disagreeable  part  of  the  whole  way. 
From  early  in  the  morning  it  was  damp  and  gloomy ;  in  the  afternoon  it 
rained  heavily.  I  never  saw  a  more  striking  contrast  than  is  presented  by 
the  two  banks  of  the  Tweed.  Northumberland  was  much  more  beautiful 
than  I  expected,  although  without  wood,  like  all  this,  part  of  England. 
Berwick,  which,  is  on  this  side  of  the  river,  is  in  no  respect  superior  to  the 


104  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

common  towns  of  poor  countries,  disgustingly  dirty,  and  immediately  be- 
yond the  town  you  enter  a  wild  country,  almost  entirely  destitute  of  culti- 
vation. This  district  extends  to  Dunbar,  a  distance  of  eight-and-twenty 
miles.  High  hills,  bare  and  dreary,  with  deep  moory  valleys,  and  over  all 
an  impenetrable  mist.  More  in  my  next.  I  have  made  acquaintance  on 
the  way  with  a  young  medical  student,  from  Sheffield,  named  Moorhouse, 
and  we  shall  very  likely  lodge  together.  The  lectures  begin  on  Wednes- 
day. I  have  seen  nothing  of  the  town  yet,  but  now  I  shall  run  out.  The 
country  is  so  romantic  that  I  shall  certainly  taste  new  pleasures  here. 
Farewell. 

XLIX. 

EDINBURGH,  3\ft  October,  1798. 

I  have  just  come  back  from  a  round  to  four  of  the  opening  lectures  given 
to-day.  An  excellent  practice  has  been  established  here,  of  reading  an  in- 
troductory lecture  some  days  before  the  regular  commencement  of  the  course 
of  instruction,  which  is  open  to  the  public,  and  gives  an  intelligent  hearer 
a  complete  notion  both  of  the  talents  and  style  of  the  teacher,  and  of  the 
views  and  comprehensiveness  with  which  he  will  handle  his  science.  This 
day's  specimens  have  convinced  me  beyond  all  doubt  that  the  reputation 
of  this  University  is  fully  deserved,  and  that  the  Professors  here  are  all  I 
could  wish  as  men  of  profound  insight,  thorough  mastery  over  their  subjects, 
and  admirable  delivery.  1  can  not  say  this  of  all  of  them  ;  one  Robinson, 
the  Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy,  wasted  his  time  with  very  superficial 
remarks  on  the  origin  and  value  of  the  sciences,  and  further  with  very  un- 
seasonable invectives  against  modern  philosophy.  However,  we  must  not 
be  too  fastidious,  if  we  want  to  learn  ;  and  the  science  of  natural  philosophy 
possesses  sufficient  safeguards  against  the  consequences  of  such  defects  in 
the  exhibition  of  its  principles ;  attention  and  judgment  will  be  able  to 
eliminate  extraneous  elements;  and  since  no  one  in  England  would  obtain 
such  a  chair  without  an  eminent  acquaintance  with  his  science,  I  shall 
willingly  rank  myself  among  his  hearers.  The  other  Professor,  whom  I  can 
accept  as  an  instructor  with  unqualified  satisfaction,  is  Dr.  Hope,  the  suc- 
cessor of  the  venerable  Dr.  Black,  whose  advanced  age  prevents  him  from 
continuing  his  labors.  I  have  never  heard  or  read  a  more  concise,  com- 
plete, and  clear  survey  of  a  science  than  that  with  which  he  opened  the 
course  on  chemistry.  He  divided  it  into  its  different  branches  as  an  art 
and  a  science,  accurately  defined  its  limits,  pointed  out  its  special  interest, 
and  that  which  it  derived  from  its  application  to  the  various  purposes  of 
life  and  the  arts,  its  uses  and  abuses,  with  masterly  skill.  The  two  others, 
Dr.  James  Home  and  the  celebrated  Gregory,  I  heard  accidentally  in  ac- 
companying my  good  friend  and  fellow-lodger,  who  is  studying  medicine. 
The  former  I  judged  to  be  quite  a  new  beginner,  both  from  his  own  ex- 
pressions, and  the  style  of  his  delivery,  which  was  too  rapid  and  timid  ;  he 
seemed  to  me,  however,  an  excellent,  correct  thinker.  The  latter,  with  a 
venerable  mien,  and  an  excellent  delivery,  seemed,  as  far  as  I  could  judge, 
quite  equal  to  the  reputation  which  he  here  enjoys.  Casual  expressions 
betrayed  a  noble  mind.  So  much  for  this  morning's  observations,  which 
will  give  you  as  good  an  acquaintance  with  the  university  as  I  possess  my- 
self. It  has  greatly  raised  my  spirits.  It  strengthens  my  conviction  of  the 
propriety  of  my  decision,  and  animates  me  to  carry  it  out  with  earnestness. 


VISIT  TO  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND.  105 

An  unexpected  circumstance  has  obliged  me  somewhat  to  alter  my  plan 
for  the  employment  of  my  time.  Rutherford,  Coventry,  and  Walker,  whoso 
lectures  on  natural  history,  botany,  and  agriculture,  i  expected  to  hear, 
give  their  courses,  quite  apart  from  the  academical  arrangements,  during 
the  summer,  beginning  in  May.  At  first  it  was  a  serious  vexation  to  me 
to  hear  this,  but  I  soon  resolved  rather  to  give  up  or  shorten  my  travels  in 
the  provinces,  and,  during  the  winter  aa  well  as  summer,  to  give  a  closer 
application  to  a  smaller  number  of  subjects.  You  know,  however,  that  in 
any  case  October  will  remain  the  latest  period  for  my  return. 

Edinburgh  is  incredibly  cheap  in  comparison  with  London— even  cheaper 
than  Copenhagen.  I  have  a  very  nice  apartment,  with  firing,  for  seven 
shillings  a  week ;  coals  do  not  cost  much  here ;  in  summer  I  shall  only 
have  to  pay  five  shillings.  The  young  medical  student  who  lives  with  me, 
is  an  intelligent  and  honest  fellow;  we  dine  together  at  home,  frugally 
and  cheaply.  I  shall  have  a  sum  left  now  from  my  allowance  for  the 
purchase  of  books  and  philosophical  instruments.  One  is  not  restricted  by 
fashion  here  as  in  London.  The  natives  of  every  class  are  distinguishable, 
not  to  their  advantage,  by  the  carelessness  of  their  attire  ;  and  the  students 
are  as  far  removed  from  English  neatness  as  our  young  men.  It  has  taken 
my  fancy,  however,  and  I  mean  to  keep  faithful  to  it ;  but  I  have  availed 
myself  of  the  liberty  of  wearing  ray  hair  plain.  In  London  a  hairdresser 
costs  nine  guineas  a  year.  I  shall  put  off  the  remainder  of  the  account  of 
my  journey,  the  description  of  Edinburgh,  and  much  besides,  till  my  next. 

L. 

EDINBCRGH.  4M  November,  1798. 

To-morrow  begin  the  lectures  I  mean  to  attend,  and  with  them, 

the  regular  arrangement  of  my  studies ;  and,  if  it  is  possible,  the  long-in- 
tended daily  continuation  of  a  letter  to  you  :  with  the  same  intent  I  will 
employ  these  hours  in  giving  you  a  full  account  of  what  it  makes  me  happy 
to  think  of. 

You  remember  the  letter  to  Francis  Scott,  the  old  friend  of  my  father.* 
and  how  we  reckoned  on  his  reception  of  me,  if  he  should  be  still  living.  I 
soon  learnt  where  a  man  of  this  name  resided,  and  as  he  was  distinguished 
from  the  host  of  men  bearing  the  same  name  here,  by  being  of  higher  rank, 
and  better  known,  he  seemed  to  me  very  likely  to  bo  the  same  person,  and 
although  there  was  still  the  possibility  of  a  mistake,  which  would  have 
brought  me  into  a  very  disagreeable  position,  I  felt  an  uncommon  desire  to 
venture  on  the  step.  So,  yesterday  morning,  I  walked  to  the  house.  While 
I  was  in  the  act  of  making  inquiries  to  see  if  it  were  my  man,  and  was 
just  sending  the  maid  in  with  my  father's  letter,  on  the  cover  of  which 
.several  circumstances  of  his  life  were  mentioned,  to  distinguish  him  from 
any  other,  out  came  Mrs.  Scott,  and  made  me  certain  at  once  that  it  was 
the  very  man  I  sought.  She  invited  me  into  the  parlor  in  a  very  friendly 
way ;  where,  indeed,  I  did  not  find  him,  as  he  was  gone  out  into  the  city, 
but  she  received  me  quite  cordially  without  waiting  for  his  return,  and 
promised  me  that  he  would  be  at  home  to-day  between  the  hours  of  service. 
Nota  btne  in  passing  :  there  is  no  nation  that  can  be  compared  to  the  Scotch 
for  piety;  they  not  only  go  to  church  entry  Sunday,  but  to  both  the  serv- 
ices; and  all,  high  and  low,  conclude  the  day  of  rest  with  prayer  and  sing- 
*  The  elder  Niebnhr  had  known  him  in  Bombay. 
** 


106  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

ing.  At  this  hour,  therefore,  I  found  the  venerable  white-haired  old  man ; 
besides  himself,  his  wife,  a  young  lady  who  seemed  to  be  his  daughter,  a 
grown-up  young  man,  and  two  boys,  all  evidently  his  family.  They  all 
seemed  even  to  have  looked  forward  to  my  coming,  as  if  I  were  an  expect- 
ed friend:  The  mother  greeted  me  as  being  already  an  acquaintance,  and 
the  old  father  received  me  with  the  whole  fervor  of  English  cordiality,  when 
it  is  aroused  from  the  depths  in  which  it  ordinarily  conceals  itself  in  those 
•who  have  not  quite  starved  it  out.  He  inquired  with  great  earnestness 
about  all  that  concerned  my  father ;  the  letter  had  given  him  an  unhoped- 
for surprise,  for  he  thought  that  my  father  had  been  long  dead.  In  the 
course  of  this  conversation,  the  whole  family  gradually  left  the  room,  and 
when  we  found  ourselves  alone,  he  began  to  speak  of  my  objects,  and  to 
open  his  heart  to  me  about  the  position  of  a  young  man  at  this  university. 
You  will  readily  imagine  that  these  exhortations,  which  were,  and  could  be 
only,  addressed  to  my  age  and  its  usual  characteristics,  did  not  wring  my 
conscience;  for,  certainly,  at  my  age,  it  is  impossible  to  be  less  liable  to 
fall  into  youthful  excesses  than  I  know  myself  to  be  ;  but  the  noble  old  man 
spoke  with  such  a  tender  anxiety,  referred  so  solemnly  to  his  parental  cares, 
and  his  trust  that  he  should  keep  his  children's  hearts  pure,  and  then  con- 
cluded with  the  words,  "  You  are  far  from  your  parents  and  your  friends ; 
look  upon  me  as  your  father,  this  family  as  your  own  ;  I  shall  regard  you 
as  my  own  child.  However  hard  you  work  you  will  have  leisure  hours, 
and  need  recreation  ;  seek  it  among  us.  I  am  at  home  myself  every  even- 
ing almost  without  exception,  but  if  I  should  be  out,  my  wife  will  be  glad 
to  see  you  ;  and  if  you  like  music,  my  daughter  plays  and  sings.  My  eldest 
son,  who  is  nearly  blind,  but  an  excellent  youth,  will  be  happy  to  go  out 
with  you  or  converse  with  you."  He  was  so  moved  that  he  dried  his  eyes, 
and  it  cost  me  some  trouble  to  repress  my  own  tears.  We  shook  hands, 
and  I  entered  in  thought  a  new  home. 

Say,  dearest  Amelia,  is  not  this  a  happiness  beyond  all  possible  expecta- 
tion ?  What  accident  could  we  have  fancied  probable,  that  would  so  in- 
stantly have  removed  all  that  is  suspicious  (especially  to  an  English  family) 
in  my  youth  and  present  position,  all  that  isolates  me  as  a  foreigner,  all 
the  insignificance  of  my  obscurity,*  and  opened  connections  to  me  in  which 
my  personal  sympathy  will  not  be  regarded  as  intrusive,  my  worth  not 
measured  simply  as  an  attentive  or  intelligent  listener ;  in  which  sympathy 
and  intercourse  may  create  an  enduring  bond,  and  the  sight  of  a  happy 
family  present  the  image  of  what  the  future  promises  to  us. 

I  am  without  a  doubt  as  to  my  progress  in  all  the  branches  of  science. 
and  cultivation  that  lie  before  me  ;  for  besides  mathematics,  astronomy, 
physics,  and  chemistry,  I  wish  to  pay  particular  attention  to  the  art  of 
composition. 

My  connection  with  my  dear  fellow  inmate,  too,  takes  a  more  and  more 
brotherly  character ;  and  when  I  have  labored  conscientiously,  a  few  hours' 
conversation  with  the  old  man  and  his  children  will  refresh  me  and  make 
a  new  man  of  me.  And  then  post-day  will  bring  your  letter,  and  per- 
haps, if  we  remind  our  friends,  I  may  get  something  from  them  besides. 
So  this  is  my  present,  and  my  immediate  prospect  for  the  future  ! 
f  I  have  only  two  courses  of  lectures  to  attend  as  yet,  one  by  Dr.  Hope, 

*  Thatenlosigkcit,  literally  deedlessness ;  the  not  having  yet  accomplished 
any  deed  worthy  to  be  named. 


VISIT  TO  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND.  107 

the  other  by  Professor  Robinson.  The  first  is  excellent  It  will  give  me 
au  opportunity,  one  way  or  other,  of  learning  physics,  for  which  I  have  a 
great  inclination.  Playfair  has  not  yet  begun  the  higher  mathematics, 
but  will  do  so  on  Wednesday  ;  he  will  be.  ray  third  tutor.  About  taking 
more  I  hesitate.  My  understanding  counsels  me  not  to  lose  the  advantage 
of  hearing  Munroe's  anatomy ;  but  my  feelings  loathe  it.  Should  it  be  the 
necessary  price  of  Stewart's  and  Tytler's  society  to  attend  their  lectures,  I 
may  resolve  to  pay  it ;  but  with  them  ray  lectures  would  mount  up  to  six. 
and  the  consequence  would  be,  that  my  daily  hours  of  study  must  rise  to 
more  than  twelve,  which  seems  with  me  to  be  the  limit,  if  not  of  physical 
strength,  at  all  events  of  the  power  of  thinking  for  myself.  I  have  begun 
to  study  mathematics  by  myself  with  success,  and  mean  to  make  constant 
use  of  the  beautiful  observatory,  which  is  situated  on  a  rocky  hill  to  the 
northeast  of  the  city. 

I  promised  you,  last  time,  some  little  account  of  the  pleasant  fellow- 
lodger  with  whom  an  unexpected  chance  has  thrown  me  together.  Do 
not  picture  him  to  yourself  possessing  genius,  or  with,  astonishing  and 
comprehensive  learning;  no,  fancy  him  with  the  more  fortunate  endow- 
ments of  inexhaustible  vivacity,  unwearied  activity,  with  a  careless  modesty 
as  regards  himself,  and  yet  considerable  acquirements  in  his  own  depart* 
iinuit,  and  a-  very  warm  heart.  He  is  a  native  of  Sheffield,  a  place  where 
the  very  general,  but  very  equable  cultivation  of  the  inhabitants,  is  par- 
ticularly favorable  to  the  strengthening  of  a  sound  understanding.  A 
striking  trait  in  his  character  is  a  too  credulous  good-nature,  which  always 
falls  into  any  cunningly  laid  snare ;  and  an  invincible  pertinacity  in  his 
good  opinion  of  people  whom  he  has  once,  although  mistakenly,  begun  to 
respect.  With  such  a  nice  fellow,  who  would  not  be  a  warm  friend  ? 
And  I  believe  we  both  consider  each  other  as  friends  already.  He  is  not 
the  only  acquaintance  I  have  here  among  the  young  men  ;  there  is  one  of 
his  friends  whom  I  will  tell  you  about  in  my  next,  only  too  unlike  him  in 
purity  of  heart. 

LI. 

12th  November,  1798. 

In  the  very  first  days  of  our  acquaintance,  my  friend  Moorhouse 

began  to  speak  of  an  acquaintance  of  his  who  had  been  here  some  months, 
but  whom  he  had  not  yet  been  able  to  find  out.  He  was  a  young  man 
of  uncommon  genius,  and  burning  with  ambition  to  win  a  name  for  him- 
self in  literature  ;  with  this  view  it  was  his  intention  to  visit  Germany, 
to  learn  our  language,  and  study  our  literature  most  thoroughly,  and  then 
to  introduce  it  to  the  English  public.  This  account,  of  course,  made  me 
curious  to  see  him.  As  soon  as  my  good  friend  had  found  him  out,  he  in- 
vited him,  in  the  first  joy  of  his  heart,  and  in  the  persuasion  that  the  ac- 
quaintance would  be  a  mutual  acquisition,  to  take  a  place  at  our  table, 
and  hire  a  room  next  to  mine ;  proposals  to  which  the  other  willingly  as- 
sented. But  in  spite  of  his  courteousness,  our  first  conversation  gave  me 
a  repugnance  to  the  stranger.  I  saw  in  him  a  man,  who  in  early  youth  (he 
is  more  than  a  year  younger  than  I)  had  nipped  all  virtue  in  the  bud,  and 
trodden  it  under  foot ;  and  cultivated  and  availed  himself  of  some  superfi- 
cial reading  in  the  French  materialistic  philosophy,  to  cast  »  mantle  of 
system  over  his  weaknesses ;  merry  and  humorous,  full  of  incessant  con 


108  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTJHR. 

tradictions  in  his  thoughts  and  actions ;  not  without  reading,  not  without 
cultivation,  but  as  far  removed  from  a  thinker,  which  is  the  reputation  he 
especially  affects,  as  from  any  accomplishment  in  the  world.  You  can 
fancy  that  the  prospect  of  having  him  for  a  daily  companion  and  a  next- 
door  neighbor,  was  any  thing  but  agreeable.  He  is,  indeed,  a  strange 
fellow ;  for  instance,  horrible  expressions  and  unaccountable  behavior, 
are  followed  by  asservations  of  his  good- will,  and  demonstrations  of  liking 
and  kindness. 

The  second  stranger  at  our  table  is  an  old  friend  of  my  fellow-lodger — 
a  young  man,  according  to  his  own  account,  given  to  excesses^  in  whom, 
however,  there  still  remains  a  love  of  the  noble  and  beautiful ;  and  as  he 
is  an  honorable  and  trustworthy  man,  he  is  not  personally  offensive  to  me, 
however  much  the  conversation  is  so,  which  prevails  among  people  of  such 
a  cast.  In  England  you  would  seek  almost  in  vain,  I  think,  for  the 
warmth  and  depth  of  feeling  which  characterize  our  friendships  in  Ger- 
many ;  isolation  is  the  natural  position  to  a  young  man,  though  in  indi- 
vidual cases  high  esteem  and  veneration  may  call  forth  warm  expressions 
of  attachment,  particularly  in  absence.  I  only  wait  an  opportunity  to  set 
myself  at  liberty  by  unloosing  a  bond,  which,  like  many  others,  promising 
advantage  at  first,  threatens  to  transform  itself  into  a  chain 

23d.  I  have  seen  the  Scotts  three  times  since,  and  their  first  reception 
showed  such  earnest  kindness,  that  it  is  almost  superfluous  to  say,  that 
with  them  I  look  forward  to  an  unchangeable,  not  an  inconstant  and 
capricious  friendship 

The  strict  and  rather  pedantic  piety  of  the  whole  family,  causes  me 
some  embarrassment ;  still  this  quality  seems  to  me  truly  worthy  of  re- 
spect, particularly  in  the  father;  and  I  wish  and  intend,  as  far  as  I  can 
with  sincerity,  to  conform  to  the  Kirk.  I  should  not  like  to  grieve  the  old 
man,  and  at  all  events  my  ideas  harmonize  much  more  with  his  than  with 
those  of  the  English  infidels. 

LII. 

EDINBURGH,  ISth  December,  1798. 

The  number  of  vigorous,  thinking  minds  is  incontestably  much  larger  in 
this  than  in  most  other  countries,  but  the  bonds  which  hold  them  together 
are  just  as  much  weaker  and  slighter.  Some  exceptions  may  be  made,  and 
(although  kindness  and  friendship  can  not  properly  be  said  to  make  an  ex- 
ception when  we  are  speaking  of  life-giving  enthusiasm)  not  many  of  our 
fellow-countrymen,  brought  up  in  every-day  life,  would  be  capable  of  feeling 
and  expressing  such  hearty  sympathy  and  cordiality  as  Mr.  Scott's  treat- 
ment of  me  displays.  But  I  have  never  witnessed,  nor  heard  of  family 
'  life  full  of  deep  and  tender  affection,  nor  of  a  hearty,  enthusiastic,  mutual 
confidence  between  young  men.  I  have,  indeed,  though  very  rarely,  been 
told  of  ardent  love  between  married  people,  which  expressed  itself  through 
the  deep  sorrow  felt  by  the  survivor ;  but  even  this  love  led  to  no  results, 
for  in  other  respects  they  retained  the  same  indifference  to  all  that  appears 
to  us  of  the  highest  value.  Every  young  man  has  a  crowd  of  friends ; 
indeed,  any  one  can  have  as  many  as  he  likes.  But  this  sort  of  friendship 
consists  simply  and  solely  in  a  taste  for  paying  each  other  long  and  frequent 
visits,  and  then  killing  the  time  together  either  in  wild  excesses,  or  in 
sleepy  conversation,  or  boisterous  merriment.  I  have  remarked  and  proved 


VISIT  TO  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND.  109 

by  experience,  what,  perhaps,  will  astonish  you,  that  it  s«v>ms  very  strange 
io  a  young  Englishman  for  a  young  man  to  speak  of  his  absent  friends 
With  warmth,  and  to  occupy  himself  with  thoughts  of  them  in  his  solitary 
leisure  hours ;  and  to  this  void  in  their  hearts  and  imaginations,  perhaps 
their  universal  licentiousness  may  be  in  great  measure  ascribed.  They  are 
only  happy  in  the  enjoyment  of  sensual  pleasures.  They  are  much  more 
ready  and  obliging  in  undertaking  trouble  for  their  acquaintance  than  we 
usually  are;  but  it  is  no  great  merit  in  them  ;  bodily  activity  is  an  enjoy* 
mcnt  to  them,  and  they  are  accustomed  to  it  by  their  whole  education  and 
mode  of  life.  I  have  sketched  this  picture  from  my  own  experience,  and 
add  that  it  is  nevertheless  true,  that  the  English,  on  the  average,  are  worth 
mow  than  people  of  a  corresponding  class  whom  we  see  at  home;  because, 
in  the  first  place,  with  the  exception  of  contemptible  idlers,  they  hardly 
ever  are,  or  like  to  be,  without  employment ;  and  secondly,  they  quickly 
obtain  a  practical  acquaintance  with  a  subject,  because  their  imagination 
docs  not  divide  and  distract  their  attention  by  presenting  other  interesting 
objects ;  besides,  they  would  be  without  a  standing  or  a  profession  if  they 
were  not  active  in  this  way,  the  example  of  which  they  see  every  where 
around  them. 

Of  the  female  sex  I  can  not  speak  from  my  own  knowledge ;  out  of  Mr. 
Scott's  family  I  have  not  had  so  much  as  one  long  conversation  with  any 
lady;  I  have,  however,  seen  a  considerable  number,  and  found  them  ex- 
tremely commonplace.  On  the  whole,  women,  though  treated  with  scru- 
pulous politeness,  are  very  little  honored  ;  and  few  men  have  any  idea  that 
their  conversation  can  be  an  agreeable  recreation.  In  families  where  free- 
dom prevails  between  the  young  people  of  both  sexes,  and  is  confined  within 
the  limits  of  propriety  (over  which  a  strict  watch  is  kept),  the  whole  pleasure 
of  their  intercourse  consists  in  pert  jesting,  dancing,  and  fun,  just  calculated 
to  please  and  feed  empty-headed  frivolity.  In  parties,  the  ladies  always  keep 
together,  and  beyond  certain  prescribed  formalities,  are  treated  with  perfect 
indifference ;  it  would  excite  the  greatest  attention,  if  the  least  interest 
were  perceptible  in  the  conversation  of  two  young  people  with  each  other. 

I  have  wandered  far  from  my  aim,  which  was  to  complain  to  you  how 
little  benefit  I  derive  from  the  parties,  and  the  extended  circle  of  acquaint- 
ance into  which  the  point,  consisting  of  one  single  family  and  a  few  friends, 
has  expanded  itself,  in  spite  of  my  efforts  to  the  contrary. 

In  other  respects,  my  peace  is  more  secure  against  disturbance  from  such 
sources  than  it  ever  was  before,  and  my  industry  does  not  flag.  My  con- 
science does  not  make  me  a  single  reproach  on  this  point.  I  hasten  to 
conclude ;  I  leave  this  letter  unwillingly  because  it  gives  me  the  semblance 
of  a  talk  with  you. 

LIII. 

EDINBURGH,  25/A  December,  1798 

If  it  were  possible  to  infuse  into  my  friends  here,  in  addition  to 

their  many  good  qualities,  somewhat  of  the  higher  interest  which  is  so  nat- 
ural to  us,  I  would  not  complain  of  the  interruptions  they  cause  me ;  but 
to  that  they  are  dead,  and  if  you  can  bring  them  so  far  as  to  allow  you  to 
speak  out  of  the  fullness  of  your  heart,  without  misunderstanding  and  mis- 
Interpretingyou,  you  are  made  to  feel  that  you  have  attainml  the  utmost  you 
can  hope  for,  and  need  never  expect  a  return  on  their  aide.  This  keep* 


HO  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTJHR. 

your  relation  to  them  within  the  same  narrow  limits  which  restrict  their 
intimacy  with  their  other  friends,  and  the  natural  consequence  is,  that  the 
interest  of  intercourse  must  inevitably  diminish,  unless  external  circum- 
stances give  it,  from  time  to  time,  a  fresh  impulse.  You  must  not  infer 
from  this  that  I  arn  growing  tired  of  my  acquaintance,  and  therefore  am 
tempted  gradually  to  forsake  them.  I  visit  nowhere  habitually,  except  at 
the  Scotts',  and  with  them  I  have  made  it  a  rule  never  even  to  wear  the 
appearance  of  diminished  attachment,  because  I  may  find  less  interest  in 
their  conversation.  I  go  there  generally  about  three  times  a  week,  and 
enter  into  whatever  mode  of  passing  the  time  they  choose,  as  heartily  as  I 
can.  Then,  too,  they  really  are  all  so  good  and  amiable,  that  it  is  never 
a  task  to  be  lively  in  their  company.  The  father  is  a  man  of  remarkably 
sound,  strong  understanding,  and  the  mother  a  refined,  sensible,  and  good 
woman,  although  not  so  free  from  prejudices,  by  a  great  deal,  as  the  father, 
who,  notwithstanding  his  decided  strictness  in  religion  and  politics,  never 
condemns  a  man  for  his  opinions  without  knowing  him,  and  possesses  in  a 
high  degree  a  large  and  enlightened  benevolence.  Their  third  son,  a  boy 
about  fifteen,  who  serves  in  the  navy,  came  last  week  to  spend  some  time 
at  home.  He  seems  to  be  a  lad  of  good  abilities ;  but  they  complain  that 
he  is  too  volatile,  and  he  is  unhappily  liable  to  convulsive  attacks,  so  that 
his  poor  parents  must  have  much  secret  anxiety ;  but  the  laws  of  conven- 
tionalism oblige  me  to  lock  up  my  sympathy  with  them  in  my  own  breast. 
I  thought,  at  first,  I  might  possibly  take  some  part  in  the  instruction  of  the 
younger  sons,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  awaken  a  higher  intelligence  in  them  ; 
but  delightful  as  that  would  be,  on  closer  consideration  I  found  it  imprac- 
ticable. Besides,  they  have  a  host  of  instructors,  though  scarcely  such  as 
they  ought  to  have.  Their  father  seems  to  do  absolutely  nothing  himself 
toward  their  education,  and  one  would  feel  almost  indignant  at  it,  if  the 
contrary  were  ever  heard  of  in  this  country.  The  extent  to  which  boys  are 
left  to  themselves,  and  the  books  they  have  in  their  hands,  are  a  subject 
for  just  astonishment.  Altogether  you  can  have  no  adequate  idea  of  the 
carelessness  upon  every  subject,  which  quickens  and  nourishes  all  the  germs 
of  corruption  till  their  poisonous  weeds  take  root  and  shoot  up,  and  you  find 
their  consequences  meeting  you  at  every  step. 

I  went  to  the  Scotts'  yesterday  evening,  to  pass  the  happy  Christinas 
Eve  in  some  measure  as  if  at  home,  and  hoped  I  might,  perhaps,  by  joining 
in  the  freedom  of  their  festivities,  get  on  a  more  confidential  footing  with 
them.  I  was  disappointed.  To-day  is  to  the  English,  in  their  own  fam- 
ilies, something  like  what  yesterday  is  -to  us ;  but  it  is  kept  in  a  very  dif- 
ferent way,  and  is  more  of  a  family  feast.  Yesterday  is  just  like  other 
days  ;  and  it  is  a  superstitious  point  of  distinction  between  the  Scottish  and 
English  churches,  that  the  former  studiously  disregard  this  festival  as  savor- 
ing of  Catholicism.  Thus  I  only  lost  the  quiet  solitude,  the  sweetest  re- 
membrancer of  the  many  happy  anniversaries  of  this  day  in  years  that  are 
past,  and  some  of  the  vividness  with  which  I  should  otherwise  have  called 
up  the  prospect  of  enjoying  it  with  you  a  year  hence. 

LIV. 

EDINBURGH,  8th  January,  1799. 

One  difficulty,  which  even  overcomes  my  natural  inclination  to  take 
things  easily,  lios  in  the  multitude  of  subjects  which  I  have  set  myself  to 


VISIT  TO  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND.  Ill 

study  and  imprint  on  my  memory  in  a  single  day,  and,  with  one  exception, 
on  every  day  of  the  week,  rendering  a  methodical  and  frugal  arrangement 
of  ray  time  absolutely  necessary.  This  in  no  wise  accords  with  my  love 
of  freedom  and  dislike  of  restraint.  I  hope  to  bring  my  inclination  under 
control :  but  with  the  imperfect  mastery  we  generally  obtain  over  oar 
actions,  even  after  elfort,  much  necessarily  remains  undone;  we  sacrifice 
one  thing  to  another.  You  know  that  it  was  the  perception  of  my  need 
of  gaining  manly  firmness,  and  ripeness  of  intellect,  together  with  active 
energy,  which  decided  me  to  take  this  journey.  Provided  thw  healthy 
atate  of  mind  be  secured,  it  is  not  of  much  consequence  whether  one  branch 
of  abstract  knowledge,  which  can  be  acquired  any  where  by  reflection, 
comes  a  little  sooner  or  later  into  my  possession.  But  I  should  be  un- 
willing to  miss  the  opportunity  of  gaining  knowledge  of  a  more  local  char- 
acter, and  I  should  be  ashamed  of  myself  if,  possessing  and  practicing  a 
good  method  of  study,  I  could  not  learn  to  observe,  to  understand,  to  think, 
and  to  write.  My  attention  is  much  directed  to  chemistry  at  present ;  not 
that  I  find  much  interest  in  it  for  its  own  sake,  except  as  an  exercise  of 
ingenuity,  but  rather  because  it  may  be  generally  useful  in  application, 
and  because  of  nothing  is  it  so  true,  that  it  must  either  be  understood 
thoroughly  or  not  at  all. 

In  spite  of  a  good  deal  of  hard  work  my  health  is  rather  improving,  than 
giving  way.  I  account  for  this  by  the  healthy  tone  of  my  feelings,  which 
always  accompanies  the  vigorous  activity  of  my  intellect, -and  1  try  to 
maintain  it  by  extreme  simplicity  of  diet,  and  frequent  exercise  in  the  open 
air,  which  the  dry  rocky  soil  renders  all  the  more  agreeable;  The  city  is 
surrounded  by  a  wide  plain,  which  is,  however,  high  above  the  level  of  the 
sea;  hence  the  air  here  is  very  pure,  though  often  very  keen  from  the 
nutting  wind.  The  real  mountains  are  still  a  long  way  off;  who  knows 
if  I  shall  be  able  to  get  away  from  here  soon  enough  to  climb  them  ? 
August  is  the  best  time  for  a  tour  in  the  Highlands,  and  it  will  be  im- 
possible  for  me  to  leave  here  before  the  end  of  that  month.  And  then  the 
time  of  my  return  will  be  drawing  nigh.  I  wish  it  could  be  managed,  for 
nature,  when  she  denied  me  the  vivid  delight  in  soft  smiling  beauty,  gave 
me  a  cordial  enjoyment  of  the  sublime.  You  would  find  yourself  as  much 
disappointed  in  your  expectations  of  the  people,  as  you  would  rejoice  Vith 
your  whole  sou)  id  the  majesty  of  nature.  The  nation,  both  in  the  High* 
lands  and  Lowlands,  is  said  to  be  given  to  the  vice  of  drunkenness,  and 
the  common  people  not  to  be  one  whit  better  than  with  us,  except  that 
they  are  very  hardy  and  warlike.  The  Scotch  mountaineers  have  been 
savages  from  time  immemorial,  and  now  that  civilization  is  gradually 
spreading  among  them,  are  necessarily  much  deteriorating,  as  all  savages 
do.  In  order  to  know  them  on  their  favorable  side,  an  acquaintance  with 
their  language  is  necessary,  which,  in  my  uncertainty  about  visiting  their 
country,  I  must  renounce  the  attempt  to  acquire,  and  to  which  all  helps 
are  strangely  wanting. 

LV. 

EDINBURGH,  151&  January,  1799. 

My  days  flow  on  pretty  uniformly  and  simply,  without  much 

waste  of  time  in  society,  but  not  quite  without  periods  of  weariness  and 
exhaustion.  Though  I  am  seldom  caught  in  the  snare  of  spirit-killing 


112  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTTHR. 

parties,  the  interruptions  arising  from  my  ordinary  intercourse  are  frequent; 
and  the  difference  between  the  English  way  of  thinking  and  ours  is  so 
great,  that  communication  by  degrees  comes  to  an  end.  You  know,  when 
we  are  choosing  friends,  we  can  not  help  looking  for  congeniality  of  views, 
trying  to  accommodate  ourselves  to  theirs,  and  taking  interest  in  their 
affairs,  even  when  they  do  not  enter  into  ours  with  the  same  warmth.  To 
the  last  especially  I  am  naturally  inclined :  but  it  is  not  possible  for  me  to 
sympathize  with  my  acquaintance  in  all  their  concerns.  You  know  that 
there  is  a  great  want  of  this  congeniality,  even  in  the  family  where  in 
other  respects  there  is  so  much  that  invites  me  to  consider  myself  as  one 
of  themselves.  There  is  nothing  artificial  about  them;  that  is  a  great 
point :  but  genuine  life,  interest  in  the  noblest  subjects,  is  wanting  also, 
and  has  given  way  to  a  narrow  circle  of  blindly  received  and  invincible 
prejudices ;  they  have  so  adapted  themselves  to  the  world  as  it  goes  (and 
you  would  find  the  same  every  where  here),  that  when  its  evils  force  them- 
selves upon  them,  nothing  is  so  far  from  their  thoughts  as  that  the  origin 
of  these  may  be  among  the  things  to  which  they  are  themselves  accus- 
tomed ;  they  rather  imagine  that  they  must  arise  from  some  change  or 
innovation  in  the  order  of  things,  which  is  essentially  bad.  So,  likewise, 
authorities  are  every  where  here  the  most  dangerous  opponents,  and  inde- 
pendent thought  is  a  stranger  to  all  parties.  Hence,  in  such  circles,  you 
may  perhaps  enjoy  yourself  sometimes,  but  you  never  receive  a  fresh  im- 
pulse from  them,  and  you  must  either  get  this  from  within,  or  go  on  for  a 
time  in  the  ordinary  track 

Whatever  may  be  my  vocation  in  life,  assuredly  nothing  can  be  more 
essential  to  the  soundness  of  the  understanding  than  a  close  and  accu- 
rate insight  into  the  great  scenes  of  nature.  Our  mind  is  in  a  sickly  state 
when  we  prefer  to  her  any  work  of  human  hands  or  human  tongues,  or 
confine  our  interest  to  those  spots  which  have  been  illustrated  by  human 
actions. 

Germany,  as  the  province  of  the  scholar,  becomes  dearer  to  me  in  a 
foreign  country,  although  I  am  reminded  at  every  step  in  how  deep  a 
slumber  we,  as  a  nation,  are  sunk.  A  close  acquaintance  with  the 
English  literature  yields  me  a  full  conviction  that,  at  the  present  moment, 
we  may  claim  a  decided  superiority  in  almost  every  branch  of  letters,  and 
this  superiority  is  candidly  confessed  by  many,  especially  among  the  more 
distinguished  of  the  younger  men,  and  even  by  some  older  scholars.  In 
this  place  especially  a  great  number  are  learning  German.  It  must  be  con- 
fessed, however,  that  most  singular  prejudices  prevail  against  our  country. 

Formerly  our  learned  men  were  regarded  as  very  slow,  narrow-minded 
fellows  ;  now  people  are  inclined  to  pronounce  them  very  clever  men,  but 
to  look  upon  them  as  so  many  conspirators  against  the  peace  of  the  world  ; 
an  opinion  that  is  adopted  in  a  still  more  incomprehensible  manner  by  some 
young  profligates,  and  excites  their  delight  as  much  as  it  does  the  abhorrence 
of  other  people.  One  of  these  asked  me,  with  great  astonishment,  (:  Are 
you  speaking  seriously  ?  We  thought  that  the  German  men  of  letters  were, 
without  exception,  atheists,  and  we  admire  you  on  that  account."  All 
we  want  in  order  to  measure  ourselves,  as  far  as  it  is  good  to  do  so,  with 
these  Britons,  is  to  be  more  active,  observant,  and  apt  in  seizing  hold  of  the 
right  moment. 

In  the  awakening  of  such  a  spirit  I  would  gladly  co-operate,  and  the 


VISIT  TO  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND.  113 

plan  of  uniting  all  our  friends  in  the  same  object  has  afforded  me  some 
pleasant  day-dreams. 

LVI. 

EDINBURGH,  llth  February,  1799. 

I  have  made  the  acquaintance  lately  of  two  persons  who  read  German 
In  no  place  in  England  is  there  so  much  attention  paid  to  German  lit- 
erature  as  here,  and  the  number  of  those  who  know  enough  of  German  to 
read  a  little,  and  to  procure  books  in  our  language,  is  not  inconsiderable, 
but  they  only  know  such  works  as  accident  throws  in  their  way.  Kant's 
name  is  already  very  well  known  here  ;  this  is  owing  to  various  Germans, 
who,  with  unequal  capabilities,  have  taken  upon  themselves  the  apostolic 
office.  His  works  are  in  the  hands  of  several  scholars  of  this  town,  and 
an  Englishman  has  begun  a  translation  of  them,  which  he  carried  to  a 
considerable  length,  but  then  got  tired  of  the  work. 

But  the  representations  of  his  philosophy  are  curiously  confused,  and, 
unless  I  am  very  much  deceived,  it  will  never  take  root  here.  Among 
the  young  men  there  are  several  who  mutually  compliment  each  other  with 
the  name  of  metaphysicans ;  but  this  clasa  consists  exclusively  of  mere 
empty  praters,  who  have  borrowed  their  fine  attire  from  books,  and  are 
incapable  of  any  true  investigation.  Their  ideas  are  in  such  confusion 
that  any  development  or  elucidation  by  conversation  is  out  of  the  ques- 
tion ;  their  results  are  detestable  ;  and  their  empty  self-complacency  con- 
temptible. Last  week  I  could  not  avoid  attending  a  breakfast  where 
several  of  this  sort  were  present,  and  Kant  was  referred  to  (which  is  the 
reason  of  my  speaking  of  him  here)  ;  it  wKs  a  meeting  which  irritated  and 
vexed  me  to  such  an  extent  that  it  almost  made  me  ill.  I  had  seen 
enough  long  before  to  be  persuaded,  and  thin  meeting  fully  convinced  me, 
that  the  praise  which  Jacob!  accords  to  the  philosophical  spirit  of  the 
English  nation  is  quite  undeserved,  and  founded  on  ignorance.  Those 
works,  the  neglect  of  which  he  reckoned  as  a  great  honor  to  the  English 
nation,  which  with  us  are  now  forgotten,  and  have  lost  their  authority,  the 
disgusting  sophistries  of  the  French  school  of  thirty  years  ago  and  more,  are 
the  chosen  food  of  the  daily  increasing  class  of  which  I  speak  ;  they  are 
extending  in  circulation,  and  are  even  to  be  found  in  circulating  libraries 
in  the  country,  and  the  cast  of  thought  that  results  from  their  influence 
only  awaits  political  commotions  to  become  dominant  in  the  nation 

LVII. 

EDUiUURGH,  26th  February,  1799. 

I  have  written  nothing  to  you  as  yet  about  English  literature. 

The  reason  is,  that  I  do  n^t  see  the  new  works.  There  are  no  reading 
rooms  here,  as  there  are  in  Paris  or  even  in  Copenhagen,  in  which  trav- 
elers can  meet  with  new  books,  and  pamphlets,  and  literary  periodicals. 

My  hope  of  finding  something  analogous  among  the  booksellers,  whose 
shops  are  a  meeting-place  for  acquaintance  here,  is  disappointed;  for 
there  is  nothing  but  gossiping  in  them  ;  and  the  publisher  to  whom  Scott 
specially  introduced  me,  does  not  seem  to  have  made  his  arrangements  at 
all  with  a  view  of  enabling  one  to  hear  of  new  works,  but  rather  in  fact 
to  neglect  modern  productions  for  older  literature.  But  among  all  the  new 
publications  that  have  appeared  daring  the  last  eight  months,  and  fallen 


114  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

in  my  way,  there  is  nothing  much  worthy  of  notice,  except  a  voyage  round 
the  world  The  English  seem,  in  fact,  to  have  no  great  author  at  present, 
not  one  whose  words  they  wait  for  with  eager  anticipation,  and  can  dwell 
on  with  love  and  enthusiasm.  They  have  a  good  number  of  useful  authors 
in  the  departments  of  mathematics  and  natural  science.  Philosophy  is 
quite  at  a  stand-still ;  and  among  the  writers  I  have  referred  to,  there  is 
not  one  of  brilliant  and  commanding  genius.  There  are  many  who  write 
history,  but  the  best  of  them  do  not  rise  above  mediocrity.  Still,  on  this 
and  kindred  topics,  many  points  of  interest  are  brought  to  light,  which  is 
to  be  ascribed,  in  great  measure,  to  the  peculiar  position  of  this  country,  as 
containing  within  itself  much  with  which  the  rest  of  Europe  has  no  con- 
nection. Taste  is  at  a  very  low  ebb.  The  public  devour  and  admire 
translations  of  all  the  unnatural  and  marvelous  tales  and  satires  of  our 
German  dramatists  and  romancers ;  and  the  original  works  most  widely 
read  are  of  the  same  cast.  Schiller  is  the  most  admired  German  poet. 
Even  among  the  political  writings,  for  which  England  has  always  been  so 
famous,  nothing  appears  that  excites,  much  less  that  deserves  attention. 
One  work,  however,  I  would  recommend  to  you;  at  least  the  notices  of  it 
have  raised  my  expectations  very  high.  It  is  a  work  on  education  by  a 
lady  of  middle  age,  who  has  been  occupied  in  the  education  of  members 
of  her  own  family  for  twenty  years.  I  have  never  seen  a  work  on  this 
subject  which  displays  a  sounder  judgment,  more  unprejudiced  views,  and 
more  penetrating  observation,  than  this  of  Miss  Edgeworth's,  judging  by 
the  extracts  from  it  that  I  have  read. 

LVIII. 

EDINBURGH,  7th  May,  1799. 

Scotland  stands,  far  and  wide,  in  high  repute  for  piety,  and  has 

done  so  from  the  commencement  of  the  Reformation.  The  clergy  in 
general  are  not  good  for  much ;  that  is  allowed  by  every  one  who  knows 
the  country.  The  piety  of  the  people  is,  for  the  most  part,  mere  eye-serv- 
ice— an  accustomed  formality  without  any  influence  on  their  mode  of 
thinking  and  acting.  They  say  prayers,  learned  by  rote,  at  their  meals, 
even  before  and  after  tea ;  they  observe  all  the  ordinances  of  their  Church, 
and  consign  Infidels,  Deists,  and  Atheists  to  perdition,  with  the  pride  of  a 
eoul  that  knows  heaven  to  be  its  own  exclusive  privilege.  In  short,  I  no 
longer  blame  Hume  for  judging  the  Presbyterians,  in  Charles  the  First's 
time,  with  harshness  and  scorn.  I  expected  austerity  among  them,  I  find 
only  rusticity. 

I  live  in  such  a  house  as  I  have  described  to  you  as  an  ordinary  burgher's 
house ;  in  a  sunny,  spacious  room.  My  host  is  a  carpenter.  He  and  his 
wife  have  many  of  the  usual  vices  of  the  common  people  here.  They  are 
lazy,  avaricious,  unsociable;  but  withal,  less  dirty  than  most  persons  oi" 
their  class.  In  the  same  house  with  me,  a  story  higher,  lives  an  iron- 
monger, to  whom  Moorhouse  had  an  introduction  from  some  tradespeople 
in  Sheffield,  the  seat  of  the  hardware  manufacture.  This  man,  who  is  in 
humble  circumstances,  and  uneducated,  has  always  shown  himself  well- 
meaning  and  honest ;  he  is  a  widower,  and  has  several  children,  some  of 
them  scarcely  grown  up  yet,  who  ar£  all  very  well  disposed.  Although 
without  a  mother,  they  seem  to  keep  their  father's  house  in  excellent  order, 
and  to  be  happy  and  industrious.  Music  is  (heir  only  accomplishment. 


VISIT  TO  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND.  115 

The  nation  has  a  peculiar  taste  and  remarkable  skill  in  this  art,  and  the 
many  and  sweet  national  songs  exercise  and  cherish  the  talent  from  which 
they  have  sprung.  I  have  spent  many  a  pleasant  hour  in  listening  to  the 
singing  of  these  good  children,  and  always  found  myself  a  welcome  visitor. 
This  family  are  much  more  rigid  in  their  piety  than  those  who  belong  to 
the  Established  Church ;  they  are  Baptists,  and  have  retained  the  most 
extravagant  notions  of  the  fanatics  of  the  last  century  in  matters  of  au- 
sterity. To  go  to  the  theatre,  to  dance,  to  read  worldly  books,  are  all 
alike  inexpiable  Crimea.  Where  education  and  habitual  culture  of  the 
nobler  faculties  can, not  exist,  such  a  way  of  thinking  pleases  me  much 
more  than  the  opposite,  that  of  the  people  who  give  themselves  up  entirely 
to  amusement.  They  look  upon  me  as  a  great  scholar,  and,  very  likely,  as 
an  unbeliever 

LIX. 

EDINBURGH,  4tk  June,  1799. 

This  journey  has  perhaps  made  me  a  more  competent  man  of 

business  than  I  had  previously  thought  myself  capable  of  becoming. 

From  my  ignorance  of  the  internal  economy  of  the  state,  and  the  vari- 
ous branches  of  industry  that  sustain  its  vitality,  the  details  of  public  busi- 
ness often  used  to  seem  to  me  quite  unintelligible,  and  always  unconnect- 
ed :  but  as  employments  of  this  kind  acquire  a  meaning  to  me,  they  lose 
their  unpleasantness,  and  I  have  to  contend  less  with  the  periodical  incli- 
nations to  indolence  which  it  so  often  requires  intense  exertion  of  will  to 
overcome  ;  and  as  I  have  more  knowledge  of  the  subjects  to  which  a  states- 
man has  to  direct  his  attention  (though  heaven  knows  what  may  be  my 
peculiar  department)  than  many  of  those  to  whose  hands  they  are  com- 
mitted either  have,  or  have  any  idea  of  obtaining,  the  consciousness  that 
I  do  not  hold  a  post  for  which  I  am  unfit,  by  mere  favor,  will  give  me 
redoubled  spirit  and  energy.  I  intend  besides  to  avail  myself  diligently  of 
the  learned  institutions  which  Copenhagen  possesses.  There  are  some 
splendid  mineralogical  collections  there,  and  I  shall  try  to  master  this  in- 
teresting and  important  branch  of  natural  history.  And  if  we  believe  that 
Providence  disposes  the  eventa  of  our  life  with  a  reference  to  the  same 
ends  that  appear  to  us  important  in  earthly  plans,  we  may  regard  the 
postponement  of  an  appointment  in  the  university  as  a  respite  allowed  me 
in  which  to  make  up  for  past  neglect,.  If  nothing  unexpected  occur,  there- 
fore, we  must,  and  ought  to  look  upon  our  future  fate  as  settled,  at  least 
for  a  good  while  to  come.  Our  position  in  Copenhagen  will  certainly  be, 
in  many  respects,  a  difficult  and  delicate  one.  But  formerly  other  cir- 
cumstances, as  you  know,  embittered  my  residence  there,  which  we  shall 
now  be  able  to  obviate.  I  shall  now  be  capable  of  fulfilling  all  duties  of 
ceremony,  and  your  silent  admonition  will  arm  me  with  energy  to  perse- 
vere in  the  cultivation  of  my  own  powers.  I  could  wish  that  some  happy 
idea  may  be  awakened  within  me  some  day,  which,  when  developed,  might 
grow  into  a  noble,  beautiful,  and  enduring  intellectual  work.  I  wculd 
thi»  were  possible.  Works  on  the  so-called  exact  sciences,  even  if  I  should 
advance  so  far,  could  not,  from  the  measure  of  my  powers,  and  the  present 
state  of  these  sciences,  ever  become  any  thing  of  this  kind.  Philosophy  ? 
He  who  presumes  to  raise  his  voice  on  this  subject,  without  having  the 
clearest  vocation,  will  do  little  good  thereby.  History  ?  Its  worth  and 


116  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

importance  may  appear  problematical ;  and  besides  I  see  with  sorrow  that, 
owing  to  the  inadequacy  of  our  knowledge,  chiefly  caused  by  the  ignorance 
and  incapacity  of  those  who  had  it  in  their  power  to  have  furnished  to  us  the 
materials  of  history,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  carry  out  any  thing  like  the 
comprehensive  and  magnificent  plan  with  which  my  mind  has  long  been 
occupied.  Thus  my  prospects  of  authorship  are  very  limited 

I  read  lately  the  biography  of  a  very  singular  man,  a  Mr.  Taylor  of 
London,  whom  I  may  perhaps  have  mentioned  to  you  before ;  for,  though 
I  never  saw  him,  every  thing  that  is  said  of  him  interests  me  as  if  I  had 
known  him.  There  is  something  fearful  about  his  history  and  character, 
that  makes  one  half  afraid  to  seek  his  acquaintance.  He  grew  up  and 
passed  his  life  under  very  unfavorable  circumstances.  Through  a  singular 
philosophical  mysticism  derived  from  the  Platonists,  he  became  an  ortho- 
dox polytheist,  and  adherent  of  the  mystical  interpretation  of  the  popular 
religion  of  the  Greeks ;  a  kind  of  insanity  which  manifests  itself  with  a 
strange  sublimity  in  his  translations  of  the  Greek  philosophers,  and  his 
own  writings,  especially  his  poems.  Well,  this  man  made  his  choice  in  his 
earliest  youth ;  and  the  maiden  who  won  the  first  and  only  love  of  the  boy, 
became  the  wife  of  the  youth,  when  her  parents  wanted  to  force  her  into  a 
rich  marriage.  During  more  than  a  year  they  had  only  seven  English 
shillings  a  week,  which  he  earned  by  copying.  And  although  their  cir- 
cumstances somewhat  improved,  poverty  was  their  companion  during  many 
after  years.  Yet  their  spirit  was  not  broken.  Taylor  had  much  self-will, 
but,  at  the  same  time,  much  fortitude.  But  I  blessed  our  fate  that  we 
were  not  born  in  this  country.  A  similar  lot  would  very  likely  have 
awaited  us  ;  for  the  crime  of  not  being  rich  can  only  be  atoned  for  here  by 
the  striving  to  become  so ;  and  he  who  tries  to  live  for  his  genius  without 
this  effort,  if  not  pensioned  by  some  great  man  or  by  government,  in  which 
case  he  must  renounce  his  independence  and  his  pride,  will  sink,  heaven 
knows  where  !  I  should  like  to  bring  the  best  writings  of  this  extraordi- 
nary man  for  our  Moltkes. 

On  Saturday  I  think  of  going  into  Fifeshire  to  visit  a  very  interesting 
landed  proprietor  who  has  given  me  a  most  friendly  invitation 

LX. 

EDINBURGH,  10th  Junf,  1799. 

Among  the  acquaintance  in  Copenhagen  who  will  probably  visit 

us,  dearest  Amelia,  the  people  we  are  wont  to  call  interesting  will  form  a 
class  by  themselves.  They  are  generally  the  most  agreeable  in  conversa- 
tion, and  yet  not  those  whom  you  would  take  to  your  heart.  Men  of  the 
world,  although  intellectual  and  polished,  often  lose  themselves  entirely, 
and  remain  a  mere  brilliant  form  without  heart  and  soul,  and  cold  as 
death.  I  have  often  suffered  myself  to  be  too  much  carried  away  by  the 
graceful  qualities  of  such  persons,  and  cultivated  acquaintanceships  of  this 
kind  more  than  was  wise,  and  more  than  I  could  persevere  in.  Such  char- 
acters are  the  production  of  capitals  and  courts,  and  will  scarcely,  if  ever, 
be  found  beyond  their  precincts.  It  was  my  fate  that  such  men  always 
showed  a  particular  liking  for  me;  and  that  I,  in  return,  felt  more  attract- 
ed toward  them  than  to  any  other  acquaintance,  because  they  could  far 
excel  every  other  sort  of  men  in  that  animated  flow  of  conversation,  which 
ia  of  all  pleasures  the  greatest  to  me.  For  in  all  artificial  relationships, 


VISIT  TO  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND.  117 

where  the  barriers  that  diride  you  an  not  removed  by  personal  attachment 
and  community  of  interest,  and  the  immediate  concerns  of  each  must  re- 
main unapproached,  the  degree  of  pleasure  to  be  found  in  intercourse  must 
depend  upon  the  vivacity  of  mind  and  the  individuality  exhibited  by  each ; 
and  the  colder,  more  general,  and  more  commonplace  our  conversation, 
the  more  indifferent  we  must  be  to  each  other.  To  you,  who  are  more 
used  to  solitude,  and  so  implacably  averse  to  frivolity,  perhaps  such  inter- 
course may  be  burdensome.  But  you  need  not  stand  in  fear  of  it,  dearest 
Amelia.  Neither  our  inclinations  nor  our  opinions  will  ever  bring  discord 
between  us;  and,  in  such  matters,  yours  will  be  a  law  to  me. 

LXI. 

EDINBURGH,  \~tk  June,  1799. 

I  reckon  it  among  the  most  important  results  of  my  travels,  that 

the  indifference  with  which  I  was  in  the  habit  of  regarding  the  objects  of 
nature  around  me  has  given  way.  It  was  a  defect  naturally  connected 
with  my  short-sightedness;  but  it  constantly  grew  upon  me,  through  the 
dreamy  forgetfulncss  of  reality  in  which  from  my  childhood  1  was  allowed 
to  indulge.  As  you  know,  I  sometimes  pondered  over  it;  but  without  * 
change  in  my  circumstances,  I  could  hardly  have  succeeded  in  overcoming 
it.  This  indifference  has  now  vanished.  For  some  time  past  I  have  taken  a 
lively  interest  in  mineralogy,  and  in  fact  it  ia  this  branch  of  natural  his- 
tory which  has  brought  the  others  also  into  favor  with  me.  This  interest  is 
in  great  measure  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  country,  just  as  the  opposite 
character  of  the  land  in  which  we  live  must  product;  the  opposite  feelings. 

I  have  always,  when  I  have  had  occasion  to  allude  to  Playfair,  spoken 
of  him  with  the  sincere  respect,  with  which  his  distinguished  merit,  and 
upright  character,  have  inspired  me  from  the  first.  But  now  it  is  long 
since  you  have  seen  any  mention  of  him,  and  it  has  been  with  him  as 
formerly  with  other  men  of  high  standing,  for  whom  I  had  a  real  deference 
and  veneration,  but  from  whom  I  expected  no  indulgence,  supposing  them 
to  entertain  too  high  an  opinion  of  my  talents,  yet  one  not  excited  by 
affection,  just  aa  it  was,  a  year  and  a  half  ago,  with  the  good  old  Hege- 
wisch — that  is,  my  respect  was  mingled  with  a  certain  degree  of.  dread. 
I  felt  I  could  not  come  up  to  my  own  expectations,  much  less  to  his. 
Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  I  seldom  saw  him.  By  accident,  however,  I 
found  myself  alone  with  him  a  few  days  ago.  In  the  course  of  our  con- 
versation, we  touched  upon  mineralogy.  He  offered  to  take  a  walk  with  me 
some  evening  soon,  round  the  rocks  on  the  east  side  of  the  city,  which  are 
very  remarkable.  He  kept  his  word.  We  walked  about  under  the  steep, 
time-worn  walls  of  the  cliffs,  and  he  propounded  his  theory  of  their  primitive 
origin  and  nature,  and  of  the  character  and  composition  of  the  different 
kinds  of  rock.  It  was  one  of  the  most  instructive  and  agreeable  evenings  I 
have  enjoyed  this  year.  Unfortunately,  he  is  going  to  England  before  long 

My  little,  excursion  is  put  off  till  next  Saturday. 

LXII. 

EDINBURGH,  2<I  July,  1799. 

I  wanted  to  write  to  you  on  the  anniversary  of  our  last  parting,  but  was 
reluctantly  compelled  to  yield  to  an  invitation,  where  the  insipiditv  of 
the  conversation  only  gave  me  a  sense  of  emptiness  and  desolation,  after 


118  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

which  I  went  to  the  Scotts,  hoping  to  be  refreshed  by  their  greater  cordial- 
ity. I  went  there  with  the  wish  and  hope  of  pouring  out  my  feelings  for 
once  about  what  lay  nearest  to  my  heart.  Ever  since  I  have  written  to 
you  about  this  kind-hearted  family,  however,  I  have  complained  to  you  of 
their  reserve  as  to  those  communications  in  which  the  heart  expands.  It 
is  quite  a  national  trait  not  to  dwell  upon  what  concerns  us  personally, 
upon  what  fills  our  heart ;  and  it  is  as  unnatural  to  them  to  hear  me  speak 
of  the  topics  upon  which  I  am  feeling  strongly,  as  it  would  be  to  do  the 
same  themselves.  How  I  shall  bless  the  time  when  this  constraint  will 
be  over — when  in  my  own  land,  with  you  and  our  friends,  even  by  virtue 
of  our  national  usages,  I  shall  listen  to  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  others,  not 
as  a  mere  piece  of  news,  but  as  a  communication  to  which  I  have  a  right, 
and  be  as  sure  of  a  welcome  when  I  lay  open  my  own  heart !  J  am  far 
from  attributing  it  to  coldness  in  these  good  people.  It  is  altogether 
national,  and  it  is  the  same  with  every  one  I  have  known  here,  whatever 
their  rank  or  calling,  learning,  or  sex.  Hence,  also,  tediousness  is  seldom 
utterly  banished  from  social  intercourse.  It  has  quite  surprised  me,  for 
example,  that  if  you  meet  a  person  in  whose  family  some  one  has  been 
taken  ill,  he  will  hardly  allude  to  it,  beyond  a  short  answer  to  your  inqui- 
ries, or  speak  of  it  with  any  feeling.  In  this  way,  it  must  be  allowed, 
people  may  easily  V  e  independent  of  each  other.  I  believe  firmly  that  the 
Scotts  love  their  children — that  Playfair  is  a  good  father ;  and  yet  the 
former  only  speak  of  them  because  they  have  them  with  them  in  the 
evenings  (which  is  saying  much  here),  and  the  boys  themselves  make  their 
presence  known ;  the  latter  behaves  exactly  as  if  his  boy  were  not  in  the 
room.  So  far  from  inviting  me  to  speak  of  my  connections,  so  far  from 
Mr.  Scott  making  any  inquiries  as  to  my  father's  position  (though  he  is 
nevertheless  as  much  attached  to  him  as  possible),  they  have  met  every 
attempt  on  my  part  to  talk  to  them  upon  these  subjects,  with  a  silence, 
which  admits  of  no  other  explanation,  than  that  it  is  not  in  good  taste  to 
say  much  about  such  things.  They  have  never  once  asked  after  my 
mother  and  sister !  My  friends  I  have  only  been  able  to  mention  in  so 
far  as  they  are  connected  with  literature ;  for  example,  Jacobi.  Though 
probably  good  Mrs.  Scott  may  see  danger  to  religion  and  the  church  in  all 
such  philosophical  personages. 

LXIII. 

EDINBURGH,  10th  August  1799. 

I  must  really  now  begin  to  tell  you  what  I  have  been  doing  with  myself 
since  I  last  wrote;  how  I  came  to  leave  Edinburgh,  what  I  was  about  in 
the  country  when  I  wrote  to  you,  and  how  it  happens  that  I  am  here  again. 
I  can  not  give  you  all  the  details  now.  but  will  send  you  all  the  mi&feing 
particulars  in  my  next. 

I  was  very  unwell  the  day  before  C.'s  lectures  concluded,  and  the  day 
itself.  In  this  condition  I  went  to  the  lecture,  with  which  my  whole  con- 
nection with  the  University  is  brought  to  a  close.  He  hastened  to  con- 
clude, as  I  had  expected.  I  waited  to  the  end  in  order  at  last  to  bind  the 
Proteus  to  an  interview.  I  went  up  to  him,  and  we  got  into  conversa- 
tion. He  said  he  was  on  the  point  of  going  to  his  little  estate,  and  asked 
me  to  accompany  him.  A  more  inviting  opportunity  could  not  have 
offered,  for  it  is  difficult  to  get  hold  of  him.  There  is  quite  a  swarm  of 


VISIT  TO  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND.  119 

acquaintance  and  visitors  round  him,  for  he  haa  the  dangerous  merit  of 
making  himself  interesting  to  his  friends.  On  the  road,  and  in  the  country, 
I  could  have  him  to  myself,  lie  only  spoke  of  a  few  days,  and  this  ac- 
corded with  my  wishes.  We  had  very  stormy  weather  on  our  journey. 
The  occasion  of  his  trip  wu  a  fair  in  the  town  of  Kinross.  His  country- 
house  is  a  littie  old  cottage,  which  haa  been  enlarged  from  time  to  time ; 
small  and  neat.  Unhappily,  some  one  was  there  already  Waiting  for  him, 
and  thus  our  first  evening  was  almost  lost.  I  comforted  myself  with 
thinking  of  the  next  day,  when  I  could  ride  with  him  to  the  town,  and 
then  on  our  return  be  with  him  for  some  day*. 

At  breakfast  time,  C.  began  to  beg  me  to  wait  his  return  here ;  he 
should  be  back  in  one  or  two  days,  and  meanwhile  I  could  make  myself 
acquainted  with  the  arrangements  of  his  farm,  as  I  had  often  expressed  a 
wish  to  do.  Besides,  he  would  give  me  an  introduction,  of  which  I  could 
avail  myself  during'  his  absence,  to  a  landed  proprietor  in  the  neighborhood, 
who  had  the  direction  of  some  interesting  works.  I  should  have  enough  to 
learn  ;  and  besides,  there  were  plenty  of  books  for  me.  One  easily  believes 
what  one  wishes.  I  staid  behind.  At  first  I  enjoyed  my  solitude  very 
much.  I  sauntered  about,  read  a  good  deal,  indulged  in  my  own  thoughts, 
looked  about  me,  observed  much ;  the  children  were  my  society,  and  it 
gave  me  pleasure  to  be  able  to  win  their  love  with  the  trifles  which  attract 
at  their  innocent  age.  The  poor  children  had  lost  their  mother,  of  whom 
her  friends  speak  in  unusually  high  terms.  Her  remembrance,  too,  lives 
undimmed  in  his  heart.  But  though  these  poor  children  are  left  very 
much  to  themselves,  it  is  delightful  to  see  how  kind  and  loving  they  are 
with  each  other. 

The  weather  had  now  become  a  downright  tempest,  and  it  wa«  impos- 
sible to  quit  the  house.  Meanwhile,  day  after  day  passed,  and  my  friend 
did  not  come.  My  patience  and  good-temper  gave  way.  1  knew  C.  too 
well  to  ascribe  it  to  an  intentional  slight  on  his  part.  When  the  weather 
cleared,  I  found  that  the  gentleman  to  whom  h«  had  recommended  me,  was 
no  longer  at  home. 

At  length,  yesterday,  I  came  back  in  an  ill-humor.  My  first  errand  was 
to  my  truant  friend.  I  have  not  room  to  tell  you  to-day  how  he  came  to 
break  his  word.  I  do  not  love  him  the  less  for  it.  Our  interview  was  full 
of  emotion. 

LXIV. 

EDINBURGH,  13/A  Auf?u*e,  1799. 
.  . . . .  .1  will  not  put  off  telling  you  what  prevented  C.  from  fulfilling 

his  promise.  It  is  really  an  unhappy  affair — an  approaching  marriage, 
not  as  yet  made  public,  which  he  has  resolved  on  against  his  inclination, 
in  order  to  provide  care  and  education  for  his  children.  He  told  me  this 
candidly  himself.  I  should  tremble  for  the  consequences,  were  not  the  poor 
women  here  so  accustomed  to  neglect,  that  no  doubt  his  wife  will  expect 
nothing  beyond  respect.  Attention  she  certainly  will  not  receive.  Amuse- 
ment, and  every  thing  that  can  fan  the  flame  of  his  temperament,  is  a 
necessary  to  him,  and  thereby  he  trifles  away  a  great  part  of  the  respect 
(for  every  one  that  knows  him  must  love  him),  which  in  really  his  dne. 
Still  I  assure  yon  that  he  is  one  of  the  most  eminent  and  b.^st  men  I  know 
here,  only  he  should  not  have  been  bom  in  this  country. 


12o  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

LXV. 

BOLTON  IN  EAST  LOTHIAN,  IStk  August,  1799. 
This  last  week  has  already  brought  with  it  more  pleasure  than 
the' monotonous  months  I  spent  in  the  city.  The,  rare  enjoyment  of  find- 
ing my  expectations  surpassed,  and,  what  is  far  more,  the  simple  hearti- 
ness with  which  I  was  received  by  people,  with  whom  I  could  exchange 
respect  in  the  first  hour,  has  given  me  quite  a  new  view  of  the  nation,  and 
a  liking  for  it,  which  nothing  before  had  called  out.  I  can  now  return  with 
the  conviction  of  having  obtained  a  really  correct  view  of  the  country,  and 
with  a  just  and  cordial  love  of  its  inhabitants 

LXVI. 

DOUGLAS,  Tuesday. 

I  was  interrupted  yesterday  evening  by  the  household  arrangements  of 
my  good  hosts 

In  Haddington,  the  chief  town  of  this  county,  Mr.  Stevenson,  the 
acquaintance  I  have  before  mentioned  to  you,  was  waiting  for  me,  in 
order  to  conduct  me  to  the  son  of  the  man  in  whose  house  he  had  passed 
a  year  to  learn  farming.  I  expected  to  see  a  sturdy,  jolly-looking  rustic ; 
I  was  half-abashed  when  a  mild,  refined  young  man  entered  the  room, 
whose  manners  would  have  qualified  him  to  appear  in  the  most  polished 
circles.  We,  of  the  book-world,  are  apt  to  fancy  that  a  farmer  or  an  artist 
will  not  pay  much  attention  to  us,  if  we  seem  inclined  to  meddle  with  the 
details  of  his  calling,  but  probably  only  laugh  at  us  in  his  sleeve.  Mr. 
Adam  Bogun  testified  by  his  whole  behavior  that  he  felt  otherwise,  and 
was  sincerely  glad  to  see  his  unusual  visitor.  A  German  tourist  was  to 
him  as  new  an  object,  as  a  farmer  from  the  most  highly  cultivated  district 
in  Scotland  was  to  me.  I  soon  conceived  a  warm  interest  in  him,  and 
felt  convinced  that  he  would  grudge  no  pains  to  oblige  me.  Pleasure 
beamed  in  his  countenance  when  he  was  able  to  show  me  a  kindness,  when 
he  saw  that  he  had  given  me  a  pleasure,  or  that  I  took  an  interest  in  his 
circumstances  and  his  family ;  and  when  we  parted,  the  tears  stood  in  his 
eyes.  As  the  weather  on  Saturday  was  so  boisterous  that  traveling  was 
out  of  the  question,  1  willingly  remained  with  him.  Before  the  morning 
was  over  we  were  no  longer  strangers,  and  we  sat  together  alone  by  the 
fire,  which  the  horrible  weather  rendered  necessary,  chatting  so  familiarly, 
or  employing  ourselves  with  so  little  restraint,  that  my  spirita  were  not 
cast  down  by  the  gloomy  prospect  of  having  to  make  my  to\'i  in  such 
weather.  As  acquaintanceship  in  the  country  does  not  proceed  at  such  a 
sleepy  pace  as  in  the  town,  where  you  have  only  too  much  of  it,  tb.3  weather 
did  not  prevent  a  neighbor  from  coming  to  spend  the  evening,  though  he 
lived  a  mile  off.  He  was  likewise  an  excellent  young  man,  and  had  more 
education  than  my  other  young  friend :  had  seen  more  of  the  world  too : 
but  he  was  such  a  fanatic  in  politics,  that  for  several  years  he  had  forgot- 
ten his  own  business,  and  even  now  injures  his  peace  and  characte  with 
his  foolish  notions.  I  must  pass  over  the  Sunday  that  I  spent  in  his  house 
(for  the  weather  still  prevented  me  from  continuing  my  journey),  where  I 
met  a  curious  adventurer,  whose  loquacity  overpowered  us  all ;  but  did  not 
prevent  my  accepting  his  invitation  to  call  upon  him.  On  Monday  I  went 
with  my  worthy  young  friend  Bogun  to  see  his  father.  The  old  man  had 
risen,  by  his  own  exertions,  from  a  very  humble  origin  to  considerable 


VISIT  TO  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND.  121 

opulence.  Hia  manners  ate  still  pretty  much  those  of  the  class  to  which 
he  at  first  belonged,  but  with  all  their  excellences,  and  natural  good  breed- 
ing characterized  his  family.  A  very  different  reception  awaited  me  at  the 
house  of  a  man  of  noble  birth,  a  Mr.  Buchan  Hepburn,  to  whom  I  had  a 
letter  of  high  recommendation.  Whether  it  was  that  he  looked  down  on 
my  companion,  Bogun,  and  therefore  on  me,  or  that  he  did  not  choose  to 
insult  with  our  presence  a  party  of  noble  guests  whom  he  had  invited  to 
dinner,  he  began  immediately  to  tell  us  in  very  plain  terms  that  he  hod 
scarcely  any  time  to  spare  for  us,  on  account  of  this  party ;  he  would  show 
us  his  fields,  but  must  hurry  through  them.  I  hastened  away  from  him, 
taking  leave  of  Bogun  also,  to  Sir  John  Murray,  of  Kirkland's  Hill,  a  coun- 
try gentleman  to  whom  Mr.  Scott  had  given  me  an  introduction.  I  wan 
received  by  a  cheerful,  healthy-looking,  elderly  man,  in  a  room  filled  with 
books  and  papers,  so  that  it  looked  like  the  study  of  a  scholar.  He  left 
me  in  no  doubt  that  be  placed  full  faith,  in  his  friend's  recommendation. 
He  conducted  me  to  his  family,  who  were  assembled  in  a  very  handsome 
dining-room ;  a  mother,  and  four  daughters,  very  near  in  age,  the  youngest 
a  child  who  had  done  growing,  the  eldest  just  attained  to  the  gravity  of  wo- 
manhood. I  told  them  at  onoe  of  the  reception  I  had,  previously  met  with, 
which  did  not  surprise  them,  but  they  strove  with  all  zeal  to  make  amends 
for  it,  and  we  soon  got  into  a  very  animated  and  familiar  conversation. 

I  have  told  you  how  very  much  the  two  sexes  keep  at  a  distance  from 
each  other  in  this  country,  when  they  meet  in  parties  in  the  towns,  and 
how  scrupulously  every  appearance  of  intimacy  is  avoided.  Here,  German 
manners  were  in  fashion,  and  the  young  ladies  were  aa  artlessly  friendly  as 
if  they  had  learnt  of  you  and  your  sisters,  that  it  is  a  narrow-minded  preju- 
dice to  refuse  ordinary  confidence,  and  marks  of  sympathy  in  conversation, 
because  a  stranger  happens  to  be  a  man.  Only  onu  of  the  number  was 
good-looking.  Beauty  is  extremely  rare  in  Scotland.  This  one  and  the 
eldest  displayed  much  intelligence  and  a  careful  education.  What  their 
father  has  accomplished  on  his  farm  exceeded  every  thing  that  I  have  yet 
seen.  I  had  never  met  with  any  garden  so  carefully  tended,  so  well  laid 
out,  or  so  cleverly  managed.  All  this  has  been  done  without  the  prospect 
of  bequeathing  it  to  his  children,  and  for  an  avaricious  landlord.  He  had 
raised  the  produce  of  his  fields  four-fold  in  thirteen  years,  brought  every 
thing  from  a  neglected  condition  to  the  highest  cultivation,  planted  hedges, 
diked  in  a  strip  of  land,  and  has  now  only  got  to  keep  it  up  to  its  present 
state.  His  lease  is  for  thirty  years.  He  has  brought  up  bis  two  sons  to 
agriculture ;  put  one  in  charge  of  two  outlying  farms,  and  the  other  is 
learning  under  his  own  eye.  They  are  all  very  busy  in  their  home  duties, 
and  happy  with  each  other.  They  would  all  please  you,  even  the  some- 
what rough  mother;  for  if  she  transgresses  the  rules  of  polished  society,  she 
does  it  with  so  much  good-humor  that  you  can  only  laugh.  She  smoke* 
her  pipe,  laughs  at  it  herself,  but  is  not  ashamed  of  it,  for  as  she  says,  "it 
is  no  sin,"  and  seems  to  enjoy  existence  more  than  most  people.  I  meant 
to  have  left  the  next  day,  but  I  staid.  We  parted  with  the  promise  to 
meet  again.  Against  that  time  Murray  will  write  out  a  set  of  rules  and 
experiments  for  me,  and  engaged  me  in  return  to  write  him  an  account  of 
our  methods  of  agriculture,  at  some  future  period.  I  have  really  learnt 
much  more  of  these  matters  than  you  would  suppose.  I  am  quite  familiar 
with  the  agricultural  economy  of  Scotland,  and  I  am  convinced  that  I 

F 


122  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

should  be  able  to  apply  what  I  have  leamt  on  another  soil.  By  the  end 
of  next  week  I  shall  be  in  Edinburgh  again. 

XL  VII. 

EDINBURGH,  31st  August,  1799. 

It  would  scarcely  be  possible,  perhaps,  for  a  large  agricultural  pop- 
ulation to  earn  for  themselves  a  more  respectable  character  in  their  calling, 
than  that  which  belongs  to  most  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  through 
which  I  traveled.  True  insight  into  their  business,  activity,  intelligence, 
and  an  unblemished  reputation  are  the  characteristics,  I  really  believe,  of 
the  greater  number  of  the  farmers  ;  and  many  of  them  possess  a  number 
of  very  good  books,  are  fond  of  reading,  and  speak  as  well  as  the  towns- 
folk (the  Scotch,  indeed,  in  general,  do  not  speak  well).  Public-houses,  or 
hotels,  in  which  our  country  people  degrade  themselves,  are  only  to  be  found 
in  the  widely  separated  villages,  or  in  towns.  For  the  villages  are  almost 
every  where  broken  up,  and  this  of  itself  keeps  the  laborers  from  social  ex- 
cesses, as  they  live  round  the  farmstead  in  little  cottages,  consisting  of  one 
room,  which  is  at  once  their  cooking,  living,  and  sleeping  room.  The  ob- 
ject of  their  aspiration  is  to  possess  the  reputation,  the  manners,  and  the 
comforts  of  a  respectable  station.  They  spend  a  great  deal  upon  their 
houses,  and  often  upon  their  gardens,  however  short  a  time  they  have  them 
in  their  possession. 

If  I  were  a  landlord  here,  I  should  not  make  much  profit,  for  it  seems  to 
me  an  unjustifiable  thing  to  drive  away  such  people,  by  over-exaction,  from 
the  soil  which  they  have  done  so  much  to  improve  and  embellish ;  and  it 
has  excited  my  indignation  to  see  that  this  is  not  at  all  taken  into  account. 
Certainly  one  would  be  far  from  desiring  that  a  whole  nation  should  resem- 
ble them,  or  seriously  wishing  to  take  up  one's  abode  among  them.  Still 
the  first  might  not  be  so  bad  after  all,  and  as  to  the  latter,  we  should  only 
find  in  the  long  run,  that  we  had  not  chosen  the  better  part,  if  we  adopted 
their  tone  in  all  things.  The  number  of  their  ideas  is  limited,  and  it  is 
inevitable  but  that  many  things  should  be  perfectly- indifferent  to  them, 
which  stir  our  whole  hearts  ;  that  they  should  have  an  inordinate  amount 
of  phlegm.  I  even  feel  myself  that  my  stay  here,  and  my  occupation  with 
the  things  of  daily  life,  has  made  me  liable  to  the  contagion,  and  therefore 
should  not  wish  to  be  the  associate  of  these  very  worthy  men  for  any  length 
of  time.  Perhaps  it  has  done  me  a  little  harm  already  ;  perhaps  it  is  with 
the  dwelling  on  the  things  of  common  life,  as  with  the  composition  of  the 
air  that  we  breathe,  the  life-giving  part  of  which,  when  pure,  seems  to  be 
only  fit  for  another  world,  and  would  consume  our  life  here. 

LXVIII. 

AFTER  HIS  RETURN  FROM  ENGLAND. 
TO  AMELIA. 

COPENHAGEN,  \Stk  April,  1800. 

Schimmelman  and  others  will  see  that  a  suitable  salary  is  attached 

to  the  places  they  are  endeavoring  to  get  for  me.  Every  thing  is  dear, 
certainly,  very  dear,  but  I  arn  in  no  anxiety.  We  both  like  a  simple  way 
of  life,  and  do  not  seek  or  require  amusements.  Shelter,  food,  fire,  clothing, 
and  joyful  love  will  make  our  all.  We  shall  enjoy  a  fine  day  in  the  fields 


VISIT  TO  ENGLAND  AND  SCOTLAND.  123 

as  much  as  in  a  country  house.  Sophocles  and  Homer  will  be  our  substi- 
tute for  the  theatre ;  and  the  absence  of  visitor*  will  not  bring,  but  prevent 
weariness  and  enmti.  The  Reventlows,  Bernstorff,  the  Rantzaus,  the  Kun- 
zens,  the  Desaugters  are  all  very  friendly. 

LXIX. 

26tA  April,  1800. 

My  darling  Amelia,  I  rejoice  in  my  good  fortune  with  feelings 

which  are  not  unworthy  of  your  love.  It  is  now  not  only  a  duty,  but  my 
most  pressing  necessity,  to  keep  all  my  powers  on  the  stretch  here  (where 
there  are  so  many  examples  to  lure  me  to  indolence  of  mind  and  lukewarm- 
ness  of  heart),  and  to  walk  circumspectly  along  the  brink  of  the  precipice. 
I  bless  the  sera  that  will  end  this  busy  yet  unsettled  life.  Idleness  and 
aimless  occupation  will  henceforth  be  no  longer  possible,  and  with  my  in- 
tellect calm  and  strong— with  the  consciousness  of  capacity  for  action,  and 
of  being  equal  to  my  own  requirements — that  sense  of  life,  on  whose  in- 
tensity depends  the  practice  of  all  that  is  right  and  noble,  will  awake  once 
more  with  youthful  vigor.  A  consciousness  of  love  and  warmth  will  be 
shed  over  each  moment,  that  will  make  toil  a  pleasure.  A  life  in  the  spirit; 
the  only  life  in  which  I  can  be  quite  happy,  but  in  which  I  may  be  more 
so  than  most. 

LXX. 

29/A  April,  1800. 

Many  considerations  have  been  suggested  to  me  by  what  you  tell 

me  about  the  relation  between  parents  and  children,  in  certain  families  of 
your  acquaintance.  What  a  glorious  thing  is  that  true  equality,  when  it 
is  unbroken  by  pride,  self-erected  barriers,  and  the-  love  of  ruling  on  the  one 
side  !  It  might  so  well  subsist  between  parents  and  children,  and  then  their 
mutual  relation  would  rest  on.  a  sure  and  lasting  basis.  But,  generally, 
parents  are  more  inclined  to  make  their  children  inkrister  to  their  own  vanity, 
than  to  be  moderate  in  their  demands  upon  them,  to  keep  them  unexacting 
on  their  side,  and,  if  possible,  inspire  a  sense  of  their  own  superiority,  with- 
out attempting  to  keep  their  children  under  undue  restraint. 

As  regards  our  affairs,  our  income  will  be  very  limited  at  first ;  but  after- 
ward it  will  depend  on  my  own  exertions  to  make  it  an  ample  one.  The 
Duke  of  Augustenburg  has  already  expressed  to  Schimmelman  his  intention 
of  offering  me  the  Greek  professorship  if  it  shonld  fall  vacant.  But,  as  far 
as  money  is  concerned,  the  prospects  are  better  in  public  life.  However, 
we  will  not  trouble  ourselves  with  these  considerations  at  present.  We  will 
content  ourselves  with  our  lot,  and  not  suffer  ourselves  to  be  disturbed  by 
the  fears,  which  Baggesen  and  others  of  my  acquaintance  think  to  excite, 
when  they  say  that  it  is  impossible  to  live  here  under  1500  thalers  a  year.* 
I  am  quite  convinced  that  we  shall  be  able  to  manage.  Do  not  fear  that 
1  shall  suffer  myself  to  be  alarmed  by  the  complaints  and  apprehensions 
which  I  hare  so  often  to  listen  to  from  others.  I  know  what  will  make  us 
happy,  and  what  we  can  renounce  without  a  painful  effort,  or  longing 
wishes.  Where  love  is  the  animating  principle  there  are  no  dark  momenta 
of  this  kind.  I  look  at  our  dear  Moltkea  in  the  beginning  of  their  married 

life. 

'  Equal  to  about  255J. 


CHAPTER  V. 

NIEBUHR'S  MARRIAGE  AND  OFFICIAL  LIFE  IN  COPENHAGEN 
FROM  1800  TO  1806. 

IN  May,  1800,  Niebuhr  returned  to  Holstein  and  married ;  in 
June  he  took  his  wife  to  Copenhagen,  and  entered  on  his  double 
official  duties  on  the  1st  of  July. 

The  young  couple  were  in  the  highest  degree  happy  in  each 
other.  Niebuhr  writes  thus  to  Madame  Hensler,  in  the  month  of 
August :  "  Amelia's  heavenly  disposition,  and  more  than  earthly 
love,  raise  me  above  this  world,  and,  as  it  were,  separate  me  from 
this  life. 

"  A  life  of  full  employment,  combined  with  serenity  of  mind, 
which  we  shall  secure  by  rigidly  maintaining  our  seclusion,  pro- 
tects and  heightens  the  capacity  for  happiness.  Happiness  is  a 
poor  word  :  find  a  better  !  Even  the  toils  and  sacrifices  of  busi- 
ness contribute  to  the  calm  self-approval,  which  to  me  is  the 
essential  condition  of  enduring  happiness.  Amelia's  cheerfulness, 
her  contentment  with  her  lot,  untroubled  by  any  wish  for  some- 
thing beyond  it,  afford  me  as  heartfelt  joy  as  the  contrary  would 
give  me  pain.  Her  presence  and  conversation  keep  my  heart  at 
rest  and  my  mind  healthy.  Thus  I  am  gradually  recovering  from 
the  impression  made  upon  me  in  past  times  by  the  delusions  and 
contradictions  of  the  world." 

Harmonizing  in  all  their  tastes,  their  lives  flowed  on  calmly 
and  quietly  ;  they  occasionally  mixed  in  fashionable  society  at  the 
houses  of  Count  Schimmelman,  and  a  few  others,  but  beyond  that 
only  joined  in  small  parties  of  intimate  friends.  When  Niebuhr 
was  not  engaged  in  his  official  duties,  he  returned  to  his  favorite 
classic  authors.  His  wife  entered  warmly  into  all  that  interested 
him.  In  the  evenings  he  often  related  stories  to  her  from  the 
ancient  writers,  or  read  aloud  to  her,  or  looked  over  with  her 
what  he  had  himself  been  writing. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year,  the  University  of  Kiel  offered 
him  a  professorship.  He  declined  it  for  the  present ;  partly  be- 
cause he  thought  it  would  be  ungrateful  to  Schimmelman  to  re- 
sign his  situation  so  soon ;  partly  because  he  feared  it  would  be 
regarded  as  an  unbecoming  mark  of  partiality  if  he  were  thus 


RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN  FROM  1800  TO  1806.     125 

preferred  to  older  men ;  partly  because  he  really  enjoyed  many 
branches  of  his  present  occupation.  He  saw  that  he  was  of  use, 
and  his  merits  were  recognized  by  his  superiors. 

In  September  he  heard  through  Madame  Hensler  of  F.  Leopold 
Stolberg's  conversion  to  Catholicism,  which  caused  so  much  ex- 
citement in  the  circle  of  his  friends.  The  purity  of  Stolberg's 
motives  for  this  change  is  beyond  a  doubt.  His  natural  cast  of 
mind  was  deeply  pious.  The  rationalism,  which  prevailed  at 
that  time  in  the  Protestant  Church  of  Germany,  shocked  and 
pained  him  to  4he  last  degree ;  and,  believing  that  there  existed 
no  elements  of  regeneration  within  its  pale,  he  threw  himself  into 
the  arms  of  a  church,  which  at  least  afforded  more  satisfaction  to 
his  devotional  feelings.  By  this  step  he  not  only  sacrificed  many 
advantages  for  his  family,  bnt  lost  the  friendship  of  several  of 
those  to  whom  he  was  most  warmly  attached,  especially  Voss  and 
Jacobi,  who  carried  their  expressions  of  censure  to  actual  bitter- 
ness. Voss  iii  particular  continued  his  attacks  upon  him  for  many 
years;  so  late  as  1817  he  published  a  pamphlet  entitled,  "Wie 
F.  L.  Stolberg  unfrei  geworden  ist."*  Niebuhr  did  not  justify 
Stolberg's  change  ;  it  grieved  him  deeply  ;  he  regarded  it  as  the 
aberration  of  a  tendency  in  itself  beautiful  and  noble  :  but  he  was 
able  to  transport  himself  into  Stolberg's  point  of  view,  and  was 
convinced  that  no  unworthy  motive  could  have  actuated  him, 
which  alone  would  have  warranted  the  harsh  treatment  he  re- 
ceived from  many  of  his  friends.  Therefore,  much  as  Niebuhr 
was  attached  to  Voss  and  Jacobi,  he  could  not  at  all  approve  of 
their  conduct  in  this  instance,  which  was  indeed  often  a  source  of 
regret  to  him,  the  more  so  as  the  form  of  Catholicism  which  Stol- 
berg had  adopted  by  no  means  rendered  him  illiberal  toward  his 
Protestant  friends,  nor  detached  his  sympathies  from  the  sincerely 
pious  among  them. 

Niebuhr  was  intending  at  this  time  to  take  up  the  study  of 
Grecian  history  in  his  leisure  hours,  and  write  an  account  of  the 
various  constitutions  among  the  Greeks.  This  was  a  design  he 
had  cherished  for  many  years,  indeed  almost  from  his  boyhood. 
But  his  studies  were  to  some  extent  interrupted  by  the  ill  health 
of  his  wife,  who  suffered  long  and  severely  from  a  complaint  in  the 
eyes,  during  which  time  most  of  his  leisure  hours  were  spent  in 
trying  to  amuse  her.  They  passed  this  winter  with  no  other  draw- 
*  How  F.  L.  Stolberg  became  a  slave. 


126  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

back  to  their  quiet  and  peaceful  enjoyment  of  life's  purest  pleas- 
ures. But  the  spring  of  1801  brought  with  it  threatening  storms. 

It  is  well  known  how  deeply  the  English  government  con- 
sidered itself  aggrieved  by  the  armed  neutrality  of  the  northern 
powers  of  Europe— how  acts  of  hostility  were  practiced  on  the 
Danish  vessels,  and  even  on  the  colonies,  without  any  formal 
declaration  of  war,  and  how  at  last,  in  March,  1801,  Nelson  and 
Parker  appeared  in  the  Sound,  and  proclaimed  war  at  the  moment 
of  attack.  Niebuhr  watched  the  gradual  approach  of  this  calam- 
ity, and  witnessed  the  attack  and  the  bombardment.  His  feel- 
ings on  this  occasion,  and  the  intensity  of  his  sympathies,  will  be 
seen  by  the  extracts  from  his  letters  to  Madame  Hensler.  After 
this  mournful  episode,  .this  year  elapsed  without  any  alteration  in 
Niebuhr 's  circumstances  and  occupations.  In  the  summer  of 
1802,  he  and  his  wife  visited  their  friends  in  Holstein,  who  all 
rejoiced  to  see  the  happiness  and  serenity  which  beamed  in  his 
looks.  He  performed  the  duties  of  his  office  with  ease,  pleasure, 
and  success ;  the  sciences  were  a  recreation  to  him  in  his  leisure 
hours,  and  the  cheerfulness  and  affection  of  his  wife  afforded  a 
satisfaction  and  repose  to  his  heart,  which  made  it  impossible  for 
gloom  or  vexation  to  take  any  lasting  hold  on  him,  although  with 
the  great  sensitiveness  of  his  nature  he  could  not  always  avoid 
passing  annoyances. 

During  the  winter  of  1802-3,  Niebuhr  studied  Arabic  with 
great  zeal,  and  surprised  his  father  on  his  birthday  with  the  trans- 
lation of  a  part  of  Elwakidi's  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Asia 
under  the  first  Kaliphs,  from  a  manuscript  in  the  library  of  Copen- 
hagen. As  he  soon  after  became  engaged  in  new  and  more  ex- 
tended official  occupations,  time  failed  him  for  the  continuance  of 
this  work,  but  he  did  not  relinquish  the  intention  of  completing  it, 
for  many  years,  and  preserved  the  manuscript  with  that  view. 
He  also  gave  several  lessons  a  week  during  this  winter  (for  which 
he  received  no  remuneration),  on  historical  and  philological  sub- 
jects, to  a  nephew  of  Count  Schimmelman's,  and  two  other  young 
men,  sons  of  his  acquaintance. 

In  the  spring  of  1802,  he  was  sent  by  the  Danish  government 
into  Germany,  to  transact  some  financial  business  which  obliged 
him  to  visit  Hamburgh,  Leipsic,  Frankfort,  and  Cassel.  His  wife 
accompanied  him.  On  their  way  home  they  spent  some  weeks  in 
Holstein. 


RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN  FROM  1800  TO  1806.     127 

On  Niebuhr's  return  to  Copenhagen,  Count  Schimmelman  in- 
formed him  that  he  was  destined  to  a  more  important  office.  He 
thus  alludes  to  the  subject  in  a  letter  to  Madame  Hensler,  written 
in  October :  "  On  my  return,  I  heard  from  Count  Schimmelman 
news  of  some  importance  to  me,  .  My  colleague  at  the  Board  of 
Trade  is  going  to  resign  his  post,  and  his  duties  are  to  be  trans- 
ferred to  me,  but  without  any  alteration  of  my  title  or  salary.  .  .  . 
My  work  will  be  considerably  augmented  by  it,  which  I  am  glad 
of,  for  it  is  a  well-ascertained  fact,  that  the  ability  to  work  grows 
with  the  number  of  things  one  has  to  get  through.  I  do  uot  fear 
that  it  will  prevent  me,  at  least  in  the  long  run,  from  pursuing 
those  studies  which  are  my  delight  and  my  mental  aliment." 

The  duties  of  his  new  office  were  very  onerous ;  but  as  he  had 
great  aptitude  in  learning  business,  and  could  seize  the  details  of 
a  subject  almost  at  a  glance,  he  worked  at  onoe  with  great  ease 
and  great  certainty.  Thus  he  still  found  leisure  for  scholastic 
pursuits.  The  following  passage  occurs  in  a  letter  written  in 
1803  :  "  I  have  had  as  much  to  do  before  at  particular  times,  but 
never  for  a  constancy.  And  I  must  look  forward  to  its  being  the 
some  for  some  years  to  come.  If  I  can  but  keep  my  health,  there 
will  still  be  time  left  for  those  occupations  which  roost  deserve  our 
preference,  though  we  may  learn  to  like  any  that  tax  our  powers 
enough.  There  is  a  reward  for  a  man  engaged  iu  active  public 
life,  which  I  am  now  reaping,  viz.,  a  fair  fame,  and  a  position 
that  commands  the  confidence  even  of-  the  unlearned  among  ray 
fellow-citizens.  Hence  ray  employments  become  a  positive  pleas- 
ure to  me.  The  most  intricate  grow  easy,  and  I  can  get  through 
them  in  a  very  short  time.  ...  I  am  at  work  on  a  treatise.,  as  I 
wrote  you  before  in  few  words.  Its  subject  is  the  nature  of  the 
Roman  public  domains,  their  distribution,  colonization,  agrarian 
laws,  &cc.  It  is  an  interesting  question,  and  I  think  I  have  taken 
a  more  accurate  view  of  it,  than  has  been  reached  before.  I  used 
to  busy  myself  with  such  questions  when  I  was  still  at  Kiel.  I 
wish  I  were  as  free  from  worldly  care,  and  as  open  to  new  im- 
pressions now  as  I  was  then ;  but  how  much  that  has  happened 
since  that  time  has  turned  out  better  than  I  ventured  to  hope." 

Niebuhr's  colleague,  Obelay,  died  in  January,  1804  ;  he  was 
the  First  Director  of  the  Bank,  and  practically  the  only  acting 
member  of  the  Directory.  His  office  was  immediately  transferred 
to  Niebuhr,  who,  at  the  same  time,  by  the  express  desire  of  the 


128  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTTHR. 

Crown  Prince,  undertook  the  direction  of  the  East  India  depart- 
ment of  the  Board  of  Trade,  the  affaire  of  which  had  fallen 
into  confusion  ;  and  he  also  became  a  member  of  the  Standing 
Commission  for  the  Affairs  of  Barbary,  of  which  he  had  hitherto 
acted  as  secretary.  His  official  standing  and  his  income  were 
considerably  raised  by  these  changes.  The  amount  of  his  labor 
was  now  much  increased,  particularly  by  business  connected  with 
the  commercial  world,  and  the  credit  and  circulation  of  the  paper 
currency.  The  soundness  of  his  views  and  the  judiciousness  of 
his  measures  were  generally  recognized,  and  his  management  of 
the  affairs  of  the  bank  was  so  universally  approved,  that  his  sub- 
sequent departure  from  his  native  country  was  the  subject  of 
general  and  lasting  regret.  He  was  not  merely  respected  by  his 
subordinates  in  office,  on  account  of  his  sagacity,  industry,  and 
rigid  integrity,  but  really  loved  by  them  for  the  kindness  with 
which  he  treated  them,  and  the  interest  which  he  took  in  their 
welfare.  Many  of  them  shed  tears  when  he  took  his  leave  of 
them. 

Even  at  this  busy  period,  he  never  quite  lost  sight  of  his  favor- 
ite studies,  or  forsook  them  entirely  for  more  than  a  short  time 
together.  The  mornings,  from  ten  to  three,  or  four,  were  usually 
spent  at  his  various  office;?,  or,  on  foreign  post  days,  on  the  ex- 
change. Then  came  the  drawing  up  of  reports,  the  large  busi- 
ness correspondence  and  the  necessary  verbal  communications  with 
other  officials.  When  he  returned  home  at  night  after  all  this  he 
was  often  exhausted  both  in  body  and  mind  ;  but  if  he  got  en- 
gaged at  once  in  an  interesting  book  or  conversation,  he  was  soon 
refreshed,  and  would  then  study  till  late  at  night.  Ancient  his- 
tory formed  the  principal  part  of  his  reading  at  this  time,  but  he 
did  not  overlook  the  productions  of  modern  literature.  He  hailed 
with  joy  every  new  work  of  importance,  and  put  it  into  the  hands 
of  his  wife.  When  they  were  first  married,  he  used  to  read  Greek 
with  her,  but  afterward  the  weakness  of  her  eyes  forbade  the 
necessary  effort  on  her  part,  and  she  also  found  the  acquisition  of 
the  grammar  tedious,  and  therefore  gave  up  the  further  study  of 
this  language  ;  but  in  every  other  respect  he  always  found  in  her 
the  fullest  participation  in  all  that  interested  him.  Niebuhr  had 
little  intercourse  at  this  time  with  men  of  letters,  as  his  engage- 
ments led  him  into  a  widely  different  sphere  of  society.  He, 
however,  kept  up  his  acquaintance  with  two  of  his  earliest  friends, 


RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN  FROM  1800  TO  1806.     129 

Miinter,  the  celebrated  orientalist  and  archaeologist,  who  was  at 
that  time  Professor  of  Theology  in  Copenhagen,  and  Moldenhawer, 
the  head  librarian  at  the  Royal  Library  in  Copenhagen,  and  a 
distinguished  exegetical  theologian. 

The  summer  of  1804  was  a  particularly  busy  period  for  Niebuhr. 
He  writes  thus  to  Madame  Hensler :  "As far  as  regards  business, 
I  confidently  hope  to  be  able  to  do  something  toward  bringing  our 
finances  to  the  height  of  prosperity,  although,  perhaps,  not  im- 
mediately or  directly.  Last  winter  was  by  no  means  a  quiet  one 
for  us.  Even  on  Sundays,  I  could  sometimes  hardly  get  time  to 
collect  my  thoughts  a  little.  The  winter  before,  I  used  to  cheer 
and  invigorate  my  mind  with  the  study  of  ancient  history.  Now, 
that  is  out  of  the  question.  I  am  obliged  to  see  and  talk  with  so 
many  people ;  some  of  them  interest  me  by  their  quickness  and 
intelligence,  so  that  I  enjoy  the  time  I  spend  with  them  to  a  cer- 
tain extent ;  but  in  the  long  run,  we  always  find  that  where  there 
is  no  bond  of  aflection,  intercourse  is  sure  to  lose  its  charm,  and 
often  becomes  wearisome."  On  the  week  days,  he  had  now 
scarcely  ever  time  for  more  than  a  little  occasional  light  reading. 
The  Sundays  he  devoted  as  far  as  possible  to  his  private  studies, 
which  made  those  days  real  festivals  to  him.  In  the  autumn  he 
began  to  get  rather  more  leisure,  which  he  employed  in  continuing 
the  before-mentioned  treatise  on  the  Roman  domains. 

The  intelligence  of  the  Austrian  calamities  at  Ulm  and  Auster- 
litz,  in  the  autumn  of  1805,  which  deeply  affected  him,  led  him 
to  peruse  the  Philippics  of  Demosthenes  afresh.  The  similarity 
of  the  position  of  Greece  at  that  time  to  the  state  of  Europe,  and 
of  Philip's  growing  power,  tyranny,  and  oppression,  to  the  proceed- 
ings of  Napoleon,  struck  him  so  forcibly,  that  he  translated  and 
printed  the  first  Philippic. 

Toward  the  end  of  1805,  Niebuhr  was  asked  by  a  distinguished 
Prussian  statesman,  then  visiting  Copenhagen  on  a  mission  from 
his  Government,  whether  he  felt  inclined  to  enter  the  Prussian 
service,  in  the  department  of  finance.  Some  weeks  later  he  re- 
ceived a  direct  inquiry  on  the  subject  by  letter.  He  had  never 
before  thought  of  exchanging  the  Danish  service  for  any  other,  and 
even  now  he  would  scarcely  have  replied  otherwise  than  by  a 
direct  negative,  had  he  uot  just  at  that  time  felt  himself  aggrieved 
by  the  intended  appointment  of  a  young  nobleman  to  a  place  in 
the  finance  department  to  which  he  thought  that  he  had  a  prior 

F* 


130  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

claim,  both  from  his  official  standing  and  past  services,  and  also 
because  it  had  been  previously  promised  to  him,  subject  to  the 
approval  of  the  Crown  Prince.  This  incident  exerted  in  him  for 
the  moment  a  strong  feeling  of  irritation.  He  thought  that  it 
closed  the  door  to  any  further  advance  in  his  public  career :  he 
looked  forward  to  being  burdened  forever  with  an  overwhelming 
mass  of  details,  and,  what  stung  him  most  deeply,  found  himself 
slighted  in  the  very  quarter,  where  he  reckoned  with  the  greatest 
security  on  an  unprejudiced  appreciation,  and  a  just  approval  of 
his  services.  When,  therefore,  these  proposals  were  renewed  by 
Prussia,  he  felt  very  keenly  the  contrast  between  the  estimation 
in  which  he  was  held  abroad,  and  the  way  in  which  he  was 
undervalued  at  home.  Yet  he  underwent  a  long  and  severe 
struggle  with  his  attachment  to  his  native  land,  ere  he  could 
reconcile  himself  even  in  thought  to  the  possibility  of  leaving  it. 
His  answer  to  the  proposition  at  the  time  was  quite  indecisive, 
"  that  he  could  not  commit  himself  on  the  subject,  particularly  as 
he  did  not  know  what  appointment  was  referred  to."  The  winter 
of  1805-6  elapsed  without  his  hearing  any  thing  more  on  the 
subject.  It  had  not  occupied  his  mind  much  after  the  first 
moment ;  and  besides,  the  storm  of  his  anger  had  sunk  to  rest ; 
his  old  relationships  had  been  renewed,  and  nothing  more  had 
been  done  respecting  the  appointment  of  the  young  man  referred 
to.  Yet,  by  frequent  repetition,  the  idea  of  leaving  his  native 
country  had  grown  less  strange  to  him,  and  a  consideration  of  the 
satisfaction  which  he  would  derive  from  a  wider  sphere  of  action, 
and  a  release  from  all  the  minor  details  of  business,  forced  itself 
upon  him  at  times.  Added  to  this,  the  condition  of  the  Danish 
finances,  which  had  been  much  deteriorated  through  the  immense 
military  establishments  necessary  in  order  to  maintain  a  neutral 
position,  often  caused  him  great  uneasiness.  When  therefore,  in 
March,  1806,  a  new  and  unexpected  proposal  reached  him,  to 
enter  on  the  joint  directorship  of  the  first  bank  in  Berlin,  and  of 
the  Seehandlung,*  with  the  prospect  and  promise  of  further  pro- 
motion, the  struggle  in  his  mind  was  renewed.  He  communicated 

*  A  privileged  commercial  company  at  Berlin,  founded  in  1772,  for  the  pro- 
motion of  foreign  commerce,  then  in  a  very  languishing  condition.  The  exclu-~ 
sive  possession  of  the  silk  trade  of  Prussia,  and  of  the  trade  in  wax,  was  secured 
to  it,  by  charter,  for  twenty  years.  The  capital  was  raised  by  the  sale  of  2100 
shares,  of  which  the  King  had  2100,  and  only  300  were  offered"  to  the  public.  In 
1793,  the  number  of  shares  was  increased  to  3000,  and  the  Seehandlung  lost  its 
monopoly  of  the  wax  trade,  bnt  was  allowed  to  engage  in  general  mercantile 


RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN  FEOM  1800  TO  1806.     131 

the  proposal  to  Count  Schimmelman,  who,  unwilling  as  he  was 
to  lose  him,  recognized  the  advantages  it  presented,  particularly 
as  he  could  offer  him  nothing  equal  to  it  in  Copenhagen.  What 
weighed  most  with  him  on  the  side  of  acceptance,  was  the  release 
from  matters  of  detail,  which  he  feared  would  permanently  weaken 
the  powers  of  his  mind.  In  this  post,  the  directorial  labors,  and 
the  general  guidance  and  control  of  afiairs,  were  all  that  would 
devolve  upon  him. 

While  these  negotiations  were  still  pending,  Count  Hardenberg 
left  the  Prussian  ministry,  and  was  succeeded  by  Count  Haug- 
witz.*  At  the  same  time  rumors  got  afloat,  which  seemed  not 
improbable,  of  an  alliance  between  France  and  Prussia.  This 
deterred  Niebuhr  from  proceeding  with  the  negotiation,  both  on 
account  of  his  deep-rooted  aversion  to  any  connection  with  the 
then  existing  French  government,  and  also  the  probability  that 
such  an  alliance  might  lead  to  a  collision  between  Prussia  and 
the  Northern  courts,  including  Denmark.  He  therefore  wrote 
word  to  the  Prussian  minister  of  finance,  Yon  Stein,  that  it  would 
be  impossible  for  him  to  leave  his  native  land  at  such  a  critical 
moment,  and  while  political  relations  were  in  such  an  uncertain 
condition :  but  if  delay  were  possible,  he  would  accept  the  post 
when  peace  was  restored  in  Northern  Europe.  Stein  answered 
him  quite  satisfactorily  as  regarded,  any  hostile  intentions  toward 
Denmark,  and  allowed  him  to  delay  his  acceptance  till  he  could 
free  himself  from  his  present  engagements.  He  now  decided  to 
send  in  his  resignation  to  the  Danish  government,  which,  after  ft 
fruitless  attempt  to  retain  him,  was  accepted. 

Niebuhr  took  this  step  with  a  heavy  heart,  less  on  account  of 
the  fearful  struggle  already  then  visibly  impending  over  Prussia, 
than  because  it  severed  him  forever  from  his  fatherland.  Den- 
mark had  been  the  cradle  of  his  infancy — Holstein  the  home  of 
his  childhood  ;  here  he  had  passed  his  youth  and  received  hi* 
education,  and  it  contained  all  who  were  dearest  to  him  on  earth, 

and  banking  operation*,  and  its  creditors  were  guaranteed  by  the  State.  It 
lost  immensely  by  large  advances  made  to  the  State  In  1804,  1805,  and  1806,  bat 
after  1816  gradually  retrieved  its  affairs. 

•  Hardenberg  always  opposed  the  treaty  of  Schonbrunn,  signed  by  Haug- 
wite,  December  15th,  1805,  by  which  the  Prussians  agreed  toce.de  Neufchdtel. 
Anspach,  and  Cleve,  in  return  for  Hanover.  After  the  treaty  between  Prusija 
and  France,  signed  at  Paris  on  the  Iflth  February,  1806,  by  whtrh  Prussia 
entered  into  close  alliance  with  France,  Napoleon  forced  the  Kinir  of  Prussia  to 
dismiss  Hardenberg,  whom  he  knew  to  be  opposed  to  the  French  interest. — See 
Stein's  Leben,  vol.  ii.  p.  323. 


132  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

except  his  wife.  For  the  future  he  could  no  longer  share  their 
common  interests,  but  must  acquire  new  ones,  which  were  as  yet 
foreign  to  him.  These  considerations  often  filled  him  with  sad- 
ness,0 and  there  were  perhaps  moments  in  which  he  would  have 
retraced  his  steps  if  he  had  given  way  to  his  feelings.  Madame 
Hensler  was  at  that  time  in  Copenhagen  on  a  visit  to  him  and 
his  wife ;  they  parted  with  the  hope  of  soon  meeting  again,  but 
with  the  prospect  of  a  much  bitterer  parting  beyond. 

In  September,  1806,  he  left  Copenhagen.  His  friends,  ac- 
quaintance, and  all  with  whom  he  had  been  officially  connected, 
took  leave  of  him  with  every  token  of  respect  and  sincere  regret 
at  his  departure.  He  staid  but  a  short  time  in  Holstein.  On 
this  occasion  he  only  visited  Meldorf,  where  all  his  relations  came 
to  meet  him  and  his  wife,  and  bid  them  a  sad  and  anxious  fare- 
well. It  could  not  indeed  be  otherwise  than  anxious,  for  every 
one  was  looking  forward  with  dread  anticipations  to  the  fearful 
conflict,  which  was  to  decide  the  fate  of  Europe  ;  and  their  friends 
parted  from  them  with  the  certainty  that  they  went  to  meet  this 
conflict,  and  were  about  to  be  involved  in  the  thickest  of  the  strife. 

Niebuhr  and  his  wife  were  not  less  deeply  moved ;  they  saw 
the  whole  peril  toward  which  their  path  was  leading  them,  but 
they  went  forward  with  the  courage  of  resignation  that  was  pre- 
pared to  sacrifice  all,  where  all  was  at  stake. 

Extracts  from  Niebuhr's  Letters,  during  his  residence  in  Copen- 
hagen in  the  Danish  Civil  'Service.     1800-1806. 

LXXI. 
TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

COPENHAGEN,  23<Z  September,  1800. 

Although,  in  your  first  letter,  you  requested  us  not  to  speak  of  Stolberg'a 
change  of  religion,  as  it  was  not  yet  made  public,  it  would  have  been  un- 
becoming to  keep  it  a  secret  from  Schimmelman,  Stolberg's  old  and  un- 
alterable friend.  If  he  had  known  it  first,  he  would  have  spoken  of  it  to 
us.  We  happened  to  be  at  Seelust*  on  the  very  day  your  letter  reached 
us.  Schimmelman  was  unwell,  and  we  had  a  long  conversation  alone. 
Amelia  has  already  told  you  what  he  thinks  about  it.  Schimmelman  will 
never  become  a  Catholic  himself;  but  he,  too,  finds  the  present  state  of 
Protestantism  and  the  Protestant  clergy  in  general,  most  unsatisfactory. 
Even  if  some  among  them  really  believe  what  they  deliver  from  the  pulpit 
—and  if  these  think  about  it ;  what  sort  of  a  faith  is  it  they  preach  ?  Can 
it  satisfy  those  who  long  for  a  loving  dependence  on  supernatural  objects  ? 
Tarn  not  so  much  alarmed  either  about  the  intolerance  of  the  true  mystics  - 
they  never  were  intolerant  in  practice,  except  when  they  were  irritated  by 
*  Count  Schimmeltnan's  country-seat. 


RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN  FROM   1800  TO  1806.     133 

contempt  and  ill  treatment,  and  that  should  hardly  be  reckoned  as  in- 
tolerance. The  unenlightened  bigots  are  those  whom  I  fear,  and  they  will 
always  remain  true  to  their  nature. 

LXXII. 

COPENHAGEN,  24tk  March,  1801. 

Aa  Milly's  pain  in  her  eye  has  been  worse  again,  and  is  only  beginning 
to  show  signs  of  improvement  this  morning,  you  must  not  be  angry  at  my 
exercising  a  husband's  authority  in  forbidding  her  to  write,  but  be  contented 
with  a  letter  from  me.  Send  this  letter  on  to  our  friends,  that  they  may 
know  the  position  of  our  State. 

You  have  perhaps  heard,  by  the  last  post,  reports  of  the  approach  of  a 
hostile  English  fleet,  which  were  brought  by  the  captain  of  a  merchant 
vessel  just  arrived  in  the  Sound,  and  also  from  the  island  of  Anholt.  We 
did  not  like  to  send  you  these  reports,  though  they  seemed  to  us  likely  to 
be  true,  and  when  they  rose  to  certainty  it  was  too  late.  On  Sunday 
night,  however,  a  dispatch  came  from  Elsinore  with  the  intelligence  that 
the  fleet  had  been  seen  there  about  three  miles  to  the  northwest,  off  Gillelye  : 
there  is  a  roadstead  there,  where  they  lay  at  anchor  the  night  before ;  but 
early  that  day  they  had  weighed  anchor,  and  were  cruising  about. 

On  Saturday  evening,  Drummond  and  the  other  negotiator,  Vansittart, 
left,  after  a  conference  in  which  a  very  insulting  requisition  was  made  by 
them,  and  refused  on  our  side,  till  the  embargo  should  be  removed.  The 
evening  before,  an  English  frigate  had  arrived  here,  under  a  flag  of  truce, 
but  left  again  on  the  Saturday.  This  flag  shows  that  they  consider  them- 
selves in  a  state  of  war  with  us,  because  they  feel  that  they  are  treating 
us  as  enemies.  We  have  not  yet  exercised  the  slightest  hostility  against 
them,  but  probably  the  moment  is  very  near,  when  the  first  shot  will  be 
fired,  and  the  gauntlet  thrown  down  beyond  recall.  I  think  it  more  likely 
that  blood  will  flow  to-day  or  to-morrow,  than  that  a  delay  will  take 
place,  which  many  expect.  As  a  cannonade  at  Cronburg  would  be  plainly 
heard  in  the  city,  if  the  wind  is  such  that  the  English  could  attempt  the 
passage  (which  in  that  case  they  would  certainly  succeed  in  effecting),  we 
often  listen,  to  try  if  we  can  catch  any  sounds  of  the  kind. 

Nelson's  presence  leads  us  to  think,  judging  of  him  by  his  past  conduct, 
that  a  furious  attack  will  be  made  upon  our  harbor.  Others  give  credence 
to  a  report  that  he  tendered  his  advice  against  an  expedition  to  the  Baltic, 
and  said,  that  he  did  "  not  choose  to  ensnare  himself  in  that  mouse-trap." 
People  here  are  as  inquisitive  as  they  are  ready  to  spread  news.  The 
attack  upon  our  defenses  would  be  a  fearful  thing  for  the  town.  But  I 
hope  we  should  be  able  to  sustain  it,  for  then  we  should  reap  a  harvest  of 
glory,  and  the  nation  would  be  awakened  from  its  long  slumber ;  though 
at  a  cost,  indeed,  that  we  should  all  long  feel.  If  the  war  is  once  pro- 
claimed, it  is  not  at  all  likely  that  the  enemy  will  content  himself  with 
blockading  us,  shutting  us  up,  while  we  complete'  our  equipments,  and 
therefore,  in  all  probability,  the  next  week  or  two  will  decide  our  fate.  I 
do  not  give  you  the  details  of  our  defenses  and  preparations,  because  no 
one  can  tell  but  what  the  mails  may  be  already  in  danger.  Howevert 
every  body  is  welcome  to  know,  that  in  the  course  of  yesterday,  about  a 
thousand  men  volunteered  to  enter  the  service,  whereas  the  vessels  are 
iiuually  manned  by  impressment. 


134  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

It  seems  strange  to  me  to  be  writing  to  you  of  war  and  armaments,  or 
indeed  of  any  thing  beyond  our  own  concerns.  The  crisis  is  such  that  it  IB 
difficult  to  think  of  any  thing  else,  especially  if  one  talks  much  about  it ; 
but  it  shall  not  so  entirely  fill  our  minds  as  to  prevent  us  from  talking  to 
you  about  what  it  is  much  better  to  be  occupied  with,  than  with  a  subject 
that  merely  kindles  anxiety,  indignation,  and  malignant  passions.  We 
keep  ourselves  composed,  and  continue  our  employments  as  far  as  we  can, 
as  if  in  time  of  peace.  We  are  reading  the  Odyssey  in  the  first  translation. 
Milly  had  almost  entirely  forgotten  it,  since  she  read  it  at  your  father's, 
when  you  were  both  girls  together.  She  thoroughly  deiights  in  Homer, 
and  you  know  how  beautiful  she  looks  when  she  is  pleased — that  no  expres- 
sion becomes  her  better.  Hence  the  reading  to  her  is  a  great  pleasure  to 
me  likewise.  We  read  before,  La  Harpe's  "  Melanie."  It  is  a  fine  com- 
position ;  you,  too,  would  not  lay  it  aside  without  emotion.  It  is  a  rare 
masterpiece  of  great  simplicity. 

Milly  is  perfectly  calm ;  the  ladies  here  in  general  are  in  great  terror. 
Schimmelman  is  firm  and  full  of  courage,  although  not  blind  to  our  danger. 
You,  too,  must  all  be  of  good  courage  about  us,  but  not  in  too  great 
security,  as  if  no  terrible  calamity  could  befall  us.  How  and  why  this  is 
possible,  the  court  knows  perfectly,  and  I  know  it  too,  but  can  not  write 
any  thing  on  that  subject. 

As  long  as  the  defenses  hold  good,  no  balls  can  reach  us  in  the  Wester- 
street,  perhaps  not  even  bombs.  This  for  your  consolation. 

LXXIII. 

COPENHAGEN,  28(h  March,  1801. 

We  received  your  letter  yesterday,  and  send  an  immediate  answer,  for  it 
demands  one  with  a  voice  of  terror  to  which  no  one  could  be  deaf.  You 
shall  have  tidings  from  me  by  each  post,  of  every  thing  that  I  hear,  and 
can  repeat.  This  time,  I  have  written  all  that  relates  to  our  military 
position  in  the  inclosed  letter  to  Moltke ;  read  that.  I  am  writing  to-day 
to  my  father  and  Behrens  ;  exchange  letters  with  Behrens  also ;  one  can 
speak  and  write  of  nothing  else,  and  yet  one  grows  weary  of  writing  always 
the  same  thing.  It  is  quite  out  of  the  question  as  yet  for  Milly  to  help  me 
in  my  correspondence. 

I  wrote  to  you  last  time  with  apprehensions  about  our  defenses,  which 

I  must  now  alleviate Hence  I  am  really  in  better  spirits — better 

spirits,  that  is,  as  to  the  result ;  for  spirit  for  resistance  we  have,  and  must 
have,  even  though  we  fall,  if  we  are  not  to  disgrace  ourselves.  Oh  that 
you  in  Holstein  were  but  safe  !  Our  individual  lives  are  tolerably  secure  ; 
and  unconcern  on  that  score,  which  would  at  other  times  be  stupid  insens- 
ibility, is  absolutely  necessary  in  time  of  war.  If  we  survive  danger,  it 
steels  our  courage  more  than  any  thing  else. 

Your  opinion  of  our  allies  is  on  the  whole  correct.  I  never  expected  any 
thing  else  from  them,  and  hence  it  does  not  now  cast  me  down,  and  I  thank 
Heaven  for  this  prevision  of  the  danger  in  its  full  magnitude  (your  defense- 
lessness  excepted).  The  King  of  Sweden  has  exhibited  himself  in  a  very 
unfavorable  light  in  his  conference  with  our  estimable  Crown  Prince. 
Sweden  has  not  promised  her  ships  till  the  2d  of  April ;  she  knew  well 
enough  that  this  would  be  too  late.  The  Schonen  side  of  the  Sound  is  not 
fortified,  and  therefore  it  is  impossible  to  close  the  Straits.  We  have  been 


RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN  PROM  1800  TO  1808.     135 

hindered  in  our  preparations  by  mistakes  and  accidents.  Fearful  as  la  our 
situation,  it  is  not  without  its  good  effects.  We  have  been  awakened  from 
our  sleep ;  experience  has  convinced  us  of  much  to  which  counsel  could  not 
draw  our  attention.  No  one  behaves  more  nobly  than  Schimmelman. 
Resigned  to  the  loss  of  his  large  property  in  the  Plantations,*  ready  and 
willing  to  sacrifice  the  rest  of  his  possessions,  resolved  not  to  expose  us  to 
a  greater  peril,  in  order  to  avert  the  impending  one,  by  trusting  to  the 
chance  of  a  favorable  issue,  he  gives  himself  up  to  the  dictates  of  his  heart, 
and  thinks  and  speaks  with  a  dignity  and  nobleness,  that  strengthen  the 
very  peace  and  calmness  of  mind  from  which  they  spring.  Only  one  who 
sees  him  alone,  in  a  long  conversation,  can  truly  appreciate  and  honor  him. 

The  English  are  still  at  Gillelye,  and  come  peaceably  on  shore  to  pur- 
chase provisions. 

I  hear  that  gun-boats  are  to  be  stationed  between  our  block-ships,  and 
people  maintain  that  it  is  impossible  to  storm  the  battery  on  the  island. 
It  is  said  that  the  whole  of  the  defenses  are  completed.  The  wind  is  westerly. 

LXXIV. 

COPENHAGEN,  31«l  March,  1801. 

I  must  announce  to  you,  what  you  will  expect  to  hear — that  the  English 
fleet  is  now  lying  as  an  enemy  before  our  harbor,  where  it  cast  anchor 
yesterday  morning,  about  ten  o'clock,  having  been  favored  by  a  north  wind 
that  suddenly  sprang  up 

I  am  too  tired,  and  have  no  time,  to  go  out  and  collect  further  intelli- 
gence. Yesterday  there  was  mounting  the  highest  house-tops,  towers,  &c., 
without  end  ;  then,  twice  I  had  to  traverse  the  long  way  to  Schimmelraan's 
and  back  to  the  office,  where  we  had  to  relieve  guard ;  I  was  as  tired  as  a 
poor  soldier.  As  we  expected  an  attack  in  the  night,  I  chose  to  stay  up. 
Milly,  unfortunately,  could  not  be  prevented  from  doing  the  same,  and  it 
has  done  her  eyes  harm.  She  begs  and  coaxes  till  I  give  way,  and  then  I 
repent  of  it,  because  the  consequences  are  just  what  I  anticipated. 

It  was  on  Sunday  morning  that  the  English  admiral  announced  that  he 
would  commence  hostilities. 

LXXV. 

CorzifHAGCN,  3d  April,  1801. 

The  report  of  our  unsuccessful  defense  will  no  doubt  have  reached  you 
before  you  receive  this  letter. 

On  Wednesdy  afternoon,  about  five  o'clock,  the  alarm  was  given  on  ac- 
count of  the  movements  of  the  English  fleet. t 

When,  yesterday  morning,  about  eleven  o'clock,  the  cannonade  sudden- 

*  His  father  had  bequeathed  estates  in  the  West  Indie*,  which  yielded  each 
of  his  seven  children  £4000  to  .£5000  per  annum.  Schimmelman,  who  at  this 
time  was  fabulously  rich,  lost  nearly  the  whole  of  his  property  daring  the  con- 
vulsions caused  by  the  wars  which  so  long  desolated  Europe,  and  sank  into 
comparative  poverty  in  his  old  age.  His  extreme  disinterestedness  was  such, 
that  he  never  sought  to  shield  himself  from  the  ruinous  commercial  crises  which 
succeeded  each  other  in  Denmark,  bat  was  rather  one  of  the  first  to  suffer  by 
them.  He  suffered  especially  by  a  contract  which  he  had  made  with  the  govern- 
ment, to  supply  muskets,  and  which  he  continued  punctually  to  fulfill,  after  he 
had  found  that  it  would  be  at  a  great  loss  to  himself. 

t  Here  follows  the  account  of  the  manner  in  which  the  English  fleet  advanced, 
which  is  sufficiently  well  Known  from  other  histories  •  . 


136  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

ly  commenced  with  great  violence,  which  was  the  only  thing  that  could 
give  us  notice  of  what  impended,  we  were  excited,  but  still  in  good  spirits. 
We  had  fancied  that  it  would  sound  much  more  terrific  when  so  close,  and 
did  not  therefore  believe  the  attack  would  be  so  furious  or  so  general,  as 
was  really  the  case.  I  went  to  my  office  to  see  that  the  archives  were  all 
packed  up.  On  the  way,  and  when  there,  I  heard  various  reports  that 
two,  three,  or  more  English  ships  had  got  aground,  and  that  they  were 
firing  with  such  vehemence  in  order  to  escape  being  boarded.  Meanwhile, 
the  firing  went  on  with  redoubled  violence  :  toward  half-past  two  it  quite 
died  away,  and  only  single  shots  fell  from  time  to  time.  I  went  out  then 
to  gain  intelligence.  The  streets  had  become  perfectly  silent,  and  only 
single  hollow  shots  were  to  be  heard.  By  chance,  I  overheard  an  officer 
telling  a  citizen  of  a  bomb  that  had  fallen  and  burst  by  his  side.  At  the 
next  corner,  some  people  were  crowding  forward  to  read  a  placard  from  the 
head  of  the  police,  containing  directions  how  to  act  in  case  of  a  bombard- 
ment.  I  now  return  home  considerably  startled ;  I  hear  the  single  shots 
which  I  now  know  to  be  throwing  bombs.  I  go  out  again,  go  at  last  to 
Countess  Schimmelman,  who  had  just  spoken  with  some  one  of  the  Admi- 
ralty, and  was  full  of  terror.  Soon  Count  S.  comes  with  the  tidings,  that 
our  block-ships  on  the  right  wing  are  annihilated.  I  had  never  before  been 
so  dismayed.  I  return  home  and  tell  Milly  only  a  part  of  the  calamity. 
I  soon  went  back  once  more,  learnt  that  the  arrival  of  a  cartel-ship  from 
Nelson's  fleet,  was  the  cause  of  the  sudden,  incomprehensible  silence  of 
the  enemy's  guns  ;  and  then  heard  details  of  the  fight,  that  were  touching 
to  the  last  degree.  The  whole  city  was  in  consternation,  and  the  streets 
deserted. 

4iA. — Since  we  have  not  sufficient  intelligence  to  be  able  to  give  you  a 
connected  narrative  of  the  battle,  and,  besides,  our  situation  will  interest 
you  still  more  than  the  events  of  the  never-to-be-forgotten  day,  I  meant  to 
write  to  you  yesterday  about  the  former  in  the  first  place,  and  to  get  more 
information  about  the  latter  against  to-day.  The  regular  history  of  the 
action  you  shall  have,  as  soon  as  I  know  enough  about  it  myself;  to-day 
I  can  only  write  you  some  unconnected  particulars.  We  can  not  deny  it 
— we  are  quite  beaten  ;  our  line  of  defense  is  destroyed,  and  all  is  at  stake, 
as  far  as  we  can  see,  without  a  chance  of  our  winning  any  thing — without 
our  being  able  to  do  much  injury  to  the  enemy,  as  long  as  he  contents 
himself  with  bombarding  the  city,  or  especially  the  docks  and  the  fleet ; 
because  we  have  been  deceived  in  the  plan  of  attack. 

But  while  we  look  with  sorrowful  anxiety  on  our  peril,  with  indignation 
on  the  authors  of  our  mistakes,  our  spirit  rises  at  beholding  the  unexam- 
pled heroism  of  our  people,  which  gives  us  a  melancholy  joy  full  of  affec- 
tion, that  does  not  indeed  comfort  us  about  the  State,  nor  suffice  to  deceive 
us  as  to  our  true  position,  yet  fills  and  warms  our  hearts,  binds  us  closely 
to  our  nation,  and  makes  us  rejoice  to  suffer  with  it.  Such  a  resistance 
was  never  seen.  Nelson  himself  has  confessed  that  never,  in  all  the  bat- 
ties  in  which  he  has  taken  part,  has  he  witnessed  any  thing  that  could  be 
compared  to  it.  His  loss  is  greater  than  at  Aboukir.  It  is  a  battle  that 
can  only  be  compared  to  Thermopylae ;  but  Thermopylae,  too,  laid  Greece 
open  to  devastation 

The  appearance  of  the  city  [after  all  was  over]  was  terribl-e.  Every 
place  was  desolate ;'  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen  in  the  streets,  but  wag- 


RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN  FROM  1800  TO  1806.     137 

ona  loaded  with  goods  to  be  carried  to  some  place  of  safety,  a  silence  as 
of  the  grave,  faces  covered  with  tears,  the  full  expression  of  the  bleeding 
wound  given  us  by  our  defeat.  The  bringing  home  of  the  dead  and  wound- 
ed, and  the  wretched  scenes  that  took  place  then,  I  can  scarcely  allude  to. 
Hilly  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears,  when  she  heard  of  the  fate  of  the  crew 
of  the  Proevesteen,*  which  was  the  first  news  we  received.  She  was  again 
overpowered  by  her  grief  when  a  false  report  was  spread  abroad,  that  our 
defenses  had  been  deserted :  she  only  feared  a  too  hasty,  inglorious  truce. 
The  negotiations  have  been  continued  ;  but  I  can  not  tell  you  any  thing 
about  them,  except  that  nothing  had  been  decided  yesterday,  though  Nel- 
son himself  was  on  shore.  The  truce  will  last  at  least  till  to-morrow 
morning.  We  must  at  all  events  be  prepared  for  a  bombardment.  The 
worst  is,  the  Crown  batteries  can  be.  held  no  longer,  and  the  enemy  will 
scarcely  expose  his  ships  of  the  line,  while  he  can  bombard  our  docks,  fleet, 
and  city.  Do  not  be  alarmed  about  us  in  case  of  a  bombardment.  Our 
house  is  in  a  distant  quarter,  and  it  would  be  impossible  really  to  take  the 
city 

LXXVI. 

COPENHAGEN-,  6tk  April,  1801. 

The  true*  has  been  prolonged  since  I  wrote  till  the  present  time, 

and  may  last  a  few  days  longer,  even  though  no  arrangement  should  be 
concluded ;  which,  if  it  could  be  brought  to  pass  without  exposing  us  to 
other  dangers,  must  be  earnestly  desired,  when  we  reflect  calmly  on  our 
position  after  the  battle  of  the  2d.  You  will  not  ascribe  this  wish  to  any 
motives  of  personal  fear.  Hilly  is  indescribably  calm ;  the  reverence  for 
our  dead  heroes  is  ever  present  to  elevate  our  thoughts ;  the  whole  nation 
gives  us  -an  example  of  courage,  of  unmoved  self-possession,  than  which 
nothing  can  be  nobler.  Danger  is  the  best  instructress ;  you  must  not 
therefore  think  of  fear.  But  the  risk  to  which  the.  fleet,  docks,  marine  ar- 
senal, all  the  most  important  buildings  of  the  city,  that  is,  of  the  whole 
kingdom,  would  be  exposed  in  case  of  a  bombardment  from  the  side  of  the 
scene  of  combat,  is  most  serious.  It  is  not  inevitable  I  know ;  we  have 
hitherto  found  by  experience,  that  the  English  bombs  are  very  bad,  and 
when  preparations  have  been  made  for  extinguishing  them,  the  devastation 
caused  even  by  the  best,  may  be  confined  within  certain  limits ;  at  least 
•*>  we  hope.  But  accident  may  be  against  us ;  and  where  order  and  dex- 
terity must  be  our  safeguards,  I  do  not  expect  so  much  from  our. people, 
as  when  all  depend*  on  Spartan  courage.  We  must  not  shut  our  eyes  to 
this ;  nor  to  the  condition  of  the  remaining  half  of  our  defenses,  which, 
owing  to  the  short-sightedness  of  their  constructor,  are  useless,  now  that 
the  right  wing  is  broken— a  defect  over  which  I  have  many  a  time,  since 
last  summer,  fruitlessly  meditated.  Providence  has  now  brought  us  a  man 
whose  position  is  sufficiently  high  to  enable  him  to  carry  out  his  projects  ; 
and  these  few  days  have  certainly  been  employed  in  repairing  the  evil  as 
far  as  possible.  But  is  this  enough  ?  and  if  not,  what  slaughter  must  be 
caused  by  a  new  attack,  and  without  our  being  able  to  revenge  ourselves ! 

Tuttday. — The  negotiatiation  is  still  far  from  settled,  and  I  can  tell  you 
nothing  further  without  abusing  confidence. 

*  Of  which  only  thirty  men  come  ashore  out  of  a  crew  of  between  300  and 

400  raeu. 


!38  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

It  is  still  possible  that  a  fresh  attack  may  be  averted ;  if  not,  it  will  be 
much  more  dreadful  for  us  in  the  city  than  the  first.  You  may  be  certain 
that  Milly  strives  to  retain  her  self-possession.  It  is  the  sorrow  for  our 
people,  and  the  wounds  with  which  the  State  is  threatened,  that  weigh  us 
down  :  we  fear  a  violent  attack  upon  the  remains  of  our  fleet ;  not  so 
much  a  bombardment.  0  that  they  would  content  themselves  with  that ! 

I  am  so  depressed  that  I  can  not  now  give  you  a  full  account  of  the  battle. 
As  soon  as  we  are  quiet,  you  shall  have  it. 

Adieu,  you  best  beloved  of  our  friends !  Shall  we  soon  be  able  to  cor- 
respond in  peace  again  ?  Will  not  the  time  come  when  these  hours  will 
be  scarred  over,  and  we  shall  return  to  our  accustomed  sphere  of  occupation, 
in  which  alone  we  can  be  happy  and  of  use  ?  This  time  will  indeed  leave 
a  deep  impression  on  the  whole  of  our  lives. 

LXXVIL 

COPENHAGEN,  llth  April. 

My  last  letter  was  written  in  a  state  of  depression  that  I  would  willingly 
have  concealed  from  you.  But  that  was  impossible,  and  the  circumstances 
of  our  position  only  rendered  such  feelings  too  unavoidable.  We  were  ex- 
pecting (which  I  did  not  tell  you)  a  bombardment  that  evening :  we  only 
reckoned  on  a  delay  from  the  wind,  which  was  high,  and  against  the  enemy. 
It  appeared  as  if  the  negotiations  would  come  to  nothing.  While  this,  and 
the  general  flight  in  the  city  toward  our  quarter,  and  the  other  less  exposed 
parts,  depressed  us,  and  filled  us  with  grief  at  the  fate  of  our  country,  even 
the  gloomy  turbulence  of  the  elements  contributed  to  our  dejection. 

My  heart  is  heavy  with  what  I  have  to  tell  you,  or  should  have,  if  we 
could  speak  to  each  other. 

The  English  changed  their  minds  quite  unexpectedly.  The  truce  was 
renewed,  and  Nelson  came  on  shore  the  next  day  to  see  the  Crown  Prince. 
A  truce  of  longer  extent  was  agreed  to,  and  finally  fixed  for  fourteen  weeks. 
We  shall  thereby  gain  the  opportunity  of  sending  succor  to  Norway,  where 
the  people  are  almost  dying  of  hunger.  We  shall  not  disarm.  The  militia 
are  disbanded  to  attend  to  their  farming  operations. 

The  loss  of  the  enemy  is  placed  beyond  a  doubt  by  this  convention.  It 
is  not  very  favorable  to  him.  The  utmost  he  could  do  would  be  to  sail 
away,  if  he  wished  it.  They  will  scarcely  take  all  their  ships  home.  Park- 
er's son  is  said  to  have  fallen.  Nelson  has  lost  three  captains,  two  who 
had  been  at  Aboukir :  on  the  Elephant,  his  own  ship,  tb*  captain,  two 
lieutenants,  and  one  hundred  and  seventeen  men.  It  is  spid,  that  in  another 
English  ship,  two  hundred  and  thirty  were  killed.  Two  English  ships  of 
the  line  struck  their  flag,  but  could  not  be  taken. 

Thus  we  have,  I  think,  won  honor,  and  consideration  throughout  Europe , 
likewise  a  firmer  hold  on  the  reverence  and  affection  of  all  classes  of  the 
realm 

LXXVIII. 
TO  COUNT  ADAM  MOLTKE * 

.COPENHAGEN,  22<Z  August,  1801. 

My  Milly  has  forestalled  me,  and  told  you  both  how  deeply  the  death  of 
our  friend  has  affected  us,  and  what  we  beg  of  you.      I  fee],  my  best-loved 
*  On  the  death  of  his  first  wife. 


RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN  FROM  1800  TO  1806.     139 

friend,  that  I  could  only  express  all  that  crowds  in  upon  017  mind  by  talk- 
ing  to  you,  or  by  writing  it  all  at  full  length. 

The  termination  was  much  more  speedy  than  we  expected.  We  had  still 
cherished  hope.  I  could  not  conceive  that  fate  could  really  be  so  cruel  to 
you ;  as  little  as  one  can  imagine  a  life  in  which  every  thing  is  the  oppo- 
site of  our  present  nature,  and  .therefore  I  so  long  resisted  the  impression  of 
all  that  you  and  our  friends  described.  But  the  impossible  has  come  to 
pass.  As  it  is,  I  can  say  nothing  to  you,  but  that  your  misfortune  has 
wounded  us  to  the  heart.  We  can  not  wish  to  comfort  you,  for  ia  comfort 
possible  to  any  but  children,  who  can  forget  ?  But  we  can,  and  do  entreat 
you  to  control  your  sorrow ;  we  can  invite  you  to  come  to  us ;  and  then, 
with  our  best  powers,  we  can  live  for  you  and  with  you.  The  spring-time 
and  bloom  of  your  life  are  over ;  but,  torn  from  the  world  and  all  its  follies, 
you  may  yet  enjoy  another  consolation,  and  a  pure  delight  in  the  memory 
of  the  past,  and  in  the  exercise  and  cultivation  of  all  the  noble  sentiments 
that  fill  your  excellent  heart.  Perhaps  then  a  prospect  beyond  the  grave 
may  open  to  your  eyes,  as  it  has  before  disclosed  itself  to  wise  and  holy  men 
in  similar  seclusion  and  tranquillity  of  mind.  Faith  is  the  child  of  such 
effort  and  solf-collectedness  alone  ;  it  has  descended  to  many  a  one  who  has 
sought  to  attain  spiritual  light  and  purity ;  the  fortunate  rarely  acquire  it ; 
they  feel  not  the  need  of  it ;  and  the  anguished  heart,  yet  in  suspense,  can 
not  give  it  entrance.  I  can  not,  like  Milly,  comfort  you  with  expectations ; 
but  I  believe  that  faith  is  not  folly,  and  that  we  are  blind  here  below.  I 
should  give  you  advice,  my  dear  friend,  but  I-  am  not  able,  nor  worthy  to  do 
it ;  but,  when  we  are  together,  we  will  turn  our  thoughts  in  the  same  direc- 
tion, and  together  become  good  and  wise.  Let  us  see  each  other  as  soon 
as  you  can.  We  ran  not  come  to  you  this  autumn.  It  would  have  been 
a  greater  happiness  than  we  could  have  asked  for,  to  have  lived  with  you, 
when  you  and  yours  were  assembled  in  a  joyful  home ;  our  icithtt  will  be 
fulfilled,  if  you  will  now  come  to  our  arms. .  I  can  not  say  more  to  you  at 
present.  My  health  has  not  been  good  for  some  time,  and  I  have  already 
fatigued  myself  with  writing  to-day.  God  be  with  you,  my  dearest  friend, 
and  give  you  strength  ! 

Your  old  friend,  NIXBUUR. 

LXXIX. 

TO  HIS  PARENTS. 

COPENHAGEN,  20lA  September,  1801. 

I  work  at  Arabic  nearly  every  day  now,  and  am  satisfied  with  my 

progress.  I  can  read  most  things  in  a  simple  historical  account  without 
a  lexicon,  and  with  its  help,  I  can  understand  every  thing;  so  I  think  I 
shall  get  on.  But  I  do  not  know  how  I  shall  manage  when  I  come  to  the 
poets,  for  whom  I  am  unable  to  acquire  a  genuine  taste ;  they  are  so  de- 
signedly obscure,  and  use  words  in  such  new  senses.  There  are  some  re- 
markable historical  works  in  this  library,  particularly  among  the  books  which 
the  Society  has  contributed ;  for  instance,  Elwakidi's  "  History  of  the  Con- 
quest of  Irak,"  which  Ockley  did  not  possess,  but  from  the  "  History  of  the 
Conquest  of  Syria,"  by  the  same  author,  which  Ockley  has  incorporated 
into  his  excellent  work,  you  can  see  how  important  it  must  be.  He  had 
nothing  to  consult  about  this  conquest  but  dry  chronicles. 


14o  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

The  authors  of  the  "  Conversations^"  &c.,  must,  I  fancy,  have  lived  in 
Egypt ;  for  Cairo,  and  the  Nile,  and  Rif,  are  frequently  mentioned.  Though 
their  language  deviates  very  perceptibly  from  the  old  Arabic,  I  still  wonder, 
unless  the  author  intentionally  approached  it,  that  the  difference  is  not 
greater.  What  a  wide  difference  we  find  when  we  come  to  the  language 
of  Morocco  !  They  use,  for  instance,  the  Spanish  article  de,  to  express  the 
genitive,  and  distort  the  genuine  Arabic  words  so  miserably,  that  it  must 
often  be  quite  like  another  language. 

I  have  also  read  lately,  witk  great  interest,  a  good  part  of  Josephus' 
"  History  of  the  Jews,"  for  this  happens  to  be  a  time  in  which  I  have  not 
much  to  do.  I  have  often  wished,  in  reading  it,  to  ask  you,  dear  father, 
many  questions  relating  to  Palestine  and  Jerusalem,  and  to  see  your  ground- 
plan,  and  the  map  of  your  route,  for  D'Anville's  plan  of  Jerusalem  must  be 
wrong.  There  are  a  number  of  highly  remarkable  circumstances  in  this 
history,  which  have  never  yet  attracted  sufficient  attention.  For  example, 
the  horribly  oppressive  taxation  of  the  Jews,  under  the  successors  of  Alex- 
ander, which  is  also  mentioned  in  the  first  book  of  the  Maccabees  :  a  third 
of  the  produce  of  grain,  the  half  of  that  of  the  fruit-trees  (therefore  of  the 
olives),  a  poll-tax,  a  salt-duty,  and  a  so-called  gift  to  the  king.  Why  this 
seems  to  me  so  remarkable  is,  that  I  believe  these  imposts  to  have  been 
established  by  the  Persians ;  and  because  they  entirely  correspond  to  the 
Indian  system  of  taxation,  where  a  fourth  of  the  net  produce  of  the  fields, 
sometimes  even  the  second  sheaf — as  in  Tanjour — is  paid  to  the  government. 
We  can  also  see  quite  plainly  in  many  places,  the  monopoly  of  salt  by  the 
government,  as  in  India ;  and  the  farming  of  the  imposts  to  a  species  of 
Zemindars,  who  came  to  Alexandria  at  a  certain  time  of  year  to  settle  the 
amount  of  their  rent  among  themselves,  as  they  do  hi  Bengal  at  the  time 
of  the  rice-harvest.  The  same  system  of  taxation  was  continued  under  the 
Maccabees — became  still  more  oppressive  under  Herod,  and  if,  as  is  very 
probable,  though  it  can  not  be  proved,  it  still  existed  under  the  Romans,  it 
was  no  wonder  that  the  nation  felt  their  conquest  by  the  Arabs  a  relief. 
With  such  tributes,  what  enormous  streams  of  wealth  must  have  flowed  to 
Persia  as  long  as  the  monarchy  existed ;  and  how  miserable  and  impover- 
ished has  been,  in  all  ages,  the  condition  of  the  Oriental  nations,  to  whom 
Nature  seems  to  have  given  her  richest  territories,  in  order  that  they  might 
not  be  exterminated  by  all  these  extortions,  which  they  would  have  been 
in  Europe ;  as  Jupiter,  in  that  old  fable,  lightened  the  sorrows  of  the  ass, 
when  unable  to  soften  the  harshness  of  his  driver,  by  giving  him  stupidity 
and  a  thick  hide,  that  he  might  be  able  to  bear  the  blows 

LXXX. 

TO  COUNT  ADAM  MOLTKE. 

COPENHAGE.V,  21s<  May,  180-1. 

My  Milly  has  kept  a  letter  to  your  Marie  over  several  post  days,  that  I 
might  be  able  to  write  to  you,  dearest  Moltke,  at  the  same  time.  I  have 
been  obliged  to  wait  for  the  holidays  to  do  this,  partly  because  the  regular 
course  of  my  employments,  when  I  am  not  well,  as  happens  to  be  the  case 
now,  really  takes  away  my  power  to  do  any  thing  I  wish ;  partly  because 
I  wanted  to  be  able  to  dismiss  these  employments  from  my  mind  before  1 
sat  down  to  write  to  you.  I  do  not  know  whether  you  have  heard,  that  is. 


RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN  FROM  1800  TO  1806.     141 

read,  any  where,  how  much  more  numerous  and  onerous  they  have  become. 
At  the  new  year  I  waa  made  administrative  director  of  the  Bank,  or,  in 
other  words,  banker  to  the  government ;    and  three  months  before,  the 
directorship  of  the  East  India  office  had  devolved  upon  me.     Unacquainted 
as  you  are  with  our  public  business,  you  can  not  possibly  form  an  idea  of 
the  complicated  relations  with  a  host  of  people  in  which  these  employments 
place  me,  of  the  laborious  nature  of  my  work,  and  of  the  unremitting  ap- 
plication it  requires.     This,  and  the  kind  of  men  with  whom  I  have  to 
deal,  and  of  whom  I  must  make  friends,  render  my  post  an  arduous  one ; 
the  business  itself  is,  to  one  used  to  it,  not  difficult  to  transact,  though  try- 
ing to  the  nerves,  from  the  constant  strain  upon  the  attention  which  it  re- 
quires ;   and  it  often  has  some  of  the  interest  of  a  game  of  chance,  when 
you  can  depend  upon  yourself  not  to  go  beyond  a  moderate  sum,  and  begin 
with  the  odds  in  your  favor.     Through  this  extension  of  my  duties,  we  have 
now  a  liberal  income,  instead  of  the  very  narrow  one  with  which  we  began ; 
and  as  a  complete  renunciation  of  amusement  and  recreation  (along  with 
hard  work  and  weak  health),  would  be  very  trying,  we  must  bear  the  in- 
crease of  my  work,  which  takes  up  my  time  and  thoughts,  and  in  so  far, 
takes  me  from  my  Milly,  with  gratitude  and  contentment,  as  a^necessary 
evil.     I  wish  you  would  all — you,  my  friends,  between  the  Elbe  and  the 
ocean — look  at  the  matter  in  this  light,  and  not  lay  it  to  my  charge,  that 
I  have  undertaken  employment  which  it  was  impossible  you  should  approve 
of.     It  would  give  me  much  pain  if  any  one  should  judge  my  conduct  in 
this  respect  with  intolerance,  and  reproach  me  in  secret  for  entering  on  a 
vocation,  which,  indeed,  seems  incompatible  with  all  that  used  to  be  the 
object  of  our  common  endeavors.     Physical  exhaustion  alone  can  make  me 
unfit  at  times  for  those  things,  which  used  to  be  equally  dear  and  interest- 
ing to  us  both ;  every  moment  of  leisure  carries  me  back  to  them  ;  and  if 
Turgot,  under  the  severest  financial  labors,  kept  his  tastes  and  intellect 
unchanged,  yon  ought  to  give  me  credit  for  doing  the  same.     While  you 
were  preparing  to  tread  the  classic  toil,  and  when  you  arrived  in  Italy,  I 
was  living  in  a  work  that  afforded  me  hours  of  the  most  intense  enjoyment. 
I  was  straining  every  power  of  my  mind  in  investigating  the  Roman  history 
from  its  first  beginning  to  the  times  of  the  tyranny,  in  all  the  remains  of 
ancient  authors  that  I  could  procure.     This  work  gave  me  a  deep  and  liv- 
ing insight  into  Roman  antiquity,  such  as  I  never  had  before,  and  such  as 
made  me  perceive,  at  the  same  time,  clearly  and  vividly,  that  the-  repre- 
sentations of  all  the  moderns,  without  exception,  are  but  mistaken,  imper- 
fect glimpses  of  the  truth.     My  studies  were  interrupted  by  a  journey  on 
official  affairs  to  Hamburgh,  Leipsic,  and  Frankfort  •   a  journey  which  did 
not  on  the  whole  bring  me  much  pleasure,  because  I  felt  it  my  duty  to 
employ  my  whole  mind  on  the  financial  matters  placed  in  my  hands ;   and 
it  was  necessary  to  associate  exclusively  with  those  who  could  be  useful  to 
me  in  this  respect.     On  my  return  home,  I  resumed  my  investigations  with 
redoubled  energy,  and  for  the  first  time  felt  strongly  the  consciousness,  that 
I  could  produce  something  worthy  of  study,  of  fame,  and  of  immortality, 
and  the  desire  to  undertake  such  a  work.     I  began  a  treatise,  of  compre- 
hensive scope  and  courageous  freedom  of  thought,  on  the  Roman  laws  of 
property,  and  the  history  of  the  Agrarian  laws.     An  influx  of  business 
weighed  me  down  for  some  time,  and  made  it  impossible  for  me  to  corn- 
Diet*  this  treatise  for  our  Scandinavian  Society  to  which  I  had  intended  to 


142  MEMOIR,  OF  NIEBUHR. 

send  it ;  however,  it  shall  be  finished,  and  also  a  series  of  papers  on  isolated 
topics  and  periods  of  ancient  history.  My  first  essay  will  be  widely  con- 
demned, and  no  nobleman  and  landed  proprietor  will  like  it,  at  least  if  he 
is  consistent.  I  do  not  even  expect  it  from  you ;  but  I  shall  write,  as  I 
think  and  speak,  in  the  strength  of  my  unalterable  convictions,  as  the  old 
Romans  would  approve  and  praise,  were  thtey  still  among  us. 

I  could  envy  you  the  happiness  of  having  lived  so  long  in  Rome.  You 
will  bring  home  ineffaceable  recollections  of  those  scenes.  Shall  you  not 
see  Samnium  and  Apuleia  ?  That  pleasure  I  should  be  absolutely  unable 
to  deny  myself,  if  I  had  those  means  of  assuring  my  safety  which  are  at 
your  command..  If  you  get  so  far,  think  of  me.  Every  field  there  is  classic. 
I  think  you  will  hardly  return  without  having  seen  the  regions  which  equal 
in  importance  the  sublimest  ruins  of  Rome.  Could  you  procure  me  at 
Rome  one  of  the  celebrated  Samnian  denarii,  and  an  Attic  tetradrachma  ? 
If  you  pass  through  Ravenna,  do  not  overlook  the  tomb  of  Theodoric,  nor 
the  old  mosaics  in  the  churches.  All  travelers  despise  Ravenna,  and  yet 
it  is  the  link  that  binds  ancient  and  modern  history  together,  and  much 
has  been  preserved  within  its  walls.  In  Venice,  seek  out  Morelli :  he  is  an 
accomplished  philologist,  and  I  believe  an  obliging  man ;  and  in  Switzer- 
land, I  entreat  you  to  make  Reding's  acquaintance,  and  confirm  me  in  my 
opinion  that  he  is  really  a  great  and  noble-minded  man,  who  espoused  a 
righteous  cause  from  pure  motives.*  If  you  can  obtain  there  the  various 
constitutions  and  projects  of  constitutions,  which  have  appeared  since 
1798,  and  any  important  printed  papers  connected  with  the  history  of  the 
Swiss  revolution  (if  such  exist) ,  you  will  do  me  a  great  service.  Alas,  how 
freedom  is  expiring  on  every  side !  I  have  received  American  papers,  from 
which  it  is  undeniably  evident  whither  Jefferson's  party  are  tending.  The 
regulations  making  in  Louisiana  are  such  that  the  president  there  will  be 
a  complete  monarch.  And  in  Europe  not  a  man  left  but  Carnot !  Was  I 
wrong  in  regarding  him  with  such  deep  reverence  ?  I  have  written  a  lit- 
tle Danish  essay  to  renew  the  remembrance  of  two  great  men  of  our  nation. 
When  you  come  back,  you  shall  receive  it.  One  of  them  could  neither 
read  nor  write,  but  Sertorius  need  not  have  been  ashamed  of  him.  Adieu, 
my  dear  Moltke  !  However  we  may  be  separated  by  distance,  or  the  dis- 
similarity of  our  occupations,  we  shall  never  change  inwardly,  nor  cease  to 
be,  in  ourselves  and  to  each  other,  what  we  were  when  we  were  simply 
observers  of  the  world,  contemplators  of  the  past,  seers  of  the  possible — 
simply  men.  A  senseless  sophistry  is  raging;  in  Germany  with  inqui.sitorial 
fury  and  monkish  pride.  Do  not  suffer  yourself  to  be  entangled  in  it  under 
any  shape  on  your  return.  Think  of  me  and  give  our  love  to  your  Mario. 

LXXXI. 

From  a  letter  without  date. 

I  envy  you  the  recollections  of  your  Italian  journey.  It  is  a  hard  thought 
to  me,  that  I  shall  never  see  the  land  that  was  the  theatre  of  deeds,  with 

*  Aloys  Reding  invariably  upbeld  tbe  old  Swiss  Constitutions  existing  pre- 
viously to  1798,  but  was  alternately  opposed  to,  and  on  the  side  of  tbe  French, 
as  they  alternately  favored  the  Unitarian  or  Revolutionary  party,  or  the  old  Con- 
servative party,  of  which  Reding  was  the  head.  At  this  time  he  was  peaceably 
exercising  the  functions  of  Landamman  of  Schwyz,  as  the  constitution  promul- 
gated by  Bonaparte,  19th  February,  1803,  had  for  most  part  restored  the  old  con- 
dition of  things  existing  before  1798,  and  pacified  the  country. 


RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN  FROM  1800  TO  1806.     143 

which  I  may  perhaps  claim  a  closer  acquaintance  than  any  of  my  con- 
temporaries. I  have  studied  the  Roman  history  with  all  the  effort  of  which 
ray  mind  has  been  capable  in  its  happiest  moments,  and  believe  that  I 
may  assume  that  acquaintance  without  vanity.  This  history  will,  also,  if 

I  write,  form  the  subject  of  most  of  my  works 

The  sight  of  the  works  of  art,  particularly  the  paintings,  would  have 
delighted  me  as  it  did  you.  Statues  have  little  effect  upon  me  ;  my  sight 
is  too  weak,  and  can  not  be  strengthened  by  glasses,  for  a  surface  of  one 
color,  as  it  can  for  pictures.  Then,  too,  a  picture,  when  I  have  once  seen 
it,  becomes  my  property — I  never  lose  it  out  of  my  imagination.  Music  is, 
in  general,  positively  disagreeable  to  me,  because  I  can  not  unite  it  in  one 
point,  and  every  thing  fragmentary  oppresses  my  mind.  Hence,  also,  I  am 
no  mathematician,  but  an  historian ;  for,  from  the  single  features  preserv- 
ed, I  can  form  a  complete  picture,  and  know  where  groups  are  wanting, 
and  how  to  supply  them.  I  think  this  is  the  case  with  you  also,  and  I 
wish  you  would,  like  me,  apply  your  reflections  on  past  events,  to  fix  the 
images  on  the  canvas,  and  then  employ  your  imagination,  working  only 
with  true  historical  tints,  to  give  them  coloring.  Take  ancient  history  aa 
your  subject :  it  is  an  inexhaustible  one,  and  no  one  would  believe  how 
much,  that  appears  to  be  lost,  might  be  restored  with  the  clearest  evidence. 
Modern  history  ne  vaut  pas  It  diable.  Above  all,  read  Livy  again  and 
again.  I  prefer  him  infinitely  to  Tacitus,  and  am  glad  to  And  that  Voss 
is  of  the  same  opinion.  There  is  no  other  author  who  exercises  such  a 
gentle  despotism  over  the  eyes  and  cars  of  his  readers,  as  Livy  among  the 
Romans  and  Thucydidcs  among  the  Greeks.  Quinctilian  calls  Livy's  full- 
ness "sweet  as  milk,"  and  his  eloquence  "indescribable:"  in  my  judg- 
ment, too,  it  equals,  and  often  even  surpasses,  that  of  Cicero.  The  latter 
missed  ton  genre— he  possessed  infinite  acuteness,  intellect,  wit;  ilfaitait 
du  genie  avec  de  Ve»prit}  like  Voltaire ;  but  he  attempted  a  richness  of  style, 
for  which  he  lacked  ihat  heavenly  repose  of  the  intellect,  which  Livy, 
like  Homer,  must  have  possessed,  and,  amopg  the  moderns,  F£n£lon  and 
Garve*  in  no  common  degree.  Very  different  was  Demosthenes,  who  was 
always  concise,  like  Thucydidcs.  And  to  rise  to  conciseness  and  vigor  of 
style  is  the  highest  that  we  moderns  can  well  attain  ;  for  we,  can  not  write 
from  our  whole  soul :  and  hence  we  can  not  expect  another  perfect  epic 
poem.  The  quicker  beats  the  life-pulse  of  the  world,  the  more  each  one 
is  compelled  to  move  in  epicycles,  the  less  can  calm,  mighty  repose  of  the 
spirit  be  ours.  I  am  writing  to  you  as  if  I  were  actually  living  in  this 
better  world,  and  nothing  i»  further  from  the  truth.  Calculations  are 
my  occupation — merchant*,  Jews,  and  brokers  my  society.  Alcibiades 
was  not  wrong  when  he  said  that  among  Thracians  and  Persians  you 
must  distinguish  yourself  after  their  fashion  (if  you  must  or  will  live 
among  them,  I  add,  for  truly  it  is  better  to  remain  away);  and  thus  it  is 
my  ambition  to  rival  the  Jews,  and  surpass  our  merchants,  in  the  cun- 
ning of  trade.  You  would  not  believe  with  what  respect  the  Jews  re- 
gard me ;  only  they  can  not  understand  my  having  no  private  advantage 
in  view.  But  I  am  heartily  sick  of  this  life.  Have  you  seen  the  manu- 

*  A  professor  of  moral  philosophy  in  the  last  century,  bom  at  Breslan  in  1792. 
He  is,  perhaps,  besl  known  by  hi«  translations  of  Cicero  de  Officiis,  Burke  on 
the  Sublime,  and  Ferguson's  Moral  Philosophy.  Hit  own  Philosophical  Essays 
are  rather  popular  than  scientific — a  philosophy  of  practical  life. 


!44  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

script  rolls  at  Pompeii,  and  do  you  know  if  any  of  them  will  be  printed  be- 
fore long,  and  how  they  are  to  be  obtained  ?  Write  me  word  about  this — 
and  if  you  are  able  to  inquire  of  any  one,  and  are  a  trustworthy  agent, 
ask  this  :  how  one  can  obtain  a  copy  of  the  Philodemus,  printed  in  1793  ? 
(I  can  now  sometimes  afford  to  buy  a  book,  if  it  is  not  extravagantly  dear). 
1  am  full  of  painful  anxiety  about  politics  :  I  have  gloomy  presentiments ; 
slavery  is  incontestably  at  hand ;  and  the  pestilence  spares  not  the  inno- 
cent. Adieu,  my  beloved  friend !  give  my  love  to  your  wife  and  your  boy. 
I  would  write  more  were  I  not  at  the  end  of  my  paper,  and  the  clock 
striking  eleven. 

LXXXIL 

COPENHAGEN,  January,  1806. 

17th. — I  left  the  last  line  unfinished  because  I  was  interrupted, 

and  now  I  can  not  recollect  what  I  wanted  to  say.  However,  it  is  easy 
to  draw  a  fresh  thread  from  the  same  clew.  By  my  desire,  Perthes  has 
sent  you  an  anonymous  translation  of  Demosthenes'  first  Philippic.  It  is 
by  me,  and  if  you  have  read  it,  and  reflected  on  the  mottos  I  have  prefixed 
to  it,  or  will  do  so,  you  will  know  what  your  friend  thought  and  wished 
with  all  the  powers  of  his  soul,  when  you  asked,  "  what  are  we  to  think  ? 
what  are  we  to  wish?"  (By-the-by,  you  must  keep  this  a  profouiid 
secret).  The  publication  of  the  pamphlet  was  so  much  delayed,  that 
Zama  had  already  decided  the  question,  before  I  even  got  the  proof-sheets, 
and  so  I  was  like  one  who  receives  a  letter  after  its  writer  is  dead.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  war,  which  has  terminated  so  disastrously,  it  seemed 
by  no  means  a  chimerical  hope,  that  it  might  be  possible  to  avert  the 
fearfully  imminent  danger  of  the  universal  supremacy  of  France,  and  to  set 
limits  to  this  terrible  empire.  We  might  have  expected  that  the  Austrians 
would  at  last  have  learnt  the  art  of  war  ;  it  appeared  as  if  the  army  were 
to  be  depended  on.  Russia  gave  her  assistance  with  pure  generosity;  and 
Alexander  seemed  to  recognize  the  whole  difficulty  of  his  undertaking;  and 
to  be  ready  to  exhaust  all  his  resources  in  the  cause ;  his  person  was  a 
bond  of  coalition,  such  as  we  had  never  had  before  ;  and,  what  must  not 
be  forgotten,  the  tyranny  and  barbarity  of  the  French  had  kindled  in  the 
minds  of  all  a  hatred  which,  we  believed,  must  burst  into  a  universal  flame. 
It  was  indeed  impossible  to  foresee  that  we  had  made  a  mistake  ;  that  supe- 
rior force,  led  with  the  greatest  military  skill,  would,  in  the  very  outset  of 
the  campaign,  completely  dissolve  an  army,  placed  as  if  for  destruction,  and 
whose  ruin  was  inevitable,  even  according  to  the  old  tactics,  after  it  had 
neglected  to  change  its  position  on  the  10th  and  llth  of  October.*  It 
was  impossible  to  foresee  the  stupidity,  cowardice,  meanness,  venalily, 
and,  at  last,  treachery,  that,  one  after  the  other,  and  finally  all  combined, 
completed  the  fatal  overthrow ;  or  yet  the  pusillanimity  displayed  after 
the  final  defeat.  So  long  as  the  struggle  lasted,  I  longed  to  be  in  the 
camp,  and,  though  all  is  lost  now,  at  least  to  have  the  privilege  of  know- 

*  He  refers  to  the  fact,  that  when  Napoleon  had  succeeded,  in  interposing  his 
grand  army  between  the  Austrian  army  under  Mack,  stationed  atUlm,  and  the 
Hereditary  States,  so  as  to  cut  of  Mack's  communications,  and  make  it  impossi- 
ble for  him  to  move  toward  Austria  or  Bohemia,  in  order  to  rejoin  the  Russian 
or  Imperial  reserves,  Mack  neglected  to  take  the  only  road  left  open  to  him  for 
a  retreat,  namely,  that  toward  the  Tyrol,  which  enabled  Napoleon  to  surround 
him,  and  compel  the  shameful  capitulation  of  Ulm. 


RESIDENCE  IN  COPENHAGEN  FROM  1800  TO  1806.     145 

ing  with  what  alacrity,  and  with  what  a  burning  heart,  men  rush  to  arms 
in  a  national  war ;  what  blessedness  lies  in  that  immovable  resolution, 
which  nothing  in  the  world  can  bend.  The  appalling  misery  is,  that  fear 
had  paralyzed  the  Germans  before  they  had  measured  their  strength  against 
the  French ;  that  they  thought  of  safety  beforehand.  I  have  felt  with 
what  truth  the  great  Ali  says,  "  Despair  is  a  free-man ;  Hope  is  a  slave." 
Those  who  are  still,  or  for  the  second  time,  dazzled  by  Bonaparte,  who 
exult  in  the  lustre  bf  the  modern  Romans,  as  the  moth  in  the  brightness 
of  the  candle  that  is  about  to  scorch  it  up,  will  ere  long  discover  the  mon- 
strosity of  their  idol,  and,  with  Bojokal,  exclaim  too  late  : 

"Wodan  and  Mann,  and  all  ye  divinities  !  e'en  though  a  dwelling 
Earth  may  not  yield  OB,  still  it  shall  yield  as  a  grave  I" 

Woe  to  those  who  greeted  the  victories  of  the  French  revolutionary  army 
with  acclamations,  who  extinguished  in  our  unhappy  nation  the  last 
sparks  of  national  love  and  national  hatred,  that  the  imperious  French 
might  scatter  abroad  the  scarce  warm  embers  with  their  sword  !  I  have 
ever  hated  the  French  as  a  State,  and  regarded  the  humiliation  of  Ger- 
many with  the  same  feelings  that  breathe  through  your  odes.  It  is  over, 
and  I  shall  now  inveigh,  like  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  against  those  who 
dream  of  resistance,  unless  a  case  were  to  arise  in  which,  like  the  Sagun- 
tines  and  Antigone,  we  must  rather  choose  death.  For  is  not  death,  when 
freely  chosen  and  prepared  for,  the  most  solemn  and  beautiful  thing  to 
which  life  can  aspire  ?  Who  could  hesitate  to  prefer  it  to  shameful  serv- 
itude, even  if  he  only  regarded  his  own  mental  enjoyment  ?  Meanwhile, 
it  has  not  yet  come  to  this  with  us  in  the  north.  Happy  are  we  who 
have  no  children  !  For  perhaps  it  might  be  well  for  whole  nations  to  die 
out  with  this  generation.  With  two  gifts  has  England's  genius  blessed 
Lord  Nelson  and  rewarded  him  for  his  deeds ;  that  he  died  victorious,  and 
therefore  still  full  of  hope,  before  he  could  know  the  defeat  of  Ulm;  and 
secondly,  that  he  left  no  children  to  grovel  under  the  oppression  of  those 
whom  ho  had  so  often  made  to  pass  under  his  yoke.  We  shall  soon  see 
how  the  French  will  govejrn  the  world.  What  we  shall  not  see  in  its  con- 
summation, but  can  already  perceive  in  its  commencement,  is  the  degener- 
ation of  intellect,  the  extinction  of  genius,  of  all  free,  all  liberal  sentiments, 
the  domination  of  vice,  of  sensuality,  not  even  disguised  by  hypocrisy ; 
the  decay  of  taste  and  literature — in  this  respect  we  are  already  long  past 
the  dawn.  I  have  written  so  much  about  the  general  calamity,  that  I 
have  little  space  to  write  of  other  things 

LXXXIII. 

TO  HIS  PARENTS. 

COPENHAGEN,  261&  Auputt,  1806. 

You  have  no  doubt,  my  dearest  parents,  looked  forward  to  our  letter 
with  more  than  ordinary  anxiety.     Up  to  this  time -we  have  remained  in 
uncertainty  as  to  the  decision  of  our  fate  ;  *  and  this  is  why  we  did  not 
write  on  the  last  post  day.     To-day  we  have  at  length  been  relieved  from 
our  suspense  by  a  decisive  answer  from  the  Crown  Prince. 
*  Whether  he  went  to  Prussia  or  not. 
G 


146  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

My  request  for  my  dismissal  went  to  the  Crown  Prince  a  fortnight  ago, 
accompanied  by  a  letter  to  Schimmelman  that  was  really  written  from  my 
heart.  The  Crown  Prince  received  it  very  kindly,  and  returned  it,  begging 
that  nothing  more  might  be  said  on  the  subject ;  he  wished  and  hoped 
that  I  would  alter  my  intention.  But  what  could  I  do  ?  The  patent  was 
long  since  drawn  up.  I  had  taken  an  irrevocable  step,  and  was  forced  to 
repress  my  struggling  feelings.  I  now  wrote  direct  to  the  Crown  Prince, 
and  upon  this,  the  permission  for  my  leaving  has  arrived  to-day,  in  conse- 
quence of  which,  the  matter  may  now  be  considered  as  settled,  and  can 
no  longer  remain  a  secret.  It  will  therefore  be  generally  known  here  in 
the  course  of  a  few  days. 

I  believe  that  vejy  few  officials  possess  so  high  a  degree  of  affection  and 
popularity  as  I  enjoy  on  our  Exchange  (I  may  say  this  without  vanity, 
and  do  say  it  with  emotion),  where  I  have  been  connected  with  the  most 
dissimilar  classes  of  people  by  daily  intercourse,  community  of  interest, 
and  the  universal  approbation  which  my  administration  of  the  bank  affairs 
has  received.  Hitherto  all  who  have  heard  that  we  were  leaving  Copen- 
hagen, have  expressed  their  sorrow  in  a  very  touching  manner,  many  with 
tears,  and  I  may  confidently  hope  that  my  career  will  be  held  in  remem- 
brance, and  my  name  in  respect.  The  merchants  have  been  some  of  my 
most  intimate  acquaintance,  and  among  them  more  particularly  some  En- 
glishmen, who,  like  many  "gentlemen,"  of  this  nation,  have  a  great  liking 
for  me,  because  we  harmonize  very  much.  I  am  fond  of  the  English  lan- 
guage too,  and  speak  it  more  fluently  than  any  other  foreign  language,  in- 
deed almost  as  much  so  as  German  or  Danish. 

Nor  can  I  flatter  myself  that  this  universal  affection  and  cordiality  can 
and  will  be  replaced  at  Berlin.  But  all  will  be  right,  if  the  government 
display  firmness  and  dignity.  God  grant  that  they  may  not  yield  to  the 
proposition  of  alienating  the  Westphalian  provinces !  Let  the  consequen- 
ces of  a  spirited  resolution  be  what  they  may,  we  are  prepared  for  them — 
prepared  to  sink  into  a  very  narrow  sphere,  and  to  be  thrown  entirely  on 
our  own  resources. 

If  possible,  we  shall  leave  within  three  weeks.  We  are  hastening  our 
preparations  for  departure  as  much  as  we  can.  Almost  our  only  object  in 
Holstein  is  to  see  you,  dearest  parents ;  we  shall  make  every  thing  else 
subordinate  to  that.  Indeed  we  shall  only  be  able  to  stay  a  very  short 
time ;  for  it  is  a  deviation  from  our  route,  which  nothing  but  our  fervent 
desire  to  see  our  parents  could  justify. 

We  shall  be  nearer  to  you  in  Berlin  than  we  are  here,  and  the  permis- 
sion to  travel  will  most  likely  be  obtained  with  less  difficulty.  But  still 
there  will  be  a  new  kind  of  separation  between  us. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

NIEBUHR  IN  THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE  FROM  1806  TO  1810. 

THE  Niebuhrs  arrived  in  Berlin  on  the  5th  of  October,  1806. 
On  the  14th,  came  the  dreadful  defeats  of  the  Prussian  army  at 
Jena  and  Auerstadt,  followed  by  those  of  Halle,  Prentlau,  An- 
clam,  &c.,  within  a  few  days.  The  French  were  advancing  on 
Berlin.  In  the  consternation  produced  by  the  rapidity  with  which 
defeat  succeeded  defeat,  scarcely  any  of  the  Prussian  authorities, 
military  or  civil,  thought  of  making  any  resistance,  but  fortresses 
and  stores  of  all  descriptions  fell  into  the  hands  of  the.  French, 
strengthening  them  at  every  step.  Seven  ministers  even  lowered 
themselves  so  far  as  to  take  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  French  com- 
missioner, without  writing  to  the  King  for  permission.  Stein 
formed  an  exception.  He  had  taken  the  precaution  of  packing  up 
beforehand  all  the  money  belonging  to  the  various  offices  under 
his  direction,  and  now  sent  it  on  to  Stettin,  under  Niebuhr  s 
charge.  A  day  later  it  would  have  been  lost.  After  staying  a 
week  in  Stettin,  the  Niebuhrs  continued  their  journey  to  Dantzic, 
where  they  met  with  a  most  friendly  reception  from  Messrs.  Solly 
and  Gibson.  In  a  few  days  the  surreuder  of  Dantzic  rendered  it 
necessary  to  retreat  to  Konigsberg. 

All  organization  of  the  executive  was  now  nearly  at  an  end. 
Niebuhr  was, .  however,  resolved  to  abide  by  his  post  so  long  as 
Stein  remained  there.  The  intrigues  of  opposing  factions  render- 
ed the  condition  of  affairs,  if  possible,  yet  more  hopeless.  Mean- 
while the  enemy  was  approaching  Konigsberg.  The  royal  family 
went  forward  to  Memel,  followed  by  the  members  of  the  govern- 
ment and  the  treasury  chests.  Niebuhr  and  his  wife  arrived  in 
Memel  early  in  January,  1807,  after  a  journey  across  the  low 
grounds  on  the  shores  of  the  Baltic,  which,  at  that  season  of  the 
year,  was  not  only  fatiguing  but  dangerous. 

LXXXIV. 

TO  HIS  PARENTS. 

STBTTIIC,  20*&  October,  1808. 

I  hope,  my  dear  father  and  mother,  that  you  received  the  letter  safely, 
in  which  I  announced  to  you  our  arrival  hero  on  Monday.  That  will  hava 


148  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

quite  re-assured  you  as  to  our  personal  safety.  With  respect  to  our  future 
fate  you  must  not  be  uneasy.  We  have  no  anxiety  about  it.  For  this  I 
have,  in  these  serious  times,  to  thank  the  education  which  you,  dear  fa- 
ther, gave  me,  and  the  principles  to  which  I  have  ever  remained  true  in 
my  onward  course.  I  shall  always  be  able  to  find  and  to  earn  the  neces- 
saries of  life.  Should  all  those  brilliant  prospects  vanish,  as  now  seems 
likely  which  appeared  to  open  before  us  a  short  time  ago,  I  can  earn  a 
living  either  as  a  scholar  or  a  merchant ;  and  if  I  did  not  succeed  in  one 
country,  I  should  in  another.  A  shelter  and  daily  bread  will  never  be 
wanting  to  us,  and  I  entreat  you  to  be  convinced,  that  the  thought  that 
this  terrible  calamity  will  destroy  our  worldly  prospects,  which  indeed  were 
most  promising,  has  not  for  a  moment  mingled  with  our  bitter  grief  for 
the  fate  of  the  nation  and  of  Europe.  My  position  as  a  citizen  would  in 
happy  times  have  been  very  enviable.  I  should  have  been  able  to  suggest 
and  to  carry  out  many  ideas  under  the  leadership  of  a  most  eminent  min- 
ister ;  I  should  have  worked  with  pleasure  and  satisfaction,  and  at  the 
same  time  have  been  able  to  reckon  upon  all  the  advantages  and  honors 
which  render  public  life  agreeable.  That  is  now  most  likely  over  forever, 
but  all  this  will  not  grieve  me.  0  that  we  had  no  other  grief! 

We  stat-t  for  Dantzic  to-morrow.  As  the  French  have  entered  Berlin, 
and  will  probably  advance  hither  before  long,  we  can  not  put  off  our  jour- 
ney any  longer.  The  days  are  so  short  now,  that  we  can  not  even 
wait  the  arrival  of  the  Hamburgh  mail,  though  it  will  most  likely  bring 
a  letter  from  you.  Till  you  hear  again,  and  as  long  as  mails  run  with- 
out interruption,  direct  to  us  at  Dantzic,  under  care  to  Solly.  Gibson,  and 
Co. 

It  is  a  long  way  to  Dantzic,  and  the  season  is  far  advanced.  In  East 
Pcmerania  the  accommodations  and  even  the  provisions  will  be  wretched. 
To  me  that  is  of  no  consequence,  but  it  is  to  my  Amelia.  God  grant  only, 
that  her  health  may  hold  out,  and  that  we  may  reach  Dantz.ic  without 
an  accident. 

Whether  we  shall  reach  the  end  of  our  flight  in  Dantzic,  or  whether  we 
shall  still  have  to  pursue  it  toward  the  northeast,  time  will  show.  I  do 
not  want  to  think  about  it,  but  we  shall  bear  all  that  comes  with  calm- 
ness. Only  do  not  fear  that  we  shall  want  for  necessary  ready  money  ; 
we  are  well  provided  with  it. 

You  will,  I  suppose,  have  received  through  the  Hamburgh  journals,  tol- 
erably correct  accounts  of  the  dreadful  fate  of  our  army.  For  us,  a  light 
now  begins  to  shed  its  ray  over  the  frightful  chaos,  and  to  develop  a  pic- 
ture which  I  must  gradually  summon  courage  to  contemplate. 

We  have  been  received  here  in  a  very  friendly  manner,  and  may  reckon 
upon  a  similar  reception  in  Dantzic.  We  shall  meet  there  with  the  excel- 
lent Colonel  Von  Schack,  of  the  War  Office.  We  became  friends  at  once 
during  his  stay  here.  Such  a  time  quickly  brings  right-minded  people 
together. 

It  will  interest  you  to  hear  that  the  aged  General  Kollarbonner  is  still 
living  here.  I  bid  you  adieu,  my  dear  parents,  with  a  heavy  heart.  Prob- 
ably our  correspondence  will  be  much  interrupted  at  present,  and  it  were 
hard  to  say  whether  you  will  look  forward  to  letters  from  us,  or  we  from 
you,  with  the  greater  anxiety.  Be  easy  about  us.  Fare  you  well,  and 
spare  yourselves  to  us  by  avoiding  unnecessary  apprehensions.  Muy  our 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  149 

dear  mother  be  supported  under  her  sufferings.*  Farewell,  and  yet  once 
more  farewell,  my  dearest  parents,  my  darling  sister,  my  kind  aunt ! 
Amelia  begs  you  to  give  the  inclosed  to  her  sister  Frederike. 

LXXXV. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER, 

KOSIGSBERO,  28*A  November,  1806. 

Wo  did  not  receive  your  letter  of  the  13th  till  yesterday,  and  it  is  the 
only  one  which  has  come  to  hand ;  all  the  earlier  ones  which  you  mention 
are  to  us  as  yet  lost  treasures.  You  have  all  heard  something  of  us  from 
time  to  time ;  and  if  no  unforeseen  misfortune  has  occurred,  you  must 
have  had  a  continuous  account  of  our  adventures  through  the  loiters  wo 
have  sent  by  sea,  whenever  an  apparently  safe  opportunity  presented  itself. 
Our  fate  has  been  harder  in  this  respect;  for  five  long  weeks  we  had  no 
news  of  a  single  one  of  our  friends — and  this  has  rendered  our  gloomy 
hours  still  more  dreary. 

It  is  a  great  comfort  to  us  to  find  that  you  are  prudently  looking  forward 
to  the  measures  which  the  future  may  render  necessary.  If  we  were  still 
in  Copenhagen,  we  would  summon  you  to  us,  an  a  hen  calls  her  chickens 
under  her  wing*  on  the  approach  of  a  bird  of  prey — probably  our  protection 
would  be  just  as  ineffectual.  I  am  thinking  over  every  subject,  considering 

what  I  may,  and  may  not  say Do  not  be  uneasy ;  we  are  on  thv 

whole  in  good  health ;  mine  is  perhaps  more  constantly  good  than  usual : 
my  Milly  is  not  quite  well  to-day.  The  Xreather  here  resembles  that  of 
Copenhagen  at  this  season  of  the  year.  It  is  a  blessing  to  us  that  we  arc 
already  accustomed  to  this  climate,  the  rest  of  our  companions,  natives  of 
Berlin,  suffer  much  more  from  it,  and  are  almost  all  ill. 

I  work  daily  with  the  minister,  t  who  appears  to  me  in  all  respects' 
worthy  of  esteem.  He  is  a  man  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word  ;  and, 
as  a  minister,  all  that  I  could  wish. 

Many  government  officers  are  now  returning  to  Berlin,  some  by  command, 
others  by  their  own  desire ;  I  have  my  minister1!!  word  that  we  shall  not 
bo  separated,  that  we  shall  meet  every  shock  of  fortune  together. 

In  Stettin  and  Danteic,  I  had  but  very  little  to  do ;  here  I  am  pretty 
fully  occupied,  and  it  does  me  a  great  deal  of  good.  One  is  less  tormented 
with  sad  reflections,  and  does  not  feel  one's  self  useless. 

Any  further  journey  would  certainly  be  attended  with  great  hardships, 
but  hardships  are  no  longer  strange  to  us.  and  you  must  not  fear  them  for 
us ;  they  form  the  smallest  part  of  what  we  have  to  bear.  We  have  hero 
found  very  dear  friends  in  Nicolovius  and  his  wife,  whom  you  know.  Un- 
fortunately tb,ey  live  at  so  great  a  distance  from  us,  that  we  can  not  see 
them  very  often.  The  venerable  old  Scheffner  I  have  not  seen  even  once. 
Fichte  is  here  too.  At  the  house  of  the  merchants  Hay  and  Philippa  we 
also  find  interesting  society. 

Would  it  were  possible  to  hear  oftener  from  you !  Omit  every  thing  in 
your  letters  which  might  hinder  their  transmission.  No  misfortune  shall 
plunge  me  into  benumbing  inactivity ;  what  we  have  already  undergone 
strengthens  and  rouses  all  our  powers 

*  Niebuhr'i  mother  had  been  suffering  for  some  time  from  dropsy. 
t  Stein. 


150 

If  the  Countess  Werthern  [Stein's  sister]  is  in  your  neighborhood,  let  her 
know  that  her  brother  is  here  with  all  his  family,  and  is  well. 

LXXXVI. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

KONIGSBERG,  29th  December,  1806. 

The  French  have  not  advanced ;  on  the  contrary,  they  seem  to  have 
somewhat  retired.  It  is  inconceivable  what  uncertainty  exists  here  as  to 
the  actual  position  of  things.  The  delay  of  the  French  is  ascribed  partly 
to  sickness — particularly  dysentery — partly  to  the  scarcity  of  provisions. 
We  shall  therefore,  in  all  probability,  remain  quietly  here  till  after  the 
new  year. 

You  must  take  it  as  a  great  favor  that  Milly  is  writing  to  you,  for  her 
eyes  have  been  very  bad ;  she  can  not  write  without  great  pain  and  diffi- 
culty, and  is  often  obliged  to  lay  down  her  pen.  But  how  can  we  help 
writing  to  you  when  there  is  an  opportunity 

If  you  imagine  that  the  general  misfortunes,  and  the  approaching  dan- 
ger, have  produced  a  grave  and  solemn  tone  of  thought  here,  in  which  we 
should  find  entire  sympathy,  you  are  deceived.  All  amusements  go  on 
just  as  usual.  People  look  on  the  war  as  a  subject  of  conversation,  find 
fault  with  the  English,  and  lay  the  blame  of  all  the  misery  on  them ;  abuse 
those  who  took  part  in  bringing  about  the  declaration  of  war ;  abuse  the 
Russians,  who,  it  must  be  confessed,  behave  in  our  country  in  rather  an 
Asiatic  manner ;  comfort  themselves  with  saying  that  the  French  are  not 
so  bad,  &c.,  &c. 

And  not  one  of  us  may  cool  his  blood  by  speaking  out  his  whole  mind 
to  them  !  There  ia  an  everlasting  talk — mostly  without  the  slightest  com- 
prehension of  the  matter — about  abuses,  about  the  aristocracy,  the  Rus- 
sians, the  misunderstood  French,  and  the  great  Emperor,  about  ruinous 
measures,  and  so  forth.  Of  course  there  are  many,  very  many,  who  think 
otherwise ;  but  indignation  makes  one's  blood  boil  when  one  is  forced  to 
listen  to  such  things. 

Stein  was  on  the  point  of  following  the  royal  family  the  same 
night  in  their  flight  to  Memel,  though  ill  himself,  and  leaving  a 
child  dangerously  ill  with  typhus  fever,  when  the  machinations 
of  his  enemies  triumphed,  and  he  received  his  dismissal  in  an  au- 
tograph letter  from  the  King,  couched  in  very  ungracious  terms. 
Niebuhr  was  resolved  to  send  in  his  resignation  also.  The  fol- 
lowing letter  to  Stein,  on  receiving  the  news  of  his  dismissal,  shows 
Niebuhr' s  views  respecting  the  state  of  affairs,  and  is  character- 
istic of  both  men : 

LXXXVIL 

TO  BARON  VON  STEIN. 

MEMEL,  7th  January,  late  in  the  evening. 

Since  the  arrival  of  Count  von  Lindenow,  it  has  been  rumored  here  that 
your  Excellency  has  been  forced,  by  the  untiring  malice  and  inexhaustible 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  151 

wickedness  of  the  men  who  have  plunged  this  unhappy  country  into  ruin, 
to  send  in  your  resignation.  To  no  one  among  the  many  who  have  heard 
these  fresh  tidings  of  misfortune  with  consternation,  could  the  news  be  a 
severer  blow  than  to  me.  The  Count's  verbal  announcement  left  us,  how- 
ever, some  hope  that  our  anxiety  might  be  relieved,  and  that  your  Excel- 
lency might  yet  receive  the  satisfaction  due  to  you.  I  reckoned  on  the 
cowardice  and  half-measures  of  those  persons,  and  knew  that  your  Excel- 
lency would  never  be  weary  of  making  sacrifices  to  our  unhappy  country. 

These  hopes  have  now  been  quite  destroyed  by  your  letter,  and  I  find 
myself,  in  the  midst  of  this  desolation,  more  forsaken  and  solitary  than 
words  can  express.  I  thank  your  Excellency  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart, 
and  shall  ever  thank  you  for  the  precious  memorial  of  yourself  which  you 
have  given  me  in  your  letter.  Fate  may  probably  never  permit  me  to  see 
your  Excellency  again,  and  I  may  soon  find  it  almost  impossible  even  to 
write  to  you.  I  should,  therefore,  be  the  more  grieved  if  you  now  reproach 
yourself  with  haying  been  the  guiltless  cause  of  drawing  me  into  the  vortex 
of  destruction.  What  you  aimed  at  was  my  good  fortune  and  happiness, 
and  these  would  have  been  attained  beyond  my  expectations.  Permit  me 
to  say,  that  my  most  faithful  adherence  to  you  resulted  not  alone  from  ray 
deep  reverence  for  the  minister  who  completely  fulfilled  that  ideal  which 
had  never  before  been  realized  for  me :  it  sprang,  also,  from  the  conscious- 
ness that  my  connection  with  you  ennobled  and  strengthened  me ;  and 
what  better  blessing  could  I  have?  Even  if  a  kind  of  existence  be  re- 
stored to  this  State  at  some  future  period,  and  your  Excellency's  depart- 
ment fall  into  the  hands  of  such  men.  as  we  may  anticipate,  my  position, 
however  bearable  in  other  respects,  would  always  be  distasteful,  because 
precisely  the  opposite  would  take  place.  I  should  be  in  danger  of  sinking 
to  the  level  of  those  persons  instead  of  rising.  If,  after  the  conclusion  of 
*  miserable  peace,  your  Excellency  had  endeavored  to  bring  the  finances 
into  order,  I  should  have  remained,  however  much  the  official  salaries  might 
have  been  reduced ;  but  now  my  political  life  in  this  country  is  at  an  end, 
and  no  temptations  shall  seduce  me.  A  few  months  longer  I  must  of 
course  endure ;  but  then  I  shall  seek  a  new  destiny,  and  it  will  be  found. 
Never,  never,  shall  your  Excellency  despise  me,  as  a  man  whose  actions 
give  his  asseverations  the  appearance  of  frivolity  or  falsehood. 

I  am  very  sorry  that  it  was  impossible  to  write  out,  in  a  clear  form,  a 
plan  for  the  government  of  the  banks,  with  all  the  necessary  details,  of 
which  1  had  finished  the  first  sketch  hi  Konigsberg;  because  I  hoped  it 
would  have  met  with  your  Excellency's  approbation,  and,  in  happier  times, 
might  have  been  carried  out  with  great  advantage.  Not  that  such  times 
are  fled  forever.  What  grieves  me  is,  that  the  confidence  with  which  you 
honored  me  has  not  been  justified  by  any  production  of  mine  worth  men- 
tion. Will  your  Excellency  permit  me  still  to  send  yon  this  plan,  should  an 
opportunity  offer  ?  God  knows  that  the  thought  of  yon,  and  the  hope  that 
your  just  and  grave  judgment  might  pronounce  me  worthy,  have  been  my 
support  in  the  most  trying  situations ;  and  that  the  remembrance  of  your 
Excellency's  kindness  will  be  an  ample  compensation  -for  whatever  course 
events  may  take  for  me  personally,  in  the  present  complication  of  affairs. 

May  your  Excellency  forget,  under  the  kindly  sky  of  your  beautiful 
native  region,  the  pain  of  seeing  a  country,  once  so  dear  to  you,  led  to  the 
verge,  nay,  plunged  into  the  gulf  of  ruin,  and  the  vexation  of  beholding 


152  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

all  true  help  shamefully  cast  aside  !  May  your  gaze  be  turned  away  from 
the  fogs  of  this  degraded  age,  to  the  last  rays  of  the  departing  light  of  all 
goodness  and  greatness ;  and  may  you  leave  an  example  to  all  those  who 
find  comfort  and  strength  in  remembering  you ! 

Permit  my  wife,  though  unknown  to  your  Excellency,  to  join  her  most 
sincere  wishes  with  mine,  that  you  and  yours  may  meet  with  every  hap- 
piness  which  is  still  possible  in  these  days. 

Once  more,  and  with  deep  emotion,  I  commend  myself  to  your  Excel- 
lency's remembrance.  Yours  will  never  be  extinguished  in  my  heart. .  . 

With  the  deepest  respect,  I  am  ever 

Your  Excellency's  most  obedient,  NIEBUHR. 

Niebuhr  was  now  undecided  as  to  his  future  course.  He  had 
received  proposals  from  Denmark  immediately  after  the  battle  of 
Auerstadt,  and  subsequently  from  England  and  Russia.  His  heart 
inclined  him  toward  Denmark  ;  but  on  the  whole  he  was  disposed 
to  refuse  office  entirely  for  the  present,  and  thought  of  retiring 
into  some  obscure  place,  where,  with  the  assistance  of  a  little 
money  that  he  had  at  command,  he  meant  to  support  himself  by 
writing,  till  the  future  should  show  whether,  and  where,  there 
should  remain  a  spot  in  Europe,  not  subject  to  the  tyranny  of 
Napoleon  and  the  supremacy  of  France. 

During  his  stay  in  Memel,  however,  he  was  induced  by  the 
Prussian  goveniment  to  take  a  part  in  the  organization  of  the 
commissariat.  The  scarcity  in  the  armies,  as  well  as  in  the  whole 
hunger-stricken  province,  which  did  not  even  contain  corn  enough 
for  seed,  rendered  this  a  business  of  great  importance,  and  with- 
held Niebuhr  from  pressing  for  an  immediate  dismissal.  The 
Provincial  Chamber  of  Konigsberg  *  had  requested  the  mim'ster, 
Schrotter,  that  Niebuhr  might  be  consulted  on  this  subject,  and 
he  did  not  like  to  disappoint  the  reliance  placed  on.  his  services 
in  a  moment  of  such  extremity.  His  determination  to  remain  at 
his  post  for  the  present,  was  strengthened  in  a  short  time  by  the 
prospect  that  Count  Hardenberg,  and  perhaps  even  Baron  Von 
Stein,  might  return  to  office. 

During  his  stay  in  Konigsberg,  Niebuhr  formed  a  warm  friend- 
ship with  Nicolovius,  who  was  now  a  member  of  the  East  Prus- 
sian Consistory.  Indeed,  to  this  period  of  calamity  he  owed  many 
connections  that  were  valuable  to  him  in  after  years ;  among 
these  we  must  mention  more  particularly  his  friendship  with  Von 
Schoen — the  enlightened  and  zealous  coadjutor  of  S.tein  in  his 

At  this  period  the  financial  affairs  of  each  province  were  manasred  bv  its 
own  Chamber. 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  153 

vast  plans  for  the  fundamental  reform  of  the  Prussian  State — 
whose  integrity  and  patriotism  he  esteemed  as  highly  as  he  re- 
spected his  intellect  and  penetration.  Sir  Hartford  Jones,  the 
traveler  in  Persia,  interested  him  greatly  ;  and  for  Lord  Hutchin- 
son  he  had  personally  a  great  regard,  though,  in  some  instances, 
he  regretted  his  conduct  as  a  diplomatist.  In  the  course  of  this 
winter,  being  without  the  means  of  prosecuting  his  other  studies, 
he  assiduously  employed  his  leisure  moments  in  acquiring  the 
Russian  and  other  Slavonic  languages. 

In  April,  1807,. the  King  again  intrusted  Count  Hardenberg 
with  the  portfolio  of  foreign  affairs,  and,  a  li-w  days  after,  with 
that  of  the  interior  and  of  finance,  (the  latter  in  the  place  of 
Schrotter)  the  direction  of  the  bank  and  maritime  affairs,  of  the 
police,  the  post-office,  in  short,  of  every  thing  not  exclusively  mil- 
itary. The  immense  extent  of  the  business,  thus  devolving  upon 
Count  Hardenberg,  rendered  it  necessary  for  him  to  secure  the 
assistance  of  able  men.  He,  therefore,  in  May,  summoned  Alten- 
stein,  Schoen,  Niebuhr,  and  Stageman  to  the  head-quarters  at 
Bartenstein,  and  transferred  to  each  a  portion  of  the  public  busi- 
ness, subject  to  his  supervision.  The  financial  department  of  the 
commissariat  was  intrusted  to  Niebuhr,  and  it  was  therefore  nec- 
essary for  him  to  repair  to  head-quarters.  He  had  to  leave  ''is  wife 
behind  him  in  Memel,  ill  of  a  slow  fever,  brought  on  by  anxiety 
and  sorrow  at  the*  aspect  of  affairs,  as  much  as  by  the  hardships 
of  their  flight  in  the  winter,  and  the  wretched  lodgings  and  food 
that  they  were  obliged  to  put  up  with  in  the  devastated  province. 
She  only  partially  recovered  in  the  course  of  the  summer. 

Niebuhr  had  scarcely  arrived  at  Bartenstein,  when  his  health 
too  sank  under  the  continued  pressure.  He  was  attacked  with 
typhus  fever,  and  remained  for  some  time  in  great  danger.  His 
illness  was  prolonged  by  the  want  of  all  attention,  and  the  anxi- 
ety and  depression  which,  in  his  utter  solitude,  he  had  no  means 
of  throwing  off*.  The  letters  to  his  wife  written  at  this  time,  bear 
the  stamp  of  his  mental  dejection,  and  contain  many  passages  in 
which  he  expresses  his  hopelessness  with  regard  to  the  results  of 
the  war  and  the  situation  of  the  country ;  still  his  language  by 
no  means  equals  the  intensity  of  his  feelings  at  that  time,  because 
he  wished  to  spare  her  as  much  as  possible  in  her  weak  state. 
After  remaining  here  and  in  Konigsberg  for  some  weeks,  the  seat 
of  government  was  transferred  to  Tilsit. 

c* 


154  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTJHR. 

New  calamities  soon  drove  the  King  and  his  ministers  farther 
northward.  On  the  14th  of  May,  came  the  battle  of  Friedland  ; 
on  the  18th,  the  Russian  army  arrived  at  Tilsit ;  on  the  19th,  it 
crossed  the  Memel ;  on  the  22d,  an  armistice  for  a  month  was 
concluded.  On  the  17th  of  June,  the  news  reached  Memel,  that 
the  French  had  entered  Konigsberg,  and  that  the  Russian  army 
had  taken  up  its  position  on  the  other  side  of  the  Memel.  Every 
one  now  hastened  to  pack  up  his  effects  and  papers  ;  the  cash  be- 
longing to  the  government  was  sent  to  Riga,  and  the  whole  ma- 
chinery of  the  State  was  dissolved.  The  officials  were  left  free  to 
remain  or  to  embark,  since  the  greater  number  of  them  could  no 
longer  render  any  service  after  the  frontier  was  crossed.  Many 
went  by  sea  to  Copenhagen. 

Under  these  circumstances,  Niebuhr  saw  no  further  possibility 
of  usefulness.  He  therefore  decided  to  go  to  Copenhagen,  and 
there  await  the  decision  of  the  fate  of  Prussia,  before  entering  the 
service  of  any  other  State.  He  went  to  Count  Hardenberg  to  ask 
for  his  dismissal,  but  the  Count  besought  him  so  earnestly,  even 
with  tears,  not  to  forsake  him  and  the  King,  but  to  hold  out  to 
the  last,  that  he  consented  to  retain  his  post.  He  now  left  Riga 
with  his  wife,  accompanied  by  the  rest  of  the  officers  connected 
with  the  exchequer.  They  set  out  on  the  10th  of  June  ;  by  the 
time  that  they  reached  Mitau  they  heard  that  a  further  armistice 
had  been  concluded,  and  on  their  arrival  at  Riga,  that  the  arti- 
cles of  peace  were  being  drawn  up  as  quickly  as  possible. 

On  the  1 2th  of  July,  the  tidings  reached  Riga  that  peace  was 
concluded.  They  were  evil  tidings,  for  they  displayed,  as  a  rec- 
ognized fact,  what  all  had  hitherto  refused  to  acknowledge  to 
themselves — that  for  the  present  a  successful  resistance  was  out 
of  the  question. 

The  conditions  of  the  peace,  and  especially  Napoleon's  refusal 
to  enter  into  any  negotiations  at  all  till  Hardenberg  was  removed, 
showed  clearly  in  what  a  state  of  dependence  he  intended  to  keep 
Prussia.*  To  Niebuhr  this  attitude  of  subjection  to  France  was 
so  painful,  and  the  state  of  the  country  appeared  so  hopeless,  that 
he  again  sent  a  request  for  his  dismissal  to  one  of  his  colleagues, 
for  him  to  transmit  to  the  King.  He  was  aware  that  upon  the 
suggestion  of  Napoleon,  and  the  recommendation  of  Hardenberg, 

*  Napoleon  declared  he  would  rather  carry  on  the  war  for  forty  years  than 
treat  with  Hardenberg,  on  which  Hardenberg  instantly  sent  in  his  resignation. 


THE  PEUSS1AN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  155 

the  King  had  written  to  Stein  requesting  him  to  resume  office, 
but  he  did  not  anticipate  that  Stein  would  consent,  in  the  face  of 
the  overwhelming  difficulties,  which  would  again  beset  him  from 
unworthy  intrigues,  as  well  as  the  nearly  desperate  situation  of 
the  country.  With  his  friend  he  would  have  been  willing  to  work 
in  spite  of  all  difficulties  and  annoyances.*  Meanwhile  a  Pro- 
visional Commission,  consisting  of  Yon  Altenstein,  Yon  Schoen, 
Yon  Klewitz,  Stageman  (then  Niebuhr's  colleague  at  the  bank), 
and  Niebuhr,  had  been  named  to  discharge  Hardenberg's  duties, 
until  a  regular  administration  should  be  formed.  On  hearing 
this,  Niebuhr's  friend  t  kept  his  letter  back  until  he  should  obtain 
his  decision  with  regard  to  this  fresh  appointment.  His  resolve 
was  not  affected  by  it.  It  appeared  to  him  impossible  that  he 
could  do  any  good  in  a  commission  where  there  was  to  be  no 
head,  but  all  the  members  were  to  have  equal  power ;  and  that 
his  belonging  to  it  could  only  result  in  injury  to  his  health — already 
much  shattered — without  answering  any  useful  end.  Ho  had  a 
high  personal  regard  for  the  men  who  were  named  as  his  col- 
leagues, but  he  knew  also  that  upon  many  points  they  differed  decid- 
edly in  their  views  of  administration,  so  that  their  meetings  would 
be  liable  to  degenerate  into  mere  debating  clubs.  The  immediate 
object  of  their  deliberations  was  the  restoration  of  th«  country 
from  the  ravages  occasioned  by  the  war.  For  this  end  projects 
were  to  be  at  once  submitted  to  them,  including  the  abolition  of 
serfdom  ;  advances  for  the  rebuilding  of  farms  destroyed,  and  for 
the  purchase  of  live  stock :  and  the  removal  of  restrictions  upon 
trade  and  the  transfer  of  landed  property.  Schoen  and  Schrotter 
were  disciples  of  Adam  Smith,  and  considered  that  their  problem 
was  the  production  of  the  greatest  amount  of  wealth  upon  a  given 
surface  of  land.  The  hitherto  existing  rights  and  privileges  of 
the  various  classes,  appeared  to  them  hindrances  to  the  free  de- 
velopment of  the  resources  of  the  country.  They  held  it  indiffer- 
ent whether  the  present  feebler  proprietors  remained  or  not,  if 
their  place  was  supplied  by  wealthier  ones,  and  thus  the  greatest 
possible  amount  of  profit  secured.  Stageman  and' Niebuhr  saw 
the  dangers  of  this  course,  if  carried  out  with  a  rigid  adherence 
to  theory — the  likelihood  of  obtaining  a  class  of  proprietors  who 
would  have  no  moral  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  country,  and 
the  importance  of  a  numerous  class  of  small  landholders — and 

*  See  Letter  xcr.  t  Moat  probably  Stageman. 


156  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

considered  the  promotion  of  the  welfare  of  the  actually  exist- 
ing occupants  of  the  soil,  as  the  true  problem  of  the  statesman. 
Conscious  of  these  essential  differences  in  the  views  of  those  with 
whom  he  was  called  to  act,  Niebuhr  still  begged  his  colleague 
to  send  in  his  letter  of  resignation  to  the  King,  who  was  then  at 
Tilsit.  He  received  a  very  gracious  reply,  in  which  the  King 
expressed  his  regret  at  the  state  of  his  health,  but  testified  his  un- 
willingness to  part  with  the  services  of  a  man  like  Niebuhr  at  the 
present  crisis,  and  therefore  requested  that  he  would,  at  least  for  a 
time,  devote  himself  to  the  service  of  the  State,  and  to  that  end 
repair  to  Memel  as  soon  as  possible.  It  was  not  in  Niebuhr 's  na- 
ture to  oppose  a  second  letter  of  resignation  to  such  an  expression 
of  confidence  on  the  part  of  the  King ;  he  therefore  decided  on 
accepting  the  appointment,  and  making  the  attempt,  though  he 
foresaw  that  multiplied  annoyances  and  Herculean  labors  awaited 
him.  He  left  Riga  after  a  two  months'  residence,  and  came  with 
his  wife  to  Memel. 

In  Riga  he  had  become  well  acquainted  with  the  eminent 
mercantile  houses  of  Klein,  and  Mitchell.  M.  Klein  was  so  much 
struck  with  him  personally,  and  thought  so  highly  of  his  views  of 
commerce,  that  he  offered  Niebuhr  an  equal  share  in  his  business, 
in  return  for  which  Niebuhr  was  to  be  simply  employed  in  forming 
speculations.  This  highly  advantageous  offer  did  not,  however, 
attract  him,  though  it  touched  him  deeply  as  a  proof  of  friend- 
ship. 

About  this  time  he  received  intelligence  of  the  bombardment 
of  Copenhagen  by  the  English,  and  the  capture  of  the  Danish 
fleet.  He  felt  the  calamities  of  Denmark  most  keenly,  and  much 
as  he  was  an  enemy  to  France,  he  could  never  forgive  the  En- 
glish for  this  proceeding.  When  Denmark  was  afterward  induced 
by  it  to  form  an  alliance  with  France,  this  was  always  a  sore 
point  which  he  could  not  bear  to  touch. 

Not  long  after  his  arrival  in  Memel,  he  received  the  assurance  of 
Stein's  entrance  into  the  ministry,  which  was  only  delayed  by  illness. 

LXXXVIII. 

TO  BARON  VON  STEIN. 

MEMEL,  IQth  January,  1807. 

I  had  the  honor  of  writing  to  your  Excellency  three  days  ago,  when  I 
was  stunned  by  the  pain  of  knowing  the  certainty  of  your  resignation. 
Allow  me  to-day  to  inclose  these  lines  to  your  Excellency  in  a  letter  to  a 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  157 

most  trustworthy  friend;  I  write  for  my  own  take  alone,  for  there  is  little 
here  worth  writing  about;   the  most  part  of  the  stories  now  afloat  .are  too 
much  beneath  your  attention.     M.  Von  Altenstein  has  now  told  me  every 
thing,  and  Baron  Von  Hardenberg  baa  communicated  to  me  for  perusal  a 
copy  of  the  monstrous,  incomprehensible  letter  which  decided  your  resolu- 
tion.    It  belongs  to  history  !     Nothing  short  of  such  a  degree  of  blindness 
......  renders  comprehensible  the  progress  of  disunion  which  has  brought 

this  country  to  ruin. 

Lord  Hutchinson  is  deeply  grieved  by  this  occurrence.  He  requests  to  be 
most  warmly  remembered  to  your  Excellency.  You  alone  have  inspired  him 
with  unbounded  confidence;  he  reveres  you,  and  proclaims  it  now  more 
loudly  than  ever.  The  unpleasant  occurrence  with  regard  to  young  Walpole 
(who  has  been  arrested  at  Goldap  for  traveling  without  Prussian  passports 
which  M.  Von  Zastrow  had  declined  to  give  him  as  -superfluous)  has  in- 
creased the  unpleasant  state  of  feeling  between  him  and  M.  Von  Zastrow. 
This  does  not  surprise  me,  but  it  grieves  me  that,  even  with  Baron  Von 
Hardenberg,  he  does  not  feel  able  to  speak  so  openly,  so  from  heart  to 
heart,  as  with  your  Excellency.  He  finds  him  too  mild,  too  hesitating. 
Forgive  me  if  it  is  an  indiscretion  to 'repeat  such  expressions. 

The  King's  speech  to  the  Parliament  promises  indefatigable  efforts. 
Lord  H.  sees  no  end  to  the  war ;  it  must  last  for  years.  He  hopes  the 
Russians  will  improve  rapidly  under  the  training  of  circumstances ;  his 
opinion  of  them  is  much  raised,  chiefly,  I  believe,  by  the  views  of  Colonel 
Sontag,  who  h*aa  now  returned.  But  he  still  fears  a  general  engagement. 
Your  Excellency  is  probably  aware  that  four  English  ships  of  the  line  are 
in  the  Baltic,  and  that  a  number  of  frigates  are  to  come  in  the  spring. ...... 

As  soon  as  the  sea  becomes  less  dangerous — two  vessels  are  lying  on  the 
strand  at  this  moment,-  and  portions  of  the  wrecks  of  two  others — I  shall 
request  my  dismissal,  and  embark  on  the  first  armed  English  ship,  which 
touches  at  any  point  sufficiently  near  this  place,  or  the  place  where  we 
may  be  then.  Should  the  stream  of  emigration  carry  us  to  Russia  we 
may  probably  remain  there.  It  seems  as  if  that  empire  would  not  be  so 
easily  overpowered,  and  in  the  service  of  that  State  one  might  perchance 
be  placed,  not  on  the  frightful  ice  plains  of  the  Neva,  but  on  classic  soil 
beside  the  glorious  Bosphorus  and  Hellespont. 

It  is  now,  I  think,  clearly  proved  that  a  system  of  compromise,  and  a 
coalition,  would  have  led  to  nothing.  For  the  cunning  and  intrigues,  which 
would  have  insured  that  such  -a  coalition  should  be  destroyed  at  last  with 
advantage  to  one  party,  were  as  easy  to  your  enemies  as  they  were  beneath 

your  Excellency  and  your  friends 

With  deep  and  cordial  respects,  I  am  ever 

Your  Excellency's  most  obedient, 

NIEBUHR. 
*,  • 

LXXXIX. 

MEMEL.  Wth  March,  1807. 

Doubt  not,  your  Excellency,  that  the  K.  A.  [Emperor  Alexander]  is  most 
desirous  to  have  you  near  him ;  that  he  is  worthy  to  have  you  in  his  serv- 
ice you  know.  Hitherto  I  have  declined  all  proposals  to  myself  from  that 
quarter.  If  your  Excellency  does  not  go  thither,  I  shudder  to  think  of  the 
future.  Here  I  shall  certainly  soon  draw  my  head  out  of  the  net,  and  then 


158  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

await  the  course  of  events.  For  the  present,  I  am  detained  by  the  pressing 
wants  of  the  country,  in  the  relief  of  which  I  think  I  am  of  use,  though  the 
mode  in  which  all  business  is  carried  on  is  enough  to  drive  one  mad.  The 
probability  of  some  alteration  in  the  ministry  changes  daily — a  sufficient 
proof  that  nothing  is  to  be  expected  !  Meanwhile,  M.  Von  Hardenberg  will 
not  allow  me  to  leave  till  all  is  decided ;  this,  combined,  as  I  have  said, 
with  the  hope  of  saving  the  country  ten  to  twenty  per  cent,  in  the  purchase 
of  corn,  and  of  thus  alleviating  the  famine,  is  what  keeps  me  here  in  spite 
of  my  longing  to  get  away. 

xc. 

TO  HIS  WIFE. 

BARTENSTEIN,  5th  May,  1807. 

A  few  lines,  which  our  friend  Deetz  undertook  to  have  safely  forwarded, 
announced  to  you  yesterday  our  arrival  in  this  little  city,  formerly  a  capital. 
Since  your  letter  of  Monday  I  have  no  immediate  news  of  you,  though  I 
have  heard  of  you  through  Oesterreich  and  Woltersdorf.  I  find  that  your 
fever  has  not  yet  left  you.  I  hope  it  may  ere  long.  To  me  too  it  would 
be  an  inexpressible  comfort  to  be  with  you  again 

Every  thing  is  quiet,  and  Heaven  only  knows  how  matters  actually 
stand,  and  when  action  will  recommence.  You  will,  however,  understand, 
that  I  can  not  write  to  you  about  this.  We  have  no  pleasure  in  our 
residence  here.  Our  journey  from  Konigsberg  was  deeply  interesting,  but 
the  most  mournful  I  ever  made  in  my  life. 

Even  in  the  neighborhood  of  Konigsberg  we  saw  single  ruined  houses ; 
in  the  villages  the  majority  are  uninhabited  ;  no  cattle  are  to  be  seen  in 
the  fields ;  here  and  there — but  very  rarely — you  may  meet  with  a  small 
flock  of  sheep,  or  a  few  pigs ;  in  the  villages  scarcely  a  creature  appears ; 
the  few  whom  you  do  see  look  anxious  and  miserable.  At  Eylau  the  de- 
vastation has  been  carried  up  to  the  very  gates  of  the  town.  The  principal 
street  does  not  look  so  bad  as  it  did. 

No  one  could  give  us  much  account  of  what  had  happened,  and  all  seem- 
ed unwilling  to  speak  of  it ;  we  found,  however,  guides  to  the  field  of  battle, 
who  explained  it  to  us.  I  could  not  bring  away  any  relics  for  you — we 
found  nothing  on  the  field  but  rags  of  uniforms. 

You  can.  hardly  form  any  idea  of  the  dearness  and  distress  here.  Memel 
is  comparatively  a  cheap  place,  in  the  enjoyment  of  abundance.  At  Lord 
Hutchinson's  I  have  seen  Prince  Czartorinsky,  and  at  Hardenberg' s  have 
made  acquaintance  with  General  Pfuel.  I  did  not  see  Riicheln  in  Konigs- 
berg. I  must  make  haste  or  I  shall  lose  this  courier.  Altenstein  and  I 
have  both  caught  colds,  but  are  otherwise  well. 

May  God  watch  over  you  !  I  long  to  hear  again  from  you.  My  thoughts 
are  often  with  you,  notwithstanding  my  restless  life. 

XCI. 

BARTENSTEIN,  lO^A.  May,  1807. 

As  M.  Von  Schoen  is  returning  to  Konigsberg  for  a  few  days,  I  have  a 
safe  opportunity  of  sending  you  a  few  confidential  lines. 

All  that  we  see  and  hear  in  this  place  is  most  depressing.  There  is 
discord  among  the  generals,  and  the  Emperor  seems  to  withdraw  his  pro- 
tection from  Bennigsen.  It  has  become  the  fashion  to  depreciate  him,  and 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  159 

if  all  treat  him  so,  it  would  be  no  wonder  if  he  were  to  lose  confidence  in 
himself.  But  when  he  is  accused  of  intentional  misconduct,  an  inward 
voice  in  me  pronounces  him  innocent.  . 

It  is  believed  here  that  Dautzic  is  lost.  God  help  us  if  it  be  so  !  But 
little  progress  is  made  in  our  affairs,  and  I  am  convinced  I  could  direct  them 
as  well  elsewhere  as  here.  I  think  it  is  possible  I  may  return  to  Konigs- 
berg  fur  a  few  days  on  a  mission  from  Russia. 

It  comforts  me  to  know  that  you  strive  to  preserve  your  tranquillity. 
Tour  dear  letters  of  the  5th  and  7th  arrived  yesterday.  Even  if  we  must 
renounce  all  consolatory  anticipations  of  a  brighter  future  for  our  country, 
let  us  not  yield  to  despair — not  even  if  gloomy  cares  and  sorrow  must 
accompany  us  through  life.  Forgive  me  for  not  writing  more  to  you  now. 
Every  precaution  has  been  taken  to  insure  our  safety  in  case  of  a  defeat 
So  much  for  your  relief.  Farewell. 

*     •     A      '  <v        •    •       •  %  •••*.-• 

xcn. 

B  ARTF.NSTKIN,  11/A  May,  1807. 

Schoen  took  with  him  yesterday  a  letter  to  you,  which  will  have 

a  bad  effect  on  you,  from  the  gloomy  prospects  it  contains.  Others  had 
already  told  me  that  they  felt  less  courage  at  head-quarters  than  any- 
where else.  I  thought  it  was  their  own  fault.  But  hardly  had  we  arrived 
here  when  we  were  overwhelmed  by  a  flood  of  depressing  innuendoes  and 
diatribes — most  depressing  because  it  IB  clear  that  a  system  of  minute 
attention  to  details  in  strategy  has  gained  the  upper  hand,  and  the  old 
Russian  method  of  war,  whose  object  is  to  bend  or  break,  is  cramped,  and 
not  allowed  fair  play. 

I  still  can  not  be  made  to  believe  myself  mistaken  in  regard  to  General 
Bennigsen.  I  know  too  well,  from  former  experience,  how  often  really  clever 
people  are  misled  by  theories  to  bestow  undeserved  blame,  and  maintain 
unwarranted  assertions,  because  they  overlook  the  peculiarities  of  the  indi- 
vidual case,  and,  instead  of  actual  experience,  which  gives  courage  and 
consolation  to  the  man  whom  they  blame,  have  no  recollection  of  the  case 
resembling  reality.  But  I  can  far  less  understand  how  it  is  that,  a  short 
time  ago,  thanks  and  tokens  of  confidence  were  heaped  upon  him,  and  yet 
he  is  now  spoken  of  as  a  man  of  mediocre,  talents.  •  It  to  said  that  the 
Emperor  and  King  are  going-to-morrow  to  Heilsberg ;  probably  it  is  a  recon- 
noitring expedition I  feel  myself  excessively  fettered  in  writing  to 

you  ;  from  Konigaberg  I  shall  be  able  to  write  more  openly. 

XCIII. 

KONIGSBKRG,  20/A  May,  1807. 

Notwithstanding  the  distance  which  still  separates  us,  and  although  I 
can  not  by  any  means  consider  myself  as  on  my  way  back  to  you,  yet  the 
knowledge  that  I  am  writing  to  you  from  no  greater  distance  than  thirty- 
eight  miles,  and  that  my  further  movements  can  only  bring  me  nearer  to 
you,  make  my  heart  much  lighter  than  it  was  in  Bartenstein.  I  arrived 
here  this  morning,  and  am  staying  with  Philipps.  I  have  come  here  alone, 
charged  with  a  mission  ;  if  possible  to  arrange  an  affair  of  great  import- 
ance with  Hutchinaou,  who  will  probably  start  to-morrow,  by  way  of  Pillau, 
for  StralsunJ.  I  have,  however,  little  hope  of  success,  for  he  has  not  acted 
in  this  matter  as  we  had  a  right  to  expect  from  him. 


160  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

I  was  called  away  here  to  go  to  him,  and  now  I  can  have  the  delight  of 
tolling  you  that  I  have. completely  succeeded  in  my  object,  and  have  over- 
come all  his  difficulties  and  objections,  by  clearness  and  decision,  so  that 
now  my  journey,  our  separation,  my  illness,  will  not  have  been  altogether 
in  vain,  for  he  has  distinctly  assured  me  that  he  would  not  have  placed  the 
same  confidence  in  any*  other  member  of  the  Prussian  government — not  that 
any  great  confidence  was  required  in  this  case,  but  his  views  are  very  sin- 
gular. I  have  had  a  very  disagreeable  journey  from  Bartenstein  here.  I 
was  obliged  to  travel  all  night ;  it  has  not,  however,  done  me  any  harm, 
and  a  good  meal  has  done  me  a  great  deal  of  good,  which  deserves  mention 
after  the  bad  food  we  had  for  so  long  in  Bartenstein.  This  bad  food,  and 
the  other  depressing  circumstances  wh;ch  surrounded  me  then,  have  had  an 
injurious  eifect  upon  my  health.  I  was  obliged,  by  Hardenberg's  desire,  to 
bring  with  me  a  major  in  the  army,  Count  Chasot,  who  is  going  to  Stral- 
sund,  and  who  was  not  at  all  an  unpleasant  companion.  Nicolovius  has 
given  me  a  letter  from  Lene  to  you,  which  has  been  five  months  on  the 
road ;  it  will  give  you  great  pleasure,  particularly  the  lines  from  our  little 
Tiny.  I  have  received  your  letters  of  the  17th  and  18th.  To-morrow 
Hardenberg  is  expected  here,  and  as  the  King  intends  going  to  Memel  in  a 
few  days,  and  Hardenberg  certainly  will  not  allow  him  to  go  alone,  it  may 
be  considered  a.s  decided  that  we  shall  soon  return.  Greet  the  Krudeners 
warmly  from  me.  I  have  but  too  much  to  say  to  him. 

XCIV. 

KONIGSBKKG,  25/A  May,  1807. 

A  bad  swelled  face  detains  me  from  the  Council,  and  affords  me  a  quiet 
evening  alone  in  my  own  room — the  first  I  have  had  for  a  long  time ;  and 
I  mean  to  spend  it  partly  in  writing  to  you,  partly  in  getting  rid  of  some  of 
my  work.  I  am  engaged  in  correspondence  both  with  General  Bennig.sen 
and  Geheimrath  von  Popoff,  which  under  other  circumstances  would  be 
agreeable,  but  as  things  now  stand  is  simply  laborious.  Then  I  have  also 
to  make  out  a  plan  of  finance  for  General  Budberg.*  How  easy,  how  inter- 
esting, under  other  circumstances — how  fruitless,  how  discouraging  in  times 
like  the  present ! 

Here  I  am  in  much  better  health.  In  Bartenstein  I  was  really  extremely 
unwell,  and  the  scarcity  of  necessaries  was  so  great,  that  at  last  1  could 
not  even  obtain  oatmeal  porridge.  With  the  best  wishes,  Altenstein  could 
do  very  little  for  me.  He  was  constantly  interrupted  during  the  day,  and 
had  to  sit  up  whole  nights,  to  work.  Schoen  was  quite  absorbed  in  business. 

The  money  matters  which  I  have  undertaken  for  M.  von  Popoff  bring  me 
into  connection  with  several  Russian  officers.  The  Russians  appear  to  have 
confidence  in  me,  and  if  I  alone  had  to  do  with  them,  I  believe  that  a  good 
deal  might  be  brought  to  pass.  But  this  can  not  be  ;  for,  on  the  one  hand, 
it  would  oblige  me  to  remain  at  head-quarters,  and  on  the  other,  I  should 
not  be  after  all  in  my  proper  place.  For  I  may  freely  confess  to  myself, 
that  to  occupy  any  subordinate  position,  in  which  I  had  not  a  consciousnesa 
of  the  real  superiority  of  my  official  head,  such  as  I  had  toward  Stein, 
would  be  to  leave  the  only  post  in  which  I  can  labor  with  success.  The 
various  spheres  of  action  resemble  the  different  regions  of  the  atmosphere, 
which  suit  differently  organized  classes  of  men.  Some  are  most  comfort- 
*  Tho  Russian  General. 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  161 

able  in  low  countries ;  others  in  the  ordinary  middle  atmosphere ;  others 
can  only  exist  in  the  pure  mountain  air.  I  belong  to  the  last  class — to 
those  who  must  have  freedom  for  the  soul  and  intellect,  and  for  this  very 
reason  I  ought  not  to  have  entered  into  the  restraints  of  official  life.  I  am 
often  seized  with  regret  when  I  think  of  my  beautiful  researches  into  history 
— my  happy  meditations  on  dark  periods — my  power  of  bringing  them  viv- 
idly before  my  mind's  eye — my  life  in  antiquity.  Where  is  all  this  gone  ? 
Shall  I  ever  renew  it  ?  Shall  I  ever  be  able  to  restore  it  to  fresh  life  ? 

The  26th. — I  was  interrupted  yesterday ;  I  was  about  to  write  out  for 
you  a  passage  of  Cicero,  where  he  says,  "My  life  fell  in  the  time  of  a  great 
war,  distinguished  on  one  side  by  enormous  crime,  on  the  other  by  great 
calamity." 

To-day,  there  is  some  talk  of  advancing  the  troops,  in  order,  at  least, 
to  save  Graudenz,  as  it  is  impossible  to  deceive  one's  self  any  longer  about 
Dantzic.  The  English  ships  are  returning  to  the  roads,  and  Kamenskoy's 
artillery  is  embarked.  If  the  fortress  had  been  well  provided  with  am- 
munition, it  might  long  have  held  out  against  a  siege  conducted  in  no  irreg- 
ular a  manner.  Much  remains  incomprehensible  to  me.  Even  if  our  re- 
inforcements arrive,  disease  will  carry  many  off :  want  and  bad  food  exhaust 
the  strength  both  of  the  men  and  horses.  Our  calculations  as  to-  the 
strength  of  the  Russian  army  are  quite  delusive ;  of  this  I  am  unanswer- 
ably convinced.  Bennigsen  has  completely  lost  the  confidence  of  the 
Emperor,  yet  the  latter  does  not  interfere  with  him.  If  Bennigsen  is 
what  the  Emperor  and  his  confidential  servants  hold  him  to  be,  he  could 
not  be  too  quickly  removed.  In  the  whole  chaos  of  opinions  concerning 
him,  this  much  seems  to  me  to  be  clear,  that  he  is  unwilling  to  expose  his 
laurels  to  any  new  risk.  Whether  he  deserves  these  laurels,  or  owes  them 
— after  the  lion  courage  of  his  soldiers — to  accident  and  good  fortune,  is  a 
question  on  which  no  light  can  fa  thrown,  and  shows  only  too  clearly,  by 
the  uncertainty  in  which  eye-witnesses  are  left,  how  little  history  is  able 
to  represent  with  strict  accuracy. 

You  may  reckon  with  undiminished  confidence  on  the  courage  of  the 
Russians,  but  I  can  not  be  blind  to  other  things.  However,  I  must  not 
speak  of  this  in  letters.  The  departure  for  Tilsit,  it  is  now  said,  will  not 
take  place  before  the  end  of  the  week. 

Since  beginning  this,  a  considerable  amount  of  provisions  has  arrived, 
of  which  I  may  take  the  chief  merit  to  myself. 

xcv. 

TO  STEIN. 


......  At  Bartenstein  I  was  so  ill  with  the  fever  which  I  have  men- 
tioned (which  want  and  distress,  combined  with  the  unhealthy  weather, 
had  rendered  epidemic,  so  that  the  soldiers  and  inhabitants  were  attacked 
by  it  in  great  numbers),  that  I  was  obliged  to  let  all  the  frequently-occur- 
ring opportunities  of  forming  interesting  acquaintances  pass  unused  ;  and 
in  Konigsberg  wo  were  alone,  otherwise  I  should  have  taken  some  prepar- 
atory steps  even  before  the  arrival  of  your  Excellency's  answer,  though 
it  would  have  been  indiscreet  and  presumptuous  to  have  treated  of  that 


162  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

in  your  name.  And  thus  I  hope  to  be  justified  before  your  severe  judg- 
ment. M.  Von  Hardenberg  sent  me  word,  and  confirmed  the  announce- 
ment himself  when  we  met,  that  he  had  undertaken  the  premiership,  as 
far  as  internal  affairs  are  concerned,  only  until  the  King  should  send  your 
Excellency  such  an  invitation  to  resume  the  ministry  of  the  interior  as 
would  give  you  full  satisfaction,  and  you  should  make  the  sacrifice  to  the 
country  of  returning  in  spite  of  all  that  has  occurred.  I  believe  that  he 
said  the  same  thing  to  the  Emperor,  and  that  the  latter  then  firmly  hoped 
for  your  speedy  return  as  a  benefit  to  Prussia,  in  which  country  he  then 
took  so  much  interest,  and  would  have  considered  it  his  duty  to  do  all  in 
his  power  to  bring  it  to  pass.  At  that  period,  however,  M.  Von  H.,  who 
I  think  wished  to  excite  a  desire  in  the  King's  mind  to  have  your  Excel- 
lency once  more  in  his  service  before  making  any  proposition  to  him,  seem.s 
not  to  have  made  sufficient  progress  in  this  design.  To  me  this  prospect 
was  my  only  consolation,  but  on  this  point  I  could  speak  better  than  write. 
The  King  has  now  transmitted  a  request,  and,  without  doubt,  a  very 
sincere  one,  to  your  Excellency,  to  return  to  him  and  to  the  country  in 
this  pressing  emergency,  in  which  none  but  an  extraordinary  man  can 
bring  help,  and  M.  Von  Hardenberg  has  united  his  earnest  entreaties  to 
those  of  our  sovereign.  We  await  with  eager  anxiety  the  announcement 
of  your  decision  ;  to  yourself,  to  the  country,  a  most  momentous  one. 
Some  believe  and  hope  that  your  Excellency  will  accept  office,  and  appeal 
to  your  conscience  as  being  the  only  man  to  whom  we  can  look.  Others 
doubt ;  and  I,  for  my  own  part,  can  fully  enter  into  the  doubts  which  will 
hold  you  back.  You  will  not  shrink  from  the  task  of  rescuing  from  an- 
nihilation a  country  so  utterly  ruined,  and  restoring  its  internal  energies, 
mournful  as  is  the  aspect  it  presents,  gigantic  the  enterprise,  and  dark  as 
is  the  future  and  our  outward  fortune.  But  you  will  shrink  from  it,  when 
you  think  of  the  lasting  hindrance  to  all  comprehensive  undertakings  aris- 
ing from  the  mediocrity  and  baseness,  that  can  scarcely  even  now  be  dis- 
lodged from  their  present  possession  of  power — and  the  vanity  of  the  idea 
that  a  better  day  must  follow  the  night  of  incapacity  and  little-mindedness, 
which  will  fill  you  with  a  sentiment  of  disgust  beforehand.  The  Titans 
piled  mountains  upon  mountains,  and  rejoiced  in  their  might,  but  the  stone 
of  Sisyphus  was  a  hellish  torment.  Having  a  presentiment  that  your  Ex- 
cellency would  believe  your  efforts  unavailing,  and  hence  refuse  to  take 
office,  I  yielded  to  my  desire  to  retire  from  public  life  altogether,  intending 
to  return  in  the  first  instance  to  my  native  country,  collect  my  property 
together,  though  that  is  as  yet  but  very  small,  and  live  somewhere  quiet- 
ly as  a  private  man  ;  unless  your  Excellency  should  one  day  summon  me 
to  engage  in  public  business,  or,  contrary  to  my  hopes,  I  should  find  it 
necessary  as  a  means  of  support.  I  have  not  yet  received  an  answer  to 
my  request.  I  fear  that  it  will  be  delayed  under  the  vague  idea  that  I 
may  be  made  useful  in  some  way.  At  all  events,  I  hope  to  receive  a 
furlough,  and  before  long  it  will  be  decided  whether  your  Excellency  accept 
office  or  not.  In  the.  latter  case,  I  shall  insist  on  my  dismissal,  being 
quite  decided  neither  to  take  part  in  an  ill-organized,  many-headed  ad- 
ministration, like  the  present  Provisional  Commission,  nor  yet  to  act  under 
the  worse  than  mediocre  men  of  the  late  administration,  whom  I  learnt 
to  know  thoroughly  at  Memel  last  winter.  I  have  further  declined  a  seat 
in  the  Provisional  Commission,  because  it  is  impossible  to  transact  busi- 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  163 

ness  under  such  a  form,  and  also  because  it  is  impossible  to  remain  long 
a  member  of  it  without  falling  out  with  friends,  when  their  principles  are 
too  monstrous,  and  the  consequences  they  involve  still  more  dreadful ; 
and  without  exposing  numberless  weak  points  to  the  enemy  ;  for  great 
innovations  are  in  contemplation,  with  regard  to  some  of  which  1  do  not 
feel  myself  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  particular  case,  while  on 
others  I  am  entirely  unable  to  form  a  judgment."*  Besides,  I  am  a  pure 
Mahometan — a  strict  Unitarian  in  administrative  affairs,  and  abhor  all 
Commissions  and  the  like  with  my  whole  heart.  Hence  your  Excellency 
will  not  blame  me  for  refusing  to  connect  myself  with  them,  though  many 
single  oversights  might  be  prevented  by  a  contrary  course ;  and  will  also 
pardon  me  if  I  should  be  absent  on  your  arrival.  It  will  be  easy  to  decide 

what  steps  to  take  in  that  case 

I  should  have  liked  to  have  added  some  facts  which  would  be  interest- 
ing to  your  Excellency,  respecting  the  Russian  and  Slavonic  languages ; 
the  affinity  which  I  have  discovered  between  them  and  the  Persian,  and 
how  they  are  by  no  means  so  difficult  as  people  believe  them  or  make 
them ;  also  about  the  Grusinian  and  Russian  literature,  which  I  have 
become  acquainted  with  through  a  Russian  work — about  the  noble  Russian 
people— about  the  extremely  interesting  commerce  of  Riga ;  but  it  would 
have  enlarged  ray  letter  to  too  great  an  extent.  I  shall  take  leave  to  do 
BO  at  a  future  opportunity 

-  XCVI. 

TO   MADAME  BENSLER. 

RIGA,  16th  Augutt,  1807. 

For  many  years  past  (our  connection  will  soon  include  the  half  of  my 
life),  my  thoughts,  as  well  as  those  of  my  Milly,  with  all  our  warmest 

feelings,  have  been  with  you  on  this  day How  has  every  thing 

changed  since  those  former  times  when  I  have  celebrated  this  day !  Where 
is  now  the  tranquillity  with  which  we  then  contemplated  the.  external 
world  ten  years  ago,  as  if  it  could  never  drag  us  into  its  whirlpool  ? 
Even  a  year  ago  it  was  only  at  times  that  gloomy  anticipations  for  our 
oven  fate  rose  before  my  eyes ;  my  Milly  scarcely  felt  them ;  -and  about 
you  we  had  no  anxieties.  Now  we  are  resigned  to  our  own  future,  and  I 
often  repeat  to  myself  the  golden  proverb,  "  He  who  can  not  what  he  will, 
let  him  will  what  he  can."  We  shall  get  on  thus,  and  with  the  certainty 
of  never  wanting  bread,  nor,  wherever  I  may  be  placed,  the  affection  and 
respect  of  the  nobler  among  ray  fellow-creatures,  I  live  with  less  anxiety 
for  myself  than  you  probably  imagine.  But  all  our  apprehensions  are 
excited  for  our  country  and  for  you.  Manifold  reports  have  awakened  our 
fears  that  that  may  soon  take,  place,  which,  according  to  the  present 
march  of  events,  must  take  place  sooner  or  later— and  what  fears  ?  W<» 
can  not  describe  our  grief  and  anxiety,  for  our  expressions  might  be  watched 
in  several  quarters ;  we  have  often  expressed  them  to  you  before,  and  now 
we  have  nothing  but  helpless  wishes.  Oh  that  the  storm  might  disperse, 
that  we  might  meet  once  more  on  the  undesecrated,  uninjured  soil  of  our 
fatherland !  How  it  has  happened  that  we  have  been  obliged  to  give  up 
our  fixed  intention  of  going  by  sea  to  Copenhagen  this  month,  and  revisit- 
*  See  page  156. 


164  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

ing  you  all  before  the  winter,  is  a  long  story,  which  Milly  has  written  to 
you  in  that  letter.  Had  we  remained  in  Memel,  every  thing  would  have 
been  more  quickly  arranged,  and  we  should  have  crossed  before  the  season 
was  too  far  advanced  to  permit  of  our  return.  For  there,  too,  my  dismissal 
would  have  been  very  unwillingly  accorded,  as  there  is  a  general  wish  to 
retain  me  in  the  service,  though  probably  without  any  definite  idea  as  to 
how  I  can  be  employed ;  and  this  incomprehensible  and  universal  confi- 
dence in  me  goes  to  my  heart.  (Do  not  think  it  vanity  in  me  to  speak 
of  this  and  do  not  take  it  amiss  if  I  ask  you  not  to  look  on  it  as  a  dream 

of  my  own  fancy) If  I  had  received  a  furlough,  we  might  have  seen 

each  other  again,  and  refreshed  our  wearied  spirits ;  now  it  would  be  too 
late;  the  matter  has  been  put  off  so  long,  that  I  could  not  make  use  of 
leave  of  absence  if  it  were  granted. 

Your  letter  of  the  20th  of  June,  is  the  last  we  have  received,  and  this 
absence  of  letters  is  now  doubly  painful.  I  have  been  foolish  not  to  keep 
a  diary  from  the  commencement  of  our  flight,  in  which  you  all  might  have 
had  a  living  picture  of  us,  in  the  many  changing  scenes  of  our  various  for- 
tunes and  positions.  If  these  pictures  had  been  no  more  than  peeps  into 
the  showman's  box,  yet  still  they  would  have  had  some  value.  Often  I 
can  not  write  at  all,  and  now  when  I  wish  to  do  so,  and  am  therefore  bet- 
ter able  to  write  than  usual,  I  am  disturbed  by  the  doubt  whether  all  this 
may  not  be  written  in  vain  !  And  that  thought  makes  my  eyes  overflow. 
I  have  long  had  it  011  my  mind  to  enter  into  an  explanation  with  you  on 
one  point ;  not  that  your  expressions  have  hurt  me,  but  because  we  ought 
to  understand  each  other,  and  because  one  wishes  one's  best  friends  to  judge 
one  correctly  in  every  thing.  I  allude  to  your  disapproval  of  my  under- 
taking to  learn  the  Russian  and  Slavonic  languages,  with  the  view  of  ex- 
tending my  studies  to  the  other  written  branches  of  this  ancient  mother- 
tongue,  which  is  spoken  by  fifty  millions.  It  would  have  pleased  me  better 
if  Milly  had  not  mentioned  these  studies  to  you  at  all.  because  I  foresaw 
that  your  one-sided  ideas  on  this  point  would  rather  lead  you  to  blame 
than  to  praise.  I  will  not  exactly  say  that  you  are  entirely  wrong,  but  I 
can  not  help  thinking  that  you  do  not  look  at  the  matter  from  the  right 
point  of  view.  If  I  had  employed  a  period  of  genial  quiet — of  inward  life 
and  activity,  accompanied  'by  the  outward  appliances  necessary  for  bring- 
ing forth  finished  productions,  in  learning  a  new  language,  such  a  use  of 
my  time  would  most  certainly  have  deserved  blame.  But  at  Memel,  where 
it  was  impossible  to  free  myself  from  the  present  time,  and  the  present  was 
full  of  oppressive  cares — where  I  had  absolutely  no  books,  the  case  was 
different ;  and  I  therefore  unhesitatingly  include  my  new  philological  ac- 
quisitions among  the  things  which  give  me  the  hope  that  I  have  made  as 
good  a  use  of  last  winter  as  was  in  my  power.  Or,  if  Nature  had  destined 
me  for  a,  poet,  the  case  again  would  have  been  different ;  such  toilsome 
labor  is  beneath  the  poet.  But  to  the  historian — or  if  that  also  is  too  high 
a  title  for  me — to  the  historical  inquirer,  it  is  necessary  to  understand  all 
nations,  were  it  possible,  in  their  own  tongues.  Languages  have  one  in- 
scrutable origin,  like  all  national  peculiarities,  and  he  has  but  an  imperfect 
knowledge  of  a  people,  who  has  not  become  acquainted  with  it  through  its 
own  language.  Any  one  who  is  conversant  with  the  Oriental  languages, 
must  feel  vexed  to  read  what  has  been  said  and  dreamed  by  those  who 
have  attacked  the  Persians  and  Arabs  without  understanding  their  Ian- 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SEEVICE.  165 

guages.  What  sort  of  judgment  of  the  French  would  be  formed  by  a  man 
who  had  read,  say,  nothing  but  "  Telemachus"  in  a  translation?  It  is  a 
great  pity  that  one  can  not  learn  all  languages ;  however,  that  is  so  im- 
possible that  you  will  not  suppose  I  have  formed  such  a  mad  project.  I 
have  now  probably  reached  the  limit  of  my  acquirements.  I  think  I  have 
derived  this  advantage  at  least  from  my  studies  of  last  winter,  that  I  be- 
lieve I  have  formed  a  far  more  distinct  conception  of  the  ancient  and  mod- 
ern Russians  than  other  foreigners,  with  the  exception  of  Schlpzer.  My 
acquaintance  with  the  Slavonic  language  has  led  me  to  a  very  important 
discovery  in  the  history  of  races,  and  their  original  derivation,  which  would 
not  be  so  new  as  it  is,  if  more  had  occupied  themselves  with  these 
tongues.  I  also  read  the  .Slavonian  Bible,  and  that  led  me  to  a  new  theolog- 
ical hypothesis,  so  I  have  not  merely  added  words  to  words,  and  piled  my 
memory  with  dead  matter.  That  to  write  is  better  than  to  learn,  is  in- 
deed true  for  it  is  better  to  create  than  to  be  learned ;  but  for  the  former 
1  must  wait  for  a  time  when  the  external  world  does  not  hold  me  fast  in 
its  iron  clutches,  otherwise  I  should  only  produce  something  mediocre,  and 
the  literary  enterprises  which  would  admit  of  execution  now,  would  give 
as  little  satisfaction  to  my  friends  as  my  studies  in  philology.  Will  that 
time  ever  come  ?  Till  then,  love,  remember  the  saying  of  Nathan,  "  we 
must  not  require  that  every  tree  should  -have  one  bark,"  nor  should  we 
blame  a  lopped  tree,  if  its  branches  no  longer  form  the  beautiful  "crown  of 
its  youth.  Farewell !  This  deeply  significant  word  I  lay  to  you  with 
great  emotion. 

Stein  had  received  the  letters  requesting1  him  to  resume  office 
•while  seriously  ill  with  a  tertian  fever.  He  instantly  dictated  a 
letter  to  the  king  accepting  office  without  making  conditions  of 
any  kind,  recommending,  however,  Count  Reden  and  Niebuhr 
— the  latter  on  account  of  his  "  knowledge  of  finance  and  the 
French  language" — as  suitable  persons  to  settle  the  question  of 
the  contributions  with  the  French  authorities.  He  arrived  in 
Memel  on  the  30th  of  September,  and  immediately  took  the  su- 
preme direction  of  civil  affairs,  with  a  voice  in  the  deliberation 
on  military  affairs. 

The  Provisional  Commission  with  which  Niebuhr  was  connect- 
ed, had  begun  even  before  Stein's  arrival,  to  sketch  the  outlines 
of  those  great  measures  of  civil  reform,  the  execution  of  which 
has  rendered  his  short  administration  a  memorable  epoch  in  the 
internal  history  of  Prussia,  and  it  continued  to  work  with  him  in 
the  reorganization  of  the  vital  energies  of  the  country.  Before 
the  end  of  October,  an  edict  was  issued  by  the  king  freeing  land- 
ed property  from  various  restrictions  on  possession,  sale,  &c.,  and 
another  abolishing  serfdom  throughout  the  Prussian  dominions ; 
and  within  the  following  month,  plans  were  drawn  up  for  the 
entire  remodeling  of  the  administration,  and  the  arrangement  of 


166  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

the  financial  system.  The  latter  appears  to  have  been  that  in 
which  Niebuhr  was  principally  employed,  and  he  also  took  a 
share  in  the  deliberation  on  the  other  subjects. 

The  most  urgent  problem  of  the  government  was  to  find  the 
means  of  paying  the  contributions  to  the  French,  which  was  the 
condition  of  their  evacuating  the  country ;  for  till  the  incubus  of 
their  presence  was  removed  from  the  unhappy  land,  it  was  im- 
possible to  resuscitate  its  exhausted  energies.  One  portion  of 
Stein's  plans  for  raising  money  was  the  negotiation  of  a  loan 
from  the  Dutch  capitalists,  then  the  richest  in  Europe.  This 
business  was  intrusted  to  Niebuhr,  and  he  willingly  undertook 
the  commission,  though  he  neither  concealed  from  himself  nor 
from  Stein  the  difficulties  attending  its  execution,  in  the  present 
position  of  Prussia. 

•  Accordingly  on  the  21st  of  November,  1807,  he  left  Memel  for 
Berlin.  The  journey,  performed  in  the  depth  of  winter,  through 
a  country  devastated  by  war,  and  with  a  sick  wife,  was  a  toil- 
some and  hazardous  enterprise.  On  arriving  at  Berlin,  in  the 
middle  of  December,  he  was  met  by  the  intelligence  of  the  death 
of  his  mother,  who  had  long  been  suffering  from  dropsy.  His 
grief  for  her  loss  was  heightened  by  the  disappointment  of  the 
hopes  he  had  cherished  of  a  speedy  meeting  after  their  long  separ- 
ation, since  his  business  rendered  it  necessary  for  him  to  go  in  the 
first  instance  to  Hamburgh.  He  was  obliged  to  leave  his  wife 
behind  him  ill  in  Berlin,  and  proceed  alone  to  Hamburgh,  where 
she  afterward  joined  him.  From  thence  they  made  excursions  to 
Meldorf  and  Niitschau,  to  visit  their  relations  and  Moltke.  In 
the  middle  of  February  they  continued  their  journey  to  Amster- 
dam, where  they  arrived  in  the  beginning  of  March,  1808. 

At  first  there  seemed  some  chance  of  Niebuhr's  succeeding  in 
his  mission,  although  it  at  once  appeared  that  the  Dutch  capital- 
ists would  have  considerable  difficulty  in  raising  the  money,  and 
the  Dutch  government,  who  also  wanted  to  borrow,  were  natur- 
ally opposed  to  the  transaction.  But  all  hopes  of  the  kind  were 
crushed  by  Napoleon's  attack  on  the  Spanish  monarchy,  for,  only 
a  short  time  before,  he  had  induced  the  principal  Dutch  banking 
house  of  Hope  &  Co.,  to  lend  a  considerable  sum  of  money  to 
Spain,  by  assuring  them  that  he  had  no  hostile  intentions  toward 
that  country.  They  now  naturally  shrank  from  making  any  ad- 
vances to  a  state  like  Prussia,  which  seemed  destined  to  share 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  167 

the  fate  of  Spain  so  soon  as  Napoleon  should  have  time  to  proceed 
to  its  annihilation.     It  was,  however,  of  such  urgent  importance 
that  the  Prussians  should  at  least  convince  Napoleon  of  their 
honest  intention   to   pay  the   contributions,  that   Niehuhr  was 
directed  to  continue  every  effort  to  induce  the  Dutch  bankers  to 
listen  to  the  proposition  on  \ny  terms  whatever.     He  was  there- 
fore ordered  to  remain  in  Amsterdam,  and  in  June,  1808,  was 
formally  accredited  as  Prussian  minister  at  the  Court  of  Holland. 
But  as  months  passed  away,  and  the  course  of  public  events  seem- 
ed to  remove  the  object  of  his  mission  continually  farther  from 
attainment,  Niebuhr  requested  his  recall.     He  received  it  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1809,  and  was  on  the  point  of  setting  out  on  his  return, 
when  an  unexpected  offer  to  undertake  the  loan  was  made  by  M. 
Valckena'er.     An  agreement  was  drawn  up  between  them  in 
March,  corresponding  in  all  essential  points  to  Niebuhr's  original 
proposals.     The  readiness  of  Valckenaer  to  enter  into  a  transac- 
tion which  all  the  other  bankers  had  thought  too  unsafe,  was 
partly  the  result  of  his  personal  confidence  in  Niebuhr,  and  partly, 
in  Niebuhr's  opinion,  of  his  own  over-sanguine  disposition.     He 
was,  however,  indirectly  encouraged  to  do  so  by  the  assurance  of 
the  French  embassador,  that  the  securities  on  which  the  loan  was 
to  be  raised  "should  be  respected  in  any  case."     After  all,  the 
negotiation  fell  through  for  a  time,  owing  to  the  refusal  of  the 
King  of  Holland,  on  the  score  of  his  own  pressing  necessities,  to 
grant  his  permission,  without  which  no  foreign  loan  could  be  effected. 
Meanwhile,  Stein's  projects  for  the  ultimate  deliverance  of  Ger- 
many had  been  discovered  by  Napoleon,  and  had  led  to  his  pro- 
scription in  the  month  of  January,  1809.     He  had  been  succeeded 
in  the  ministry  by  Counts  Altenstein  and  Dohna.     Both  of  these 
were  personal  friends  of  Niebuhr ;  to  the  former  especially  be  was 
warmly  attached,  but  he  recognized  their  incapacity  to  enter  into 
and  carry  out  the  great  projects  of  reform  which  Stein  had  sketched, 
and  as  he  could,  at  all  events,  form  no  plans  for  his  future  life 
until  the  general  arrangements  of  the  different  branches  of  the 
administration  were  completed  and  the  appointments  settled,  he 
resolved  to  travel,  by  way  of  Hamburgh,  to  Holstein,  and  wait 
there  till  affairs  should  assume  a  definite  shape.     He  left  Amster- 
dam with  his  wife  on  the  9th  of  April,  transacted  some  necessary 
public  business  at  Hamburgh,  and  from  thence  went  to  stay  with 
his  relations  in  Dithmarsh. 


168  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

During  his  residence  in  Holland,  he  had  studied  with  great  at- 
tention the  condition  of  the  country,  its  institutions  past  and  pres- 
ent, and  especially  the  nature  and  gradual  formation  of  its  soil  by 
deposits  from  the  sea  and  rivers.  Few  or  none  of  his  observations 
on  these  subjects  will  be  found  in  the  following  letters ;  they  are 
chiefly  contained  in  a  series  of  a  less  personal  character  which  used 
to  go  the  round  of  his  friends  in  Holstein,  and  which  have  been 
published  since  his  death  in  his  "  Kleine  Nachgelassene  Schriften." 

M.  Von  Altenstein  made  proposals  to  him  from  Konigsberg, 
where  the  Prussian  government  was  still  stationed,  but  the  per- 
manence of  the  cabinet  seemed  to  him  so  uncertain,  that  he  de- 
termined to  await  in  Holstein  the  further  progress  of  events.  In 
this  undecided  state  of  affairs  the  greater  part  of  the  summer 
passed  away.  Much  as  he  enjoyed  the  society  of  his  friends,  Nie- 
buhr  longed  at  last  to  find  a  settled  dwelling-place  and  fixed  em- 
ployment. At  length  he  was  expressly  summoned  (as  the  return 
of  the  court  and  government  to  Berlin  was  still  delayed)  to  repair 
to  Konigsberg  and  secure  his  appointment. 

Here  he  found  every  thing,  not  only  as  regarded  his  own  posi- 
tion, but  likewise  all  that  related  to  the  management  of  public 
business,  in  as  much  confusion  as  he  had  expected.  The  disastrous 
war,  and  the  insecure  position  in  which  the  State  was  still  placed, 
had  thrown  affairs  into  the  greatest  disorder,  and  there  seemed  to 
be  no  energetic  hand  capable  of  seizing  the  whole  with  its  power- 
ful grasp,  and  bringing  order  out  of  chaos. 

Altenstein,  a  learned  and  philosophical  man,  but  destitute  of 
statesman-like  genius  or  energy,  had,  from  the  very  commence- 
ment of  his  administration,  carried  on  the  government  in  a  spirit 
totally  opposite  to  that  of  Stein.  The  project  of  the  latter  for  the 
reform  of  the  administration,  which  had  already  received  the  royal 
assent,  was  laid  aside  ;  the  promise  of  representative  institutions 
was  recalled ;  no  steps  were  taken  to  give  an  opportunity  for  the 
expression  of  public  opinion  ;  and  he  drew  back  from  co-operation 
with  Schoen,  whom  Stein  had  recommended  as  his  own  successor, 
and  who  was  a  decided  advocate  of  popular  institutions.  During 
the  unhappy  campaign  of  Wagram,  in  which  Austria,  for  the  last 
time,  .attempted  to  stem  Napoleon's  encroachments,  he  could  not 
resolve  to  take  any  decided  part  for  the  assistance  of  Austria,  but 
let  the  time  slip  away  without  forming  any  definite  plans  for  the 
future,  or  adhering  to  any  fixed  system  of  policy. 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  169 

This  state  of  things  filled  Niebuhr  with  deep  solicitude.  His 
health  gave  way,  and  he  fell  into  a  state  of  dejection  such  as  he 
had  not  even  experienced  during  the  miserable  years  of  1806  and 
1807,  when,  even  in  the  depths  of  calamity,  there  had  been  some 
noble  minds  at  the  helm,  struggling  to  save  the  State  from  abso- 
lute shipwreck.  It  was  some  relief  to  him  when  his  appointment, 
as  head  of  the  department  for  the  management  of  the  national 
debt  and  the  monetary  institutions,  obliged  him  once  more  to  turn 
all  his  thoughts  to  active  employment,  by  which  he  might  hope, 
at  least  in  a  subordinate  sphere,  to  effect  some  benefit  to  the  State. 
The  appointment  was  made  in  November,  and  in  December  he 
returned  from  Konigsberg  to  Berlin. 

The  contract  which  Niebuhr  had  concluded  with  Valckenaer, 
had  been  ratified  by  the  King  of  Prussia,  with  the  most  express 
assurances  of  his  complete  satisfaction  ;  and,  with  great  effort, 
Niebuhr  succeeded  in  keeping  the  parties  concerned  steady  to  their 
ofier  till,  in  the  beginning  of  1810,  the  King  of  Holland  yielded 
the  required  permission,  which  was  in  fact  extorted  by  Napoleon 
from  him,  on  his  visit  to  Paris  in  the  early  part  of  that  year.  On 
the  1st  of  March,  1810,  the  loan  was  opened.  The  condition  of 
Holland,  which  was  utterly  ruined  by  its  annexation  to  France, 
in  July,  rendered  it  of  comparatively  little  assistance  as  a  financial 
operation,  though  even  its  partial  success  was  greater  than  Nie- 
buhr had  anticipated  in  the  then  condition  of  Prussia,  and  con- 
sidering that  it  was  the  only  loan  that  had  been  effected  on  the 
continent  since  1808.  It  was,  however,  of  incalculable  political 
value  to  Prussia,  for  it  was  the  fear  of  depriving  himself  of  the 
actual  revenue  which  Napoleon  expected  from  this  source,  that 
withheld  him  from  attacking  the  existence  of  Prussia,  when  the 
prostration  of  Austria  and  Spain,  combined  with  the  alliance  of 
Russia,  left  him  free  to  do  so ;  and  he  thus  lost  the  opportunity, 
which  the  subsequent  breach  with  Russia,  and  the  invasion  of 
Spain  by  Wellington,  prevented  his  ever  regaining. 

Early  in  1810,  Napoleon  had  pressed  for  the  immediate  pay- 
ment of  the  contributions,  now  greatly  in  arrears.  There  seemed, 
at  that  time,  to  be  so  little  chance  of  the  opening  of  the  Dutch 
loan,  and  it  was  certain,  even  at  the  best,  to  produce  such  a  tri- 
fling amount  in  comparison  with  what  was  required,  that  other 
means  of  raising  money  were  imperative.  The  King  interrogated 
Altenstein  as  to  the  means  at  his  disposal  for  liquidating  them, 

H 


HO  MEMOIR  OF  N1EBUHR. 

and  found  that  his  Minister  of  Finance  had  no  plan  to  propose 
but  the  cession  of  Silesia.  He  next  consulted  Prince  Wittgenstein 
on  the  state  of  affairs,  and  the  latter  drew  up  a  scheme  which 
was  submitted  to  Altenstein,  who,  perceiving  it  to  be  thoroughly 
impracticable,  refused  to  take  it  into  consideration.  Madame 
Hensler  evidently  refers  to  this  plan,  although  she  does  not  state 
that  it  was  concocted  by  Wittgenstein,  when  she  says,  at  this  date, 
that  "  a  financial  project  was  now  submitted  to  the  King,  by  which 
its  promoters  fancied  that  they  could  annihilate  the  whole  contri- 
bution and  the  national  debt.  The  plan  was  laid  before  the 
members  of  the  government  for  their  consideration.  Many  of  its 
most  important  provisions  appeared  to  several,  and  particularly  to 
Niebuhr,  either  impracticable  or  mischievous.  Among  these  were 
the  introduction  of  paper  money,  the  redemption  of  the  land  tax, 
the  abolition  of  many  privileges  by  which  the  poorer  classes  would 
have  been  particularly  affected,  the  seizure  of  all  the  hand-mills 
in  East  Prussia,*  the  imposition  of  a  tax  on  consumption  extend- 
ing even  to  the  products  consumed  in  the  households  of  the  peas- 
antry, and  a  tax  on  the  license  to  trade."  Niebuhr  was,  at  all 
times,  a  bitter  opponent  of  Prince  Wittgenstein,  whom  he  thorough- 
ly distrusted.  When  the  plan  met  with  opposition,  the  King, 
under  the  advice  of  Wittgenstein,  applied  to  Hardenberg  for  his 
opinion  of  it.  The  report  which  Hardenberg  sent  in,  determined 
the  King  to  offer  him  at  once  the  post  of  Prime  Minister,  with  the 
title  of  Chancellor  of  State,  but  the  present  ministers  were  to  be 
retained  in  their  several  departments  subordinate  to  him.  Hard- 
enberg refused  the  premiership  on  these  terms,  but  at  length 
effected  the  dismissal  of  the  Altenstein  ministry  in  June,  1810. 
In  the  mean  time,  however,  he  exercised  great  influence  over 
the  King,  who  had  lost  all  confidence  in  the  former  administra- 
tion. 

Hardenberg' s  accession  to  power  was  hailed  with  joy  by  the 
nation  at  large,  but  Niebuhr  did  not  share  in  the  general  impres- 
sion in  his  favor ;  indeed,  many  years  after,  in  Rome,  he  told  a 
friend  that  he  had  indeed  come  to  Berlin  prepossessed  in  favor  of 
Hardenberg,  notwithstanding  the  laxity  of  his  morals  in  private 

*  Each  miller  had  a  monopoly  within  his  own  district,  and  corn  was  not  al- 
owed  to  be  earned  out  of  the  district  to  be  ground,  but  many  of  the  peasants 
had  little  hand-mills  in  which  they  ground  what  they  wanted  for  their  own  use. 
The  millers  paid  an  excise  tax  upon  all  they  ground,  consequently  the  posses- 
sion of  these  hand-mills  by  the  peasants  injured  the  revenue. 


THE  PEUSSIAN  CIVIL  SEEVICE.  171 

life,  but  that  he  had  never  found  himself  "  so  disappointed  in  any 
man,  except  in  the  historian,  Johannes  Miiller."  It  was,  there- 
fore, unfortunate  that,  as  the  finance  question  was  the  great  prob- 
lem to  be  solved,  Niebuhr  was  the  first  person  to  whom  the  Chan- 
cellor applied  for  his  co-operation.  When  Hardenberg  communicated 
the  programme  of  his  financial  plans  to  Niebuhr,  the  latter  ex- 
pressed his  unqualified  dissent  from  them,  and  was  so  strongly 
impressed  with  a  sense  of  their  perilous  nature,  that  he  held  it  his 
duty  to  leave  the  King  himself  in  no  doubt  as  to  his  views.  He 
sent  a  memorial  to  him,  in  which  he  openly  represented  the  state 
of  the  country,  and  requested  that  his  Majesty  would  release  him 
from  his  post,  as  he  could  not  concur  in  the  principles  of  the  ad- 
ministration, and  that  he  would  grant  him  instead  a  professorship 
in  the  university  which  was  to  be  opened  at  Berlin  in  the  autumn. 
The  King  forwarded  the  memorial  to  Hardenberg,  who  was  nat- 
urally much  annoyed  at  it,  and  sent  for  Schoen.  But  the  latter 
was  also  opposed  to  his  plans,  and,  after  some  further  consultation, 
all  parties  transmitted  their  views  to  Stein.  Hardenberg  wrote  to 
Niebuhr,  upbraiding  him,  though  in  courteous  terms,  with  his  dis- 
satisfaction at  the  administration,  and  requesting  him  to  withdraw 
his  resignation,  as  he  hoped  that  all  difficulties  would  soon  be 
surmounted,  and  he  was  anxious  to  have  Niebuhr's  counsel  and 
assistance.*  But  while  ready  to  heap  personal  distinction  upon 
him,  he  withheld  that  frank  explanation  of  the  line  of  policy  he 
intended  to  pursue,  which  alone  could  have  removed  Niebuhr's 
scruples,  and  after  negotiations,  which  lasted  several  days,  he  at 
length  gave  way,  and  offered  to  request  the  King  to  appoint  Nie- 
buhr historiographer  in  the  place  of  Johannes  Von  Miiller.  This 
post  he  soon  received,  but  with  the  condition  that  he  should  assist 
Count  Hardenberg  and  the  Minister  of  Finance  with  his  opinions 
and  advice  when  required.  Stein  judged  much  more  favorably 
of  Hardenberg  at  this  time.  It  was  not  till  after  a  lengthened 
intercourse  with  him,  and  the  events  of  1815,  1816,  and  1817, 
that  he  gradually  came  to  a  conviction  similar  to  that  expressed 
by  Niebuhr  in  his  letters.  He  did  not  approve  of  Niebuhr's  con- 
duct in  refusing  to  act  with  Hardenberg,  t  but  his  friendship  still 

*  According  to  Stein's  Lebcn,  ii.  508,  Hardenberg  offered  Niebuhr  the  post 
of  Minister  of  Finance. 

t  He  writes  thai  to  Wilhelm  TOO  HumbolcU :  "  Niebahr  declares  his  dis- 
sentient opinion.  M.  von  Hardenborg  invites  him  to  discuss  the  matter  with 
him,  and  to  send  in  another  plan  :  to  this  he  vouchsafes  no  reply,  bat  instead, 
hands  in  a  lengthy  chain  of  argument  against  Hardenberg'*  plan  to  the  King, 


172  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

remained  unchanged  toward  him  ;  and  at  a  later  period,  upon  a 
full  knowledge  of  all  the  circumstances,  he  expressed  his  approba- 
tion of  the  course  he  had  taken.  Niebuhr  would  willingly  have 
accepted  office,  could  he  have  done  so  and  remained  true  to  his 
principles  ;  but  while  Hardenberg  offered  him  a  high  position,  he 
knew  that  he  was  rather  desired  as  a  skillful  tool  than  as  an  in- 
dependent coadjutor.  He  remained  for  some  time  in  communica- 
tion with  Hardenberg,  who  often  sent  him  projects  in  which  he 
desired  his  opinion,  or  sketches  of  measures,  the  details  of  which 
he  required  him  to  work  out.  Their  connection,  however,  ceased 
almost  entirely  at  a  later  period. 

The  following  letters  will  illustrate  Niebuhr' s  history  from  the 
autumn  of  1807,  to  the  summer  of  1810. 

XCVII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

LANDSBERG  ON  THE  WARTHA,  \3th  December,  1807. 

It  will  be  three  weeks  to-morrow  since  we  left  Memel,  and  to-day  we  are 
still  eighteen  German  miles  from  Berlin.  A  more  mournful  and  distressing 
journey  we  could  not  have  anticipated,  even  with  the  worst  apprehensions, 
which  the  circumstances  and  the  season  of  the  year  excited.  From  Memel 
to  Berlin  it  is  108  miles  by  the  nearest  route,  which  is  the  one  we  have 
chosen  ;  the  other,  by  way  of  Dantzic,  is  still  longer.  However,  it  was 
our  intention  to  have  taken  this  latter  road,  because  it  lies  through  a 
pleasanter  country,  and  one  which  has  suffered  less  from,  devastation  during 
the  war ;  also  because  Dantzic  is  the  residence  of  the  family  of  our  deceased 
friend,  Mrs.  Solly,  and  we  had  intended  to  make  arrangements  with  them 
for  her  husband  and  children,  as  his  spirits  were  not  yet  equal  to  it.  But 
in  Konigsberg,  the  impossibility  of  crossing  the  Werder  was  represented  to 
us  in  strong,  and  perhaps  exaggerated  terms  ;  for  certainly  the  strip  of  land 
between  Elbing  and  Dirschau,  which  is  all  alluvial  deposit  from  the  river, 
is  as  bad  as  a  marsh  road  can  be  in  winter.  It  was  impossible  to  travel 
along  the  Frische  Nehrung  either,  because  the  few  houses  on  these  downs, 
where  travelers  have  usually  been  able  to  find  shelter  for  themselves  and 
their  horses  (for  there  are  no  post-horses  to  be  got  on  this  road),  have  been 
destroyed  in  the  war ;  we  were,  therefore,  obliged  to  take  the  regular  route 
through  Braunsberg,  of  which  we  have  much  repented,  since  experience  has 
taught  us,  that  with  post-horses  and  a  moderately  heavy  carriage,  it  is  pos- 
sible to  get  along  even  on  the  roads  most  universally  decried.  We  left 
Memel  on  the  23d  of  November ;  our  departure  had  been  fixed  for  the  day 
before,  but  a  storm  rendered  it  impossible  to  cross  the  ferry  to  the  Nehrung. 

without  bringing  forward  any  other  project — and  now  he  wants  to  appear  as  a 
martyr  to  the  truth. 

"  All_this  is  .nothing  but  a  refined  egotism,  and  an  instance  of  the  mania  so 
increasingly  in  vogue  on  the  other  side  of  the  Elbe  for  pouring  a  sauce  of  high- 
sounding,  fine-lady  phrases  over  perfectly  commonplace  actions." — Stein's  Leb- 
en,  ii.  507 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  173 

This  was  rather  opportune  for  me,  as  I  had  had  a  return  in  the  night  of 
some  of  the  pains  to  which  my  last  illness  left  me  liable,  which  illness  had 
been  a  sort  of  continuation  of  ray  more  serious  indisposition  at  Bartenstein. 
We  had  a  comfortable  journey  along  the  Nehrung,  with  fine  weather.  We 
found  every  thing  looking,  on  the  whole,  rather  better  than  on  my  former 
journeys  (this  is  the  third  time  I  have  traveled  this  way)  through  this  fright- 
ful desert,  the  only  one  of  ita  kind  in  Europe,  We  got  to  Kimigsberg  in 
three  days.  The  last  stage  is  a  heath  track  through  the  fertile,  and  lately 
very  prosperous  district  of  Samland,  where  now  the  most  mournful  tokens 
of  the  ravages  of  war — ruined  and  deserted  villages — frequently  meet  the 
eye.  On  Wednesday  evening,  we  arrived  at  .Konigsberg,  where  we  stayed 
with  our  dear  friends,  Nicolovius  and  his  wife,  who  are  two  of  the  most 
pure  and  noble-minded  human  beings  whom  we  have  ever  known  any  where. 
We  rested  there  two  days,  as  I  had  business  to  transact.  Konigsberg  ex- 
cited very  melancholy  feelings  in  us.  Some  of  our  friends  have  suffered  more 
than  one  heavy  bereavement  through  the  prevailing  epidemics  :  others  have 
been  cast,  down  by  other  misfortunes.  I  never  knew  so  much  happiness 
destroyed  in  one  plaoe  within  less  than  a  year,  as  in  the  circle  of  our  ac- 
quaintance there.  On  Saturday  we  began  our  long  journey ;  Milly  was  still 
pretty  well — I  tolerable,  and  freer  from  the  disposition  to  hypochondriasis, 
from  which  I  had  suffered  so  long.  Late  at  night  we  reached  Braunsberg; 
we  could  not  proceed  till  noon  the  following  day  for  want  of  post-horses,  and 
because  it  was  necessary  to  get  our  passports  vised.  We  now  entered  one 
of  the  parts  that  had  suffered  most  from  devastation  and  pestilence.  It  is 
a  magnificent  country,  with  a  very  fruitful  soil  for  a  distance  of  ten  miles 
from  Braunsberg  to  the  Prussian  Marches,  where  it  rises  into  hills  of  con- 
siderable height.  Before  this  disastrous  time,  it  was  inhabited  by  wealthy 
peasants,*  dwelling  in  beautiful  tillages,  hardly  to  be  surpassed  by  those 
in  the  best  parts  of  Holstein.  The  roads,  however,  are  of  the  most  wretched 
description,  and  all  the  worse  from  having  served  so  long  as  the  high  road 
of  the  armies,  and  for  the  transport  of  artillery,  without  its  being  possible 
to  repair  them ;  for  now  there  are  scarcely  any  inhabitants  left,  and  horses 
are  very  rarely  indeed  to  be  seen ;  the  land  is  in  the  stubble,  and,  as  our 
hostess  sorrowfully  said,  "  bears  only  flowers."  Owing  to  the  badness  of 
the  roads  we  only  got  as  far  as  Miihlhausen ;  and  on  the  30th  to  Ries«n- 
burg ;  from  hence,  onward,  the  country  was  flat  and  sandy.  On  the  1st  Dec., 
a  little  behind  Marienwerder,  we  entered  upon  the  deep  sea  of  sand  which 
stretches  from  Westphalia  far  into  Poland,  and  extends  in  Prussia  to  the 
chain  of  hills  I  have  mentioned.  We  passed  the  night  at  Graudenz,  a  place 
of  sorrowful  memory.  So  far  all  had  gone  on  well,  and  though  we  were 
now  about  to  «nter  a  Polish  district,  we  had  lost  the  apprehensions  whioh 
had  been  raised  that  those  parts  were  unsafe  and  hostile.  For  provisions 
we  had  been  badly  off ;  milk,  eggs,  butter,  wheaten  bread,  we  were  obliged 
to  take  with  us  in  the  carriage,  and  to  lay  in  a  store  of,  where  they  were 
to  be  got ;  meat  we  could  scarcely  ever  obtain.  We  were  well  received  at 

*  /iinirr  means  cultivator  of  the  soil,  and  to  Germans  conveys  the  idea  of 
owner  of  the  soil  also,  as  with  them  the  cultivators  are  generally  the  proprietors 
of  the  land.  Husbandmen,  working  for  watres.  are  termed  'fagtlohner,  hired 
day-laborers,  and  not  Baufrn,  peasants.  Thus  an  Englishman,  speaking  of 
"the  peasantry,"  and  a  German  speaking  of  "die  Hauern,"  refer  to  two  very 
diiferent,  and  in  many  respects  widely-contrasted,  claiiei.  This  should  be  borne 
in  mind  in  reading  translations  of  German  works  on  social  or  historical  subjects. 


174  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

Graudenz.  I  was  glad  to  find  a  town  which,  from  its  proximity  to  th6 
fortress,  I  had  supposed  to  be  destroyed,  in  a  flourishing  condition.  We 
were  shown  into  an  over-heated  room;  Milly,  who  had  already  suffered 
somewhat  from  the  privations  of  the  journey,  &c.,  became  very  unwell ; 
however,  we  continued  our  journey,  and  on  the  way  she  grew  better.  On 
the  2d,  we  arrived  at  Culm,  which  is  almost  entirely  Polish,  and  could  get 
no  horses ;  we  were  obliged  to  remain  in  a  disgusting  inn,  in  the  midst  of 
Polish  filth.  Milly  lay  down,  but  unfortunately  this  famous  day  was  being 
celebrated  at  this  hotel  with  a  concert  and  ball.  The  next  day  we  reached 
Bromberg.  Milly's  only  wish  was  for  repose,  and  she  felt  doubtful  if  we 
must  not  rest  on  the  following  day.  This  was  decided  by  our  finding  that 
all  the  horses  had  been  seized  on  for  General  Caulincourt.  Milly  kept  her 
bed  all  day  with  fever  and  head-ache.  We  sent  for  a  physician,  at  the 
recommendation  of  a  merchant  to  whom  I  had  a  letter  of  introduction.  His 
appearance,  which  gave  token  of  extreme  old  age  and  stupidity,  frightened 
us.  The  old  man  showed  so  many  signs  of  imbecility  that  we  were  afraid 
to  try  his  remedies.  Another  was  recommended  to  us ;  but  we  got  out  of 
the  frying-pan  into  the  fire.  It  pains  me  to  tell  you  of  his  proceedings. 
He  would  not  show  the  prescriptions ;  but  their  effects  seem  to  indicate  that 
he  treated  the  delicate  woman  as  if  she  had  the  constitution  of  a  horse.  As 
he  would  give  no  counter-remedies,  we  helped  ourselves  with  old  prescrip- 
tions which  we  had  preserved.  We  had  another  horrible  evening  and  night 
to  endure ;  for  suddenly  we  heard  firing  on  all  sides.  The  town  was  full 
of  Poles  celebrating  a  festival  after  their  barbarous  national  customs, 
namely,  with  drinking,  dancing,  letting  off  fireworks  and  firing  muskets. 
Fancy  Milly's  sensitiveness  increased  to  the  highest  point  by  illness,  and 
shots  and  squibs  and  crackers  let  off  under  our  window  every  minute  !  You 
can  imagine  my  anxiety.  She  had,  in  "fact,  another  attack  of  fever,  but 
she  entreated  so  earnestly  that  I  would  take  her  away  the  next  day,  that 
I  yielded.  We  left,  therefore,  on  the  9th;  Milly  still  extremely  weak.  We 
had  to  wait  a  long  time  for  post-horses,  so  that  we  did  not  reach  Nakel  till 
late  in  the  evening.  Here  we  found  a  good  night's  lodging.  On  the  10th 
she  felt  better.  We  proceeded,  intending  only  to  travel  two  stages.  It  was 
a  very  rough  day,  and  there  was  some  draught  in  the  carriage.  Where  we 
wanted  to  stop  there  were  no  rooms  to  be  had,  so  we  were  obliged  to  go 
further.  We  were  confidently  assured  that  we  should  find  comfortable 
accommodation  at  Schneidemiihl,  a  flourishing  little  town.  In  consequence 
of  the  roads  being  deep  in  sand  and  marsh,  we  did  not  arrive  there  till  two 
in  the  morning,  and  here,  also,  we  could  get  no  room  on  account  of  the  num- 
ber of  troops  quartered  there  on  their  march.  It  was  a  dreadful  moment. 
Milly  was  exhausted  to  the  last  degree.  At  length  the  post-master  allowed 
us  to  go  to  his  wife's  residence.  She,  however,  either  would  not  or  could 
not  give  us  a  room  with  a  fire,  and  showed  us  into  one  that  was  cold  and 
wet.  We  had,  therefore,  no  choice  but  to  go  on  at  all  risks.  We  procured 
horses  and  drove  three  miles  further  to  Schonlanke.  Here,  likewise,  we 
could  at  first  get  no  accommodation.  Milly  was  by  this  time  so  ill  that  I 
sat  beside  her  in  terror.  At  last  the  post-master  took  pity  on  us,  and 
allowed  us  to  pass  a  few  hoars  in  his  warm  room  till  another  was  heated. 
One  is  very  thankful  for  kindness  of  this  sort  under  such  circumstances. 
At  last  Milly  was  able  to  lie  down.  She  remained  the  greater  part  of  the 
day  in  bed.  Her  former  malady  showed  itself  again.  We  used  our  reme- 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  175 

dies  and  subdued  it.  There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  push  on.  The  12th, 
we  got  to  Driesen,  where  we  happily  found  accommodation.  But  the  jour- 
ney had  done  my  poor  Milly  no  good ;  she  was  yesterday,  1 3th,  when  I 
began  this  letter,  miserably  weak  and  ill.  I  have  persuaded  her  to  take  a 
day's  rest  here.  To-morrow  we  shall  resume  our  journey  toward  Berlin, 
which  we  most  ardently  desire  to  reach,  in  order  to  get  medical  advice  and 
rest  for  her.  We  shall  manage  to  hold  out  these  eighteen  miles,  as  we  have 
traveled  nine-and-twenty  from  Bromberg.  You  may  fancy  what  a  state 
of  anxiety  I  am  in.  It  is  very  inconvenient  for  us,  too,  that  we  have  no 
maid-servant,  since  we  have  left  ours  in  Merael ;  and  we  shall  find  it  so 
likewise  in  Berlin,  till  we  can  get  one,  as  I  must  often  be  away  on  business. 
We  keep  ourselves  up  with  hope.  Among  the  most  consoling  images  it 
presents  to  us  is  that  of  seeing  you  and  our  friends  in  Holstein.  I  shall 
write  to  you  from  Berlin  as  soon  as  I  can.  Perhaps  Milly  will  be  able  to 
write  a  few  lines  too. 

XCVIII. 

• 

MXLDORF,  February,  1808. 

I  can  not  leave  the  place  from  which  I  wrote  to  you  for  the  first  time 
twelve  years  ago,  without  transporting  myself  to  your  presence  with  my 
pen. 

Dearest  Dora,  we  feel  the  separation  from  you  most  painfully.  The 
consoling  and  strengthening  influence  of  our  meeting  with  you  will  long 
remain  with  us :  it  renewed  the  spring-tide  of  our  old  friendship,  and  new 
seed  has  been  sown  which  will  bear  fruit.  My  aged  father  has  become 
very  weak,  as  you,  no  doubt,  perceived  during  your  stay  here  in  the  sum- 
mer, but  did  not  like  to  tell  us  of  it.  He  is  no  more  infirm  in  mind  than 
he  was  before  my  journey  to  England ;  but  the  life  and  interest  which  his 
farming  occupations  had  given  him  for  years  is  quite  gone,  and  I  fear  there 
is  no  other  stimulant  that  can  excite  him  in  the  same  way  again.  His 
strength  has  failed  much  since  the  autumn,  when  we  saw  him  together, 
and  the  weakness  of  his  eyes  incapacitates  him  from  any  exertion.  All 
this  makes  me  very  sad. 

I  pour  out  my  heart  to  you  about  this  sorrow :  I  feel  as  if  we  had  both 
for  a  long  time  past  said  too  little  in  our  letters  about  our  personal  con- 
cerns, on  which,  however,  we  can  scarcely  have  any  reserves  with  each 
other.  Our  conversations  at  the  places  where  we  have  seen  each  other, 
have  been  seldom  so  free,  that  we  could  form  a  vivid  picture  of  all  your 
circumstances. 

XCIX. 

AMSTERDAM,  30*A  March,  1808. 

"  f.'-. . .  .  The  golden  rule  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci  must  now  be  our  maxim 
in  all  things.  In  this  way  we  can  find  peace  if  not  personally  exposed  to 
the  storm,  and  on  this  principle  I  am  turning  my  time  to  account  here, 
uncertain  as  our  future  is,  as  busily  as  if  I  were  acquiring  various  branch- 
es of  knowledge  in  accordance  with  a  plan  drawn  up.  for  my  life.  Our  in- 
come has  been  considerably  lessened  by  the  general  reduction  of  salaries ; 
but  that  is  a  small  matter,  about  which  I  leave  it  to  others  to  complain. 


176  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

For  how  long  is  our  future  secure  in  any  sense  !  But  even  this  does  not 
disquiet  me.  Has  -not  a  year  already  passed  since  the  Emperor  Alexander 
was  in  Memel  ?  Have  we  not  got  through  this  mournful  year  far  more 
fortunately  than  many  others  ?  Indeed  tp  me  it  has  been  instructive  and 
morally  improving.  It  is  now  a  great  comfort  to  have  got  through  a  whole 
year,  especially  since  time  advances  so  slowly.  And  during  this  period 
we  have  been  much  favored  by  Providence;  Milly  has  completely  recover- 
ed from  an  illness  amidst  the  most  dangerous  circumstances ;  we  have 
been  spared  from  the  immediate  perils  of  war ;  an  accident  saved  us  from 
participation  in  the  misfortunes  of  Copenhagen ;  we  have  been  delivered 
from  pestilence  and  from  our  dreary  banishment ;  have  seen  you  once  more 
and  are  now  in  safety  in  a  land  full  of  instruction.  From  all  this  I  draw 
consolation  for  the  future,  and  thankfulness  to  God  for  my  past  life, 
which  has  perhaps  in  many  ways  been  a  better  discipline  for  me  than  1 
have  suspected. 

It  is  on  your  account  that  we  feel  the  principal  anxiety.  I  would  give 
much  to  know  that  you  were  not  in  Kiel.  Of  all  places  Kiel  is  the  most 
in  danger.  I  can  not  rely  upon  the  humanity  of  the  English  1*>  spare  the 
defenseless  asylum  of  the  noble  Queen,  and  I  have  no  confidence  in  the 
fortification  of  the  coast. 

c. 

TO  COUNT  ADAM  MOLTKE. 

AMSTERDAM,  IBth  May,  1808. 

Men  differ  widely  from  each  other  in  their  capacity  for  friendship 

— let  me  say  for  love.  We  shall  not  dispute  the  assertion  of  Empedocles, 
that  friendship  is  always  a  power  of  attraction.  But  in  many  persons  it 
is  only  a  magnetic  one,  where  the  square  of  the  distance,  and  the  united 
power  of  several  weaker  magnets  may,  to  a  great  extent,  neutralize  that 
of  the  single  stronger  one ;  so  that  such  friendships  depend  too  much  upon 
proximity;  and  when  the  friends,  who  have  been  unavoidably  separated 
for  a  time,  are  restored  to  each  other  by  fate,  they  find  themselves  at  first 
much  less  powerfully  attracted  to  each  other  than  to  those  with  whom 
they  have  had  constant  intercourse  during  the  preceding  interval,  even 
though  the  attachment  of  the  latter  may  not  be  such  as  will  stand  trial. 
There  is  another  power,  which  operates  equally  through  all  spaces,  like  the 
emanation  of  light — a  power  to  which  distance  and  separation  are  as  no- 
thing, because  its  seat  is  in  that  inward  world  which  the  mind,  through 
her  faculties  of  conception  and  imagination,  creates  out  of  and  independent 
of  the  real  and  historical  one.  I  thank  you  both  that  your  reception  of 
me,  and  our  whole  intercourse  during  the  time  we  were  together,  proved 
that  your  affection  for  me  is  of  this  latter  kind.* 

'We  will  allow  ourselves  to  indulge  still  brighter  hopes  from  the  intima- 
tions contained  in  Dora's  last  letter,  and  if  my  most  earnest  wishes  on 
your  behalf  are  but  cries  to  an  inexorable  destiny,  in  Milly's  more  pious 
mind  they  are  prayers.  I  can  not  express  to  you,  how  we  love  you  both 
and  your  children,  and  yet  I  would  fain  do  so  in  this  time  of  sorrow,  when 

*  Here  follow  references  to  the  illness  of  Moltfce's  son,  and  the  health  of  his 
wife,  who  was  already  ill  of  the  consumption  that  terminated  her  life  a  few 
months  later. 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  177 

love  and  faithfulness  are  the  only  consolation.  We  have  mad«  our  cove- 
nant together ;  you  admitted  your  disciple  to  the  equality  of  friendship,  at 
a  time  when  with  all  my  other  friends  there  could  only  be  attachment  on 
my  side,  without  any  claims  to  an  equal  return  of  confidence  or  affection : 
believing  only  too  firmly,  before  it  had  been  proved,  that  although  I  had 
as  yet  no  objective  power,  nothing  but  warmth,  enthusiasm  for  all  that  I 
undertook,  there  lay  within  me  capabilities  for  great  works,  of  which  I 
then  possessed  only  an  imperfect  idea,  and  had  conceived  only  a  vague 
outline.  From  this  condition  of  mind,  there  arose  within  me  a  mortal 
conflict  between  my  belief  in  iny  future  high  vocation,  coupled  with  the 
sense  of  my  present  weakness  and  imperfection,  and  my  repugnance  to 
take  a  standing  beside  or  below  finished  mediocrity  ;  a  conflict  from  which 
I  have  come  out  like  a  troop  that  has  been  surrounded,  of  whom  a  part 
hew  their  way  through,  while  the  greater  number,  and  perhaps  the  bravest 
of  them,  perish  upon  the  field.  You  gave  me  a  place  in  your  heart,  not 
merely  as  believing  that  I  might  one  day  become  all  for  which  I  had  a 
capacity  and  a  calling,  but  as  if  I  were  that  already.  And  yet  I  have 
never  been  able  to  realize  my  aspirations,  and  have  been  obliged  to  replace 
the  brave  troops  that  have  fallen  with  a  sorry  rabble ;  instead  of  poetry, 
archaeology,  and  ancient  history,  I  have  had  to  cultivate  finance,  banking, 
administration — all  of  which,  between  ourselves,  are  (compared  to  my 
brave  old  comrades)  a  set  of  beggarly  fellows,  that  sometimes  almost  drive 
me  mad,  especially  when  any  thing  reminds  me  strongly  of  all  those  whom 
I  have  lost.  Sismondi's  History  has  done  this  lately :  I  wrote  forthwith 
to  Stein,  and  hinted  that  I  should  like  a  mission  to  Italy,  in  order  to  com- 
pose a  history  of  Rome  (a  continuation  of  Livy's,  from  the  year  588  to 
625)  amidst  her  ruins.  But  he  wrote  a  very  friendly  letter  back,  to  say 
that  it  was  out  of  the  question ;  that  I  must  remain  under  the  yoke.  God 
grant  only— how  low  we  are  sunk  to  make  such  a  prayer— that  I  may 
long  have  it  to  bear  1  Our  prospects  ere  very  gloomy ;  but  who  can  not 
say  the  same  ?  As  regards  myself,  my  courage  does  not  fail,  though  our 
personal  interests  also  are  seriously  threatened.  Milly  has  so  fallen  in 
love  with  Sismondi's  Italian  Republics,  that  she  is  making  extracts  from 
the  book  all  day  long.  I  admire  him  much,  but  all  is  not  what  it  might 
be.  The  drawing  is  for  the  most  part  excellent,  but  the  coloring  often 
false.  During  my  stay  here  I  have  busied  myself  with  researches  into  the 
ancient  races  and  institutions  of  northern  Germany,  and  the  study  of  the 
history  of  Holland.  What  a  countless  host  of  strong-minded  and  sound- 
hearted  men,  and  how  much  greatness  1 

This,  too,  is  not  yet  written.  While  studying  it,  I  often  forget  the  pres- 
ent ;  but  then  comes  a  story  of  the  carnage  at  Madrid,  an  image  of  the 
agonies  of  Prussia,  a  recollection  of  my  ever-beloved  Denmark,  and  all  my 
dreams  vanish ;  I  feel  nothing  but  my  misery.  You  have,  I  suppose,  re- 
ceived a  part  at  least  of  the  journal  of  my  travels,  from  Dora.  It  will, 
however,  contain  for  you  large  barren  steppes,  and  you  must  remember,  in 
judging  of  it,  that  it  was  not  written  for  you,  nor,  in  fact,  strictly  speak- 
ing, for  Dora,  though  many  of  tho  letters  are  directed  to  her,  so  that  much, 
even  in  these  last,  can  have  no  interest  to  you  or  her.  It  is  my  father 
chiefly  who  will  enjoy  them,  and  he  wanted  something  to  cheer  him  up. 
This  object  has  been  quite  answered  by  Aem.  Only  one  whose  mind 
dwells  entirely  or  principally  within  the  limits  of  his  daily  life,  could  take 

H* 


178  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

pleasure  at  all  times  in  such  an  unbroken  description  of  the  every-day 
world.  I  should  have  directed  all  my  letters  to  him,  but  that  Dora  likes 
also  to  hear  something  of  our  every-day  proceedings,  and  some  other  things 
were  mixed  up  with  them,  and  finally  because  it  is  a  pleasure  to  me  to 
write  to  her.  You  must  take  all  this  into  account  in  reading  them  ;  we 
are  on  a  classical  soil,  but  one  that  is  so  only  in  a  single  respect.  You 
must  learn  Dutch  in  order  to  read  the  great  Vondel,  and  for  the  sake  of 
the  country,  and  of  freedom.  Vondel  is  a  genius  of  the  first  magnitude. 
The  language  is  very  easy  to  learn ;  it  cost  me  no  trouble  at  all ;  the  pro- 
nunciation is  the  only  difficulty,  and  in  that  I  want  practice,  because  every 
one  speaks  French.  One  word  more.  When  I  talk  about  the  court,  I  do 
it  for  my  father's  sake.  Do  not  misconstrue  me;  above  all  things  do  not 
believe  that  I  am  indeed  at  the  grindstone  where  the  depth  is  polished  out 
of  hearts,  which  have  long  since  been  worn  smooth  by  the  friction  of  the 
world.  It  is  nothing  of  the  kind.  Do  you  know  what,  of  all  things,  I 
stand  most  in  need  of  here  ?  A  Goethe,  were  it  only  his  Faust :  my  cate- 
chism, the  epitome  of  my  convictions  and  feelings,  for  what  is  not  con- 
tained in  the  existing  fragment  would  be  found  in  the  complete  work,  were 
it  written.  A  hundred  times  has  the  desire  to  complete  it  risen  up  within 
my  mind,  but  my  powers  are  not  commensurate  with  my  will.  I  only 
wish  I  had  the  Old  Gentleman  up  here  for  a  bit  above  ground  !  He  should 
have  work  enough  to  do,  and  I  would  win  heaven  in  spite  of  him.  Fare- 
well, my  beloved  ones,  and  give  our  love  to  your  children,  as  if  we  were 
your  brother  and  sister.  Give  best  remembrances,  too,  to  Philippina  and 
Falk  from  your  NIEBUHR. 

CI. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

UTRECHT,  May,  1808. 

I  have  heard  nothing  for  this  week  past  from  Berlin,  that  is,  from 

Stein.  The  fate  of  our  poor  country,  therefore,  is  still  undecided — a  state 
of  things  which  use  alone  can  enable  me  to  bear.  0  that  Denmark's  po- 
sition were  but  more  hopeful  !  In  Memel,  Denmark  was  often  a  consola- 
tion to  me,  arid  a  bright  spot  on  which  my  weary  eye  could  rest.  But 
how  can  I  bear  to  deepen  your  sadness  ?  You  will  know  what  it  is  to  hear 
of,  1  believe  only  too  many,  things  that  formerly  appeared  to  you  to  be_ex- 
aggerations.  What  would  I  not  give  that  you  should  have  remained  with- 
out this  bitter  experience  !  People  here  have  had  their  troubles  :  they 
have  lost  much  that  can  not  be  replaced,  and  have  still  heavy  burdens  to 
bear  ;  yet  the  war  has  scathed  them  but  little.  A  citizen  of  this  town 
complained  to  me  that  the  soldiers  quartered  upon  him  in  1795,  had  cost 
him  not  less  than  150  guilders.  I  laughed  in  his  face.  Milly  asks  me  to 
leave  a  corner  for  her.  Read  for  your  refreshment  Sismondi's  History  of 
th«  Italian  Republics.  Thanks  for  your  letters  of  introduction ;  but  what 
can  the  natural  philosophers  have  to  say  to  me  ? 

CII. 

AMSTERDAM,  nth  June,  1808. 

Here,  also,  they  talk^of  changing  their  king,  as  a,  man  might  talk 

of  changing  his  bailiff  on  his  estate.  This  country  could  only  lose  by  any 
change,  and  I  should  share  the  sorrow  of  the  most  intelligent  men  in  such 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  179 

a  case.  The  government  ia  national  and  good,  and  the  king  only  too  humane 
and  tender-hearted.  A  short  time  since,  the  signing  of  some  criminal  war- 
rants, where  he  found,  after  second  examination,  that  a  mitigation  of  the 
sentence  was  impossible,  literally  made  him  ill  on  the  day  of  the  execution. 

CHI. 

Itt  July,  1808. 

I  have  not  been  well  for  some  time,  and  have  suffered  much  from 

sleeplessness.  Often  I  lie  awake  till  daylight.  Yesterday  I  felt  particu- 
larly unwell;  to-day  I  am  much  better.  But  will  it  last?  I  have  found 
my  former  experience  irresistibly  confirmed,  that  with  me  the  body  depends 
entirely  on  the  mind,  and  that  ray  indisposition  almost  always  arises  from 
some  impediment  to  the  free  action  of  my  mind,  which  seems  to  introduce 
disorder  into  all  the  functions  of  the  bodily  machine.  When  my  mind  is 
exerting  itself  freely  and  energetically  upon  a  great  subject,  and  I  advance 
successfully  from  one  point  to  another,  displaying  their  mutual  connection 
as  1  proceed,  I  either  feel  no  physical  inconveniences,  or  if  they  show  them- 
selves, they  disappear  again  very  quickly.  No  man  can  have  a  more  vivid 
perception,  that  creating  is  the  true  essence  of  life,  than  I  have  derived 
from  my  internal  experience.  But  if  I  am  altogether  restricted  to  a  passive 
state  of  mind,  as  is  the  case  at  present,  the  whole  machine  comes  to  a  stop, 
and  my  inward  discomfort  brings  on  an  unhealthy  condition  of  body,  of 
which  I  have  an  unmistakeble  outward  sign  in  the  contrast  between  the 
free  and  strong  circulation  of  the  blood  in  the  former  state,  and  its  irregu- 
larity in  the  latter.  Now,  if  it  stood  in  our  power,  when  outward  circum- 
stances are  unfavorable  to  our  activity  in  practical  life,  to  choose  at  once  a 
field  of  intellectual  labor  instead,  and  to  transport  our  whole  faculties  into 
its  sphere,  this  evil  would  be  easily  overcome ;  and  I  have  often  thought 
that  in  this  manner  one  might  almost  make  oneself  immortal.  But,  alas, 
how  many  hindrances  :  taml  in  the  way !  And  how  impossible  this  inde- 
pendence is  rendered  by  the  interruptions  to  our  equanimity  !  Above  all 
is  this  the  case  when  one  is  engaged  in  public  business,  which  has  to  be 
carried  on  according  to  prescribed  forms ;  where  one  has  only  to  execute, 
and  can  not  work  out  an  idea,  but  must  bring  every  thing  into  conformity 
with  established  rules 

If  you  consider  the  charge  of  the  physical  well-being  of  the  helpless 
an  undignified  employment,*  I  think  you  are  mistaken ;  and  that  you  at- 
tach too  much  importance  altogether  to  the  intellectual  part  of  our  nature 
in  the  mass  of  mankind.  1  believe  that  on  that  subject  we  have  a  totally 
false  view  in  these  Jays,  and  though  I  do  not  think  it  can  mislead  you,  I 
should  prefer  seeing  you  openly  espouse  a  contrary  view,  as  I  do  myself  on 
the  firmest  conviction.  Do  you  not  agree  with  me,  that  the  so-called  edu- 
cation which  we  claim  as  indispensable  for  the  people,  whether  it  be  of  a 
high  cast,  and  consisting  of  numerous  branches  of  knowledge  and  modes 
of  applying  the  understanding  and  talents,  or  restricted  to  the  first  rudi- 
ments, is  only  valuable  in  so  far  as  it  is  a  true  approximation  to  that  free 
spiritual  life,  where  the  soul  dwells  in  a  world  of  ideas  and  notions,  in 
which  the  world  of  sense  is  transmuted,  and  on  which  it  becomes  depend- 
ent ?  That  it  is,  therefore,  absolutely  worthless — indeed,  rather  injurious 

*  He  is  here  referring  to  a  wi«h  he  bad  expressed  to  see  Madame  Rentier  at 
the  head  of  one  of  the  great  charitable  institutions  of  Holland. 


180  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

—when  it  disturbs  a  man  destined  to  every-day  life,  in  his  truthful,  in- 
stinctive mode  of  perception  and  action  within  his  own  sphere,  and  only 
gives  him  in  return  notions  taken  at  second-hand,  and  torn  out  of  their 
natural  connection?  And  that  yet  this  is  unavoidable  with  all  teaching 
and  cultivation  which  does  not  go  very  deep  ?  That,  for  instance,  writing 
and  reading,  except  for  the  purposes  of  business,  are  te  the  mass  of  the 
people  superfluous  even  as  a  discipline  for  the  memory,  and  a  dangerous 
gift  when  they  are  used  completely  at  random,  as  the  common  people  use 
them  so  that  they  acquire  only  a  multitude  of  distorted  notions ;  because, 
by  this  means,  the  common  man  is  deprived  of  the  truth  his  senses  teach 
him  which  nature  has  given  him  for  his  guidance,  and  becomes  familiar- 
ized with  another  and  distorted  truth,  which  takes  no  firm  hold  on  his  mind, 
and  yet  robs  him  of  the  power  of  judging  for  himself?  But  if  it  be  a 
moral  rather  than  an  intellectual  culture  which  you  ask  for,  this  can  scarcely 
be  effected  with  a  multitude  of  orphan  children  taken  in  the  mass,  except 
by  selecting  individuals,  and  by  keeping  those  who  are  only  fit  for  the  usual 
avocations  of  their  class  as  simple  as  possible.  And  I  need  not  ask  you 
whether  this  simplicity,  which  preserves  the  outlines  of  good  and  evil  in 
human  nature  clear  and  distinct,  even  though  it  can  not  choke  the  evil,  be 
not  better  than  the  confused  ideas  of  morality  prevailing  among  the  higher 
classes,  which  can  not  really  elevate  and  make  them  free,  and  over  which 
at  last  a  varnish  is  spread.  But  it  appears  to  me  that  pure,  uncultivated 
nature  can  not  dispense  with  the  satisfaction  of  all  her  simple  requirements, 
and  that  this  satisfaction  is  the  best  security  for  the  morals  of  the  many, 
as  its  want  is  usually  the  main  source  of  their  degeneracy,  except  in  those 
who  seem  utterly  bad  by  nature.  A  highly  cultivated  man  may  dispense 
with  many  things  voluntarily,  because  he  lives  in  another  world.  Thus 
the  charge  of  physical  well-being  appears  to  me  as  interesting  in  the  cause 
of  morality,  as  it  is  in  that  of  humanity ;  while,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  a 
characteristic  of  our  age,  that,  amidst  the  ever-increasing  misery  of  the 
lower  classes,  we  are  so  earnestly  busied  in  establishing  schools  for  them ; 
not  to  speak  of  the  absurdity  of  the  popular  works  which  we  put  into  their 

hands 

CIV. 
TO  COUNT  ADAM  MOLTKE. 

AMSTERDAM,  27i!/i  August,  1808. 

My  beloved  Moltke,  what  shall  I  say  to  you  now  that  the  blow  has 
fallen  on  you,  to  which  we  all  looked  forward  with  trembling,  despairing 
hearts,  while  we  thought  it  as  yet  far  distant  ?  Can  I,  in  written  words, 
express  to  you  our  feelings,  our  grief  on  your  account  ?  Let  me  rather 
appeal  to  your  faith  in  us,  that  you  may  find  a  vent  for  your  own  sorrow 
in  imaging  to  yourself  the  feelings  of  your  distant  friends. 

My  poor,  poor  friend,  where  now,  amid  the  wild  tumults  of  the  world, 
will  you  find  a  tranquil  spot,  in  which  your  grief,  raising  you  at  last  above 
the  immediate  pain  of  your  loss,  may  restore  to  you  the  peace  of  rnind  you 
need  for  your  own  sake — for  the  sake  of  your  children,  of  your  friends  ? 
Not  in  solitude  can  you  regain  tranquillity,  for  the  ever-turning  wheel  of 
thought  within  us,  which,  in  prosperity,  we  fancy  obedient  to  our  will,  dis- 
turbs more  than  the  outward  world ;  and  the  eye  of  a  friend  has  more 
power  than  aught  else  to  calm  the  heart.  Come  to  us,  as  we  can  not  yet 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  181 

come  to  you ;  unless  this  climate  and  place  are  too  unhealthy  for  you. 
But  we  ici'M  come  to  you — I  hope  soon,  and  I  hope  not  for  a  short  time. 
And  then  we  will  strive  together  after  courage  to  meet  the  destruction  of 
all  happiness,  all  hope,  all  joy. 

Milly's  tender  love  for  your  Marie,  which  you  so  well  know,  will  tell  you 
how  great  was  the  blow  to  her,  when  she  read  in  the  newspaper  the  terri- 
ble announcement,  which  a  letter  from  Dora  had  scarcely  prepared  us  to 
expect.  You  know  that  she  loved  no  one  more  deeply  than  Marie,  and 
that  no  parting,  among  those  fate  has  allotted  to  us,  was  bitterer  than 
that  from  her ;  to  live  with  her  was  ever  Milly's  highest  wish. 

I  understand  why  you  have  not  written  to  us — you  could  not ;  but  now, 
write.  I  promise  faithfully  to  answer  you ;  and  am  I  not  your  nearest 
and  dearest  friend  in  the  world,  as  you  are  mine  ?  I  entreat  you  to  write  : 
we  will  not  keep  silence  on  your  grief,  either  now,  in  absence,  or  when  we 
meet  again.  You  used  to  write  once  when  I  did  not  repay  you  for  it. 

We  will  come  to  you  j  we  will  not  seek  to  comfort  you,  but  to  infuse 
serenity  into  your  mind.  Fray  for  serenity;  strive  after  it.  It  is  no  sin, 
even  in  the  deepest  sorrow ;  it  is  the  necessary  support  to  the  soul  on 
which  heavy  burdens  are  laid,  without  which  they  could  not  be  borne  to 
the  journey's  end. 

Milly  embraces  you  with  warmest  love.  And  God  strengthen  and  pre- 
serve you !  Your  NIKBDHE. 

cv. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

AMSTERDAM,  September,  1808. 

Your  last  letter,  and  indeed  the  one  before  it,  are  still  unanswered  ;  they 
would  not  be  so,  but  that  my  zeal  in  corresponding  has  sensibly  declined ; 
and  that  the  circular  letters,  which  I  continue  in  deference  to  my  father's 
wishes,  hinder  me  from  writing  others.  No  more  of  that ;  but  I  must  not 
conceal  from  you  that  we  are — not  myself  alone,  but  the  whole  public  of 
this  city — living  in  a  state  of  excitement  which  destroys  all  free  exercise 
of  thought  with  me,  and  keeps  me  in  a  positive  fever.  I  know  this  state 
of  mind  from  repeated  experience,  fear  it,  and  yet  can  no  more  keep  it  off, 
than  he  can  who  has  once  been  a  desperate  gamester,  when  he  stands  as 
a  spectator  by  the  green  table,  even  though  he  may  not  touch  a  card  him- 
self. And  in  this  game,  other  things  are  at  stake  beside  gold.  Were  it 
possible  to  shut  ourselves  up  without  becoming  hypochondriacal,  it  would 
be  better  not  to  go  into  society  oftener  than  once  a  fortnight,  and  then 
hear  the  purified  residue  of  all  the  reports  afloat  within  that  time,  than  to 
hear  them,  at*  we  dp  now,  from  their  very  commencement,  to  doubt  them, 
examine  them  without  data,  and  never  know  any  thing  with  certainty,  but 
the  existence  of  the  abyss  into  which  we  may  all  plunge,  and  to  think  with 
terror  of  our  distant  friends.  \  .,„" 

Milly  will  tell  you  how  we  read  in  the  paper  the  announcement  of 
Marie's  death,  and  that  we  had  not  expected  it  from  your  letter.  Moltke 
has  nor.  written  to  me,  or  else  his  letter  has  miscarried.  God  help  him ! 
His  youthful  vigor  had  been  visibly  affected  by  the  vicissitudes  of  his  early 
life,  and  by  Augusta's  death ;  and  the  higher  rose  the  flame  of  mingled 
feeling  and  imagination  within  him,  the  more  it  preyed  upon  that  inward 
strength  with  which  we  miwt  bear  up  against  sorrow,  if  we  are  not  to  be 


182  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

overwhelmed  by  it ;  and  hence  we  can  not  tmt  tremble  for  the  effects  of 
such  a  blow.  0  that  I  were  but  free,  and  could  go  to  him !  When  we 
meet  again  let  us  all  speak  much  of  Marie.  She  had  every  perfection — 
brilliancy,  purity,  intellect,  grace — and  the  fading  away  of  her  body  had 
not  affected  the  mind.  She  did  not  know  what  she  was.  No  one  could 
talk  more  beautifully,  and  no  one  was  more  unpretending.  Even  during 
her  illness,  when  she  spoke  of  things  with  a  depth  of  insight  beyond  all 
other  spectators  of  the  same  scenes,  she  always  spoke  in  such  a  manner 
that  the  hearer  could  not  help  feeling  that  no  one  else  could  have  said  the 
same,  and  fearing  to  appear  commonplace  beside  her,  although  the  exqui- 
site beauty  of  her  conversation  raised  all  around  her  above  their  ordinary 
tone  of  thought.  You,  too,  will  feel  much  more  desolate. 

Do  not  indulge  brighter  hopes  for  our  future,  because  the  Prussian  terri- 
tory is  partially  evacuated.  For  it  is  not  evacuation,  though  the  troops 
may  be  drawn  off.  It  is  not  impossible  that  the  convention  might  be  rati- 
fied now:  but,  as  matters  stand,  we  could  not  fulfill  it,  and  therefore  should 
only  pronounce  our  own  condemnation.  The  impossibility  is  so  self-evi- 
dent, that  I  would  rather  touch  red-hot  iron  than  have  any  thing  to  do 
with  the  business.  However,  counsel  comes  with  time  :  I  mean  for  indi- 
viduals themselves 

CVI. 

AMSTERDAM,  I3tk  September,  1808. 

We  received  your  welcome  letter  on  Saturday,  together  with  one  from 
Moltke,  that  was  long  past  its  time.  What  you  tell  me  about  his  state 
of  mind  is  a  great  comfort  to  me  ;  all  and  every  thing.  I  hope  that  he  will 
find  tears,  and  then  activity.  It  used  to  be  very  difficult  to  me  to  speak 
to  him  of  his  departed  Augusta :  now  that  his  calamity  is  so  great  and 
so  irreparable,  I  desire  to  talk  of  nothing  else  with  him  but  of  the  dear 
friend  whom  we  have  just  lost.  Then,  too,  I  was  much  younger,  my  at- 
tention was  more  easily  diverted,  and  I  shrank  from  the  aspect  of  sorrow. 
Now,  all  private  affliction  is  but  a  contribution  to  that  which  has  pene- 
trated into  the  inmost  corners  of  our  land,  and,  under  a  thousand  shapes, 
is  gnawing  at  every  heart. 

Probably  at  the  same  time  you  receive  this  letter,  perhaps  still  earlier, 
you  will  see  in  the  newspapers  an  article,  which  is,  to  a  certain  extent,  a 
proscription  of  my  friend  Stein.*  I  have  seen  it  this  morning  for  the  first 
time  ;  you  may  imagine  with  what  feelings  !  This  is  my  reason  for  writing 
to  you  to-day,  for  it  will  not  only  grieve  you,  but  also  make  you  anxious 
on  our  account.  But  you  may  be  perfectly  easy.  My  connection  with 
Stein  involves  nothing  that  could  be  in  the  slightest  degree  dangerous  to 
me.  But  what  the  consequences  may  be  to  himself  I  tremble  to  hear. 
With  his  cast  of  mind,  where  a  thousand  ideas,  often  of  the  most  opposite 
description,  follow  each  other  in  rapid  succession,  this  expression  of  his 

*  Stein  was  already  revolving  plans  for  the  future  resurrection  and  deliver- 
ance of  Germany.  A  letter  addressed  to  Prince  Wittgenstein  on  the  position 
of  affairs,  containing  the  expression  that  the  spirit  of  discontent  with  the  French 
regime  must  be  kept  up  in  Westphalia,  was  intercepted  by  the  French  authori- 
ties, and  published  in  the  journals.  Stein  instantly  sent  in  bis  resignation,  which 
was  not,  however,  accepted  by  the  King.  Napoleon  did  not  immediately  insist 
on  his  removal,  because  he  knew  that  his  presence  was  necessary  to  the  draw- 
ing of  the  stipulated  money  from  Prussia,  but  waited  his  time  to  ruin  him. 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  183 

sentiments  was  any  thing  but  a  deliberate  plan ;  it  was  the  effect  of  a  fit 
of  bitter  feeling,  which,  if  it  had  not  been  necessary  to  write  the  letter, 
and  send  off  the  dispatch  just  at  that  moment,  would  have  given  place  to  a 
completely  different  view  before  night.  It  is,  however,  very  remarkable  that 
both  his  sister,  the  Countess  Werthern,  and  I,  have  entreated  him,  almost 
upon  our  knees,  to  have  no  dealing*  of  any  kind  with  certain  individuals 
whom  he  believed  to  be  honest,  but  calumniated  men.  That  noble  Ma- 
dame Von  Werthern,  who  reads  men's  hearts  with  a  glance,  told  me  that 
when  she  saw  those  persons,  she  often  felt  as  if  the  devil  himself  was 
standing  before  her.  Stein  rebuked  her  for  it,  and  was  once  quite  angry 
with  me,  when  it  happened  $hat  each  of  us,  without  any  concert,  warned 
and  conjured  him  not  to  have  any  thing  to  do  with  these'  people.  I  think 
I  remember  clearly  that  Madame  Von  Werthern  once  told  me  in  so  many 
words,  that  she  had  a  presentiment  that  they  would  bring  misfortune  upon 
her  brother.  Is  not  the  hand  of  destiny  clearly  discernible  here  ?  Stein 
always  goes  headlong  from  the  fullest  confidence  of  hope  to  despair,  and 
in  his  judgments  of  people  he  often  neglects  to  confirm  his  opinion,  when 
once  formed,  by  any  observation  of  particular  cases.  But  since  his  own 
integrity  renders  him  much  more  inclined  to  judge  favorably  than  to  con- 
demn, he  often  gives  to  a  rogue  a  place  in  his  esteem,  which  an  honorable 
man  obtains  but  slowly  and  with  difficulty,  if  he  has  no  brilliant  parts  to 
recommend  him.  "  Have  you  proofs  against  him  ?"  he  has  asked  me, 
when  I  have  told  him  that  so  and  so  would  act  ill  in  the  case  "in  question  : 
the  result  furnished  the  proofs,  and  too  late. 

I  believe,  however,  that  the  crisis  is  now  very  near,  as  to  the  approach 
of  which  we  have  long  since  oeased  to  deceive  ourselves.  A  convention 
had  been  negotiated,*  but  was  not  as  yet  concluded.  Will  the  thread 
break  at  once  ?  It  certainly  will  break,  sooner  or  later.  If  so,  we  shall 
come  to  you,  and  truly  we  shall  not  be  sadder  than  we  are  now,  and  have 
long  been.  People  may  say  what  they  please  of  the  practical  utility  of 
history  ;  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  it  is  a  sure  preservation  from  being 
deluded  into  hope  by  many  an  ignit  fatuus. 

Poor  Koppe,  who  will  get  into  trouble,  is  a  harmless  fellow,  and  has  a 
wife  and  children, 

CVII. 
TO  COUNT  ADAM  MOLTKE. 

AMSTERDAM,  30lh  September,  1808. 

The  news  that  Perthes  found  you  jirell,  dearest  Moltke — the  only  new* 
we  have  received  concerning  you  for  a  considerable  time — has  quieted  our 
fears  for  your  health.  Suffer  me  now  to  implore  you  most  earnestly  to 
take  care  of  yourself,  for  God's  sake  not  to  lose  all  interest  in  this  life, 
which  has  still  such  sacred  claims  upon  you.  I  ask  from  you  no  more 
than  that  you  should  seek,  rather  than  avoid,  the  alleviations  nature  sends 
you — sleep,  and  the  gradual  transition  of  passionate  into  gentler  grief : 
that  you  should,  if  possible,  moderate  the  vehemence  of  your  feelings,  and, 
however  much  it  may  cost  you,  keep  that  memory  which  will  never  leave 
you,  apart  from  the  present  reality,  which  will  reward  you  more  than  most 
others,  if  you  turn  not  from  it. 

My  dearest  friend,  fate  gave  you  what  you  in  your  ardent,  stormy  youth, 
*  In  Paris,  between  Champagny  and  Prince  William  of  Prussia. 


184  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

sought  as  your  appropriate  lot.  Fate  gave  you  more  than  falls  to  the 
share  of  most  men — too  much — since  it  would  not  leave  you  the  possession 
of  blessings,  the  enjoyment  of  which  had  made  all  others  in  life  distasteful 
to  you.  You  had  every  thing  which  your  heart  in  the  vague  longings  of 
youth  could  imagine,  and  you  gave  yourself  up  to  this  fullness  of  love — 
to  the  perfect  earthly  sphere  in  which  all  your  thoughts  found  employment, 
undisturbed  by  the  manifold  perplexities  which  so  often  prevent  those, 
whose  lot  it  is  to  be  driven  hither  and  thither  through  a  changeful  and  un- 
congenial life,  from  ever  attaining  a  satisfactory  consciousness  of  what 
fate  has  really  done  for  them.  I  have  seen  you  happier  than  I  ever  beheld 
any  other  human  being,  in  the  highest  energy  of  your  own  nature,  whose 
internal  vigor  had  enabled  it  to  withstand  all  the  storms  that  might  have 
devastated  it ;  your  intellect  enriched,  your  heart  ennobled  and  matured 
through  love  and  happiness  ;  when,  as  yet,  you  were  untroubled  by  any  fears 
for  the  life  of  your  Augusta.  I  have  seen  you  bent  to  the  earth  beneath  the 
stroke  that  deprived  you  of  your  happiness ;  I  have  seen  you  pass  from  youth 
to  the  firmness  of  matured  manhood ;  and  attaining,  under  the  influence 
of  your  Marie's  extraordinary  harmony  and  completeness  of  character,  an 
inward  strength  and  peace,  which  neither  you  nor  your  friends  could  have 
hoped  to  see  in  you  in  so  high  a  degree.  Your  youth  is  over,  your  joys  are 
gone;  nothing  is  left  to  you  but  a  serene  activity,  for  yourself,  for  your 
children,  for  and  with  your  friends.  But  the  children  alone  afford  you  so 
many  joys,  and  promise  far  more  for  the  future ;  your  own  efforts  and  the 
affection  of  your  friends  will  bring  you  so  many  hours — such  as  those  we 
spent  together  in  early  days,  before  you  had  won  your  Augusta — that,  had 
you  not  been  so  surpassingly  happy,  your  life  would  flow  by,  without,  in- 
deed, satisfying  you,  yet  still  full  of  beauty.  Altogether,  when  we  com- 
pare the  worth  of  his  life,  who,  robbed  of  his  dearest  happiness,  lives  on  to 
the  end  with  a  longing,  glowing  heart,  which  when  fortune  smiled  on  him, 
had  raised  him  above  this  world,  with  the  life  of  one  whose  heart  has 
never  thus  bled,  but  has  also  never  thus  glowed,  can  we  doubt  whose  lot 
has  been  the  best,  even  if  we  look  at  it  only  on  the  side  of  enjoyment  ? 

If  our  future  were  not  so  utterly  undecided,  and  if  you  could  leave  your 
estate  under  present  circumstances  (which,  however,  you  must  not  do,  on 
account  of  your  children,  at  a  time  when  land  is  the  only  property  not  in 
danger  of  complete  annihilation),  we  would  speak  of  the  future,  and  make 
plans  for  living  in  the  same  place.  But  this  is  impossible  for  us  at  pres- 
ent;  we  can  not  even  plan  definitely  for  a  single  week.  I  have  given  up 
all  hope  for  Prussia,  and  we  shall  not  live  in  Berlin  ;  this  negative  expect- 
ation is  the  only  circumstance  we  can  look  forward  to  as  even  more  prob- 
able than  another.  Some  time  ago  we  anticipated  a  violent  end  to  the 
long  death-struggle  of  our  unhappy  State,  and  we  then  decided  to  spend 
the  whiter  with  you ;  now,  the  sickness  has  assumed  another  form,  and  it 
seems  probable  that  I  shall  be  forced  to  rend  asunder  the  ties  that  unite 
me  to  the  State,  if  I  will  not  turn  hangman,  and  go  back  to  Berlin  to  take 
part  in  the  horrible  work  of  raising  money  by  grinding  extortions.  And 
so  we  may  very  likely  not  only  see  each  other  in  the  course  of  the  winter, 
but  spend  a  considerable  time  together 

Farewell,  my  beloved  friend,  and  be  strong ;  be  at  one  with  yourself,  and 
think  not  too  lightly  of  what  is  still  left  to  you.  There  is  an  indescribable 
strength  in  resignation  ;  on  that  foundation  you  may  build  up  your  life  se- 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SEEVICE.  185 

curely.  Do  not  waste  your  energies  by  striving  to  penetrate  into  the  eter- 
nally hidden  regions — nor  by  endeavoring  to  give  eternity  to  this  world. 
Eternity  is  more  real  than  time;  let  that  suffice  us;  the  earth  is  too  small 
for  man ;  and  what  we  become  conscious  of  in  ourselves,  is  but  the  lowest 
part  of  our  being ;  and  shall  we  lose  ourselves  in  questionings  about  this 
part,  which  seems  to  us  the  whole  ?  Do  not  you  act  thus,  but  rather  fix 
your  mind  on  what  yet  remains  to  you,  and  among  the  rest  on  the  affec- 
tion of  your  friend,  who  loves  you  with  his  whole  heart.  Our  love  to  the 
c-hildren.  ,  Your  faithful  N. 

CVIII, 
AMSTERDAM,  begun  22<£  December,  1808. 

Since  I  wrote  the  previous  page,  and,  incapable  of  continuing, 

fpund  myself  obliged  to  lay  down  my  paper,  I  have  been  constantly  suffer- 
ing in  my  health,  and  yet  could  not  make  up  my  mind  to  send  for  a  phy- 
sician. My  constitution,  and  more  especially  the  influence  exercised  on  my 
body  by  my  state  of  mind — which  is  always  with  me  the  true  cause  of 
health  and  sickness — are  too  unlike  any  thing  to  be  found  among  the  Dutch, 
for  a  physician,  whose  opinions  and  mode  of  treatment  have  been  formed 
here,  to  be  capable  of  taking  a  reasonable  view  of  my  case ;  so  rest,  and  a 
combination  of  mental  and  physical  diet,  must  be  my  chief  reliance.  In 
fact,  it  seems  to  me,  that  the  methods  of  treatment  in  the  medical  art 
(which  would  so  gladly  set  itself  up  for  a  science)  must  be  completely  dif- 
ferent in  different  parts  of  the  globe — just  as  civil  institutions  do,  and 
must  differ  in  different  countries  and  nations.  Thus,  for  example,  the  phy- 
sicians here  may  be  perfectly  right  in  adapting  their  general  treatment  to 
colds,  indigestions,  and  hardy,  full-blooded  systems,  without  taking  Intel- 
lect or  feeling  much  into  consideration.  But  woe  to  the  stranger  with 
whom  these  preconceived  anticipations  are  incorrect,  and  who  falls  into 
their  hands  !  In  general,  I  do  not  like  medical  men  ;  they  form  the  most 
arrogant  and  unprincipled  of  all  classes,  next  to  the  nobles,  and  rival  the 
priests  (as  they  used  to  be,  for  they  are  now  on  quite  a  different  road),  and 
the  political  economists.  And  no  wonder,  for  they,  too,  must  have  a  con- 
sciousness of  internal  untruthfulness,  from  the  contrast  between  their  pre- 
tensions and  what  they  really  are,  and  they  try  to  conceal  this  from  them- 
selves by  self-conceit.  And  just  as  it  is  very  difficult  for  a  statesman  not 
to  be  corrupted  by  degrees,  unless  he  is  a  thoroughly  upright  man,  because 
the  contemplation  of  the  blunders  that  he  often  can  not  help  making  is  all 
too  painful,  so  the  same  takes  place  with  the  physician,  who,  besides,  de- 
pends more  than  the-  statesman  on  reputation,  and  can  not,  like  him,  gloss 
over  his  mistakes.  That  this  hatred  toward  the  class  does  not  extend  to 
every  individual  is,  of  course,  to  be  understood ;  why,  I  even  like  and  es- 
teem individuals  among  the  nobility  (of  course,  I  am  not  speaking  of  you 
and  such  as  you),  among  the  priests,  and  the  political  economists. 

Thus  I  have  tried  another  medicine,  in  the  shape  of  some  moat  select  read- 
ing. .  I  wanted  a  book  that  would  rouse  my  imagination  and  my  feelings. 
So  I  took  up  Mirabeau's  "Essai  sur  le  Despotisme."  Do  you  still  recol- 
lect lending  it  to  me  thirteen  years  ago  ?  I  remember  your  copy  perfectly, 
and  your  pencil  marks  on  the  margin,  as  well  as  tho  deep  impression  it 
made  upon  me.  It  is  a  sweet  dream  to  call  those  times  into  life  again ! 
When  we  are  conscious  of  tha  difference  in  our  way  of  reading  the  same 
thing  at  different  and  distant  times,  we  obtain  some  help  toward  the  p:c- 


186  MEMOIR,  OF  NIEBUHR. 

ture  of  what  we  then  were  and  now  are.  Formerly  every  thing  seized  hold 
of  me  with  infinitely  greater  power ;  but  it  remained  in  my  mind  too  much 
as  an  undigested  mass,  and  worked  as  such;  now  I  can  discriminate  and 
test  more  keenly.  This  eloquent  book,  however,  stands  my  tests ;  the  more 
it  is  logically  investigated,  the  less  will  it  be  accused  of  declamation.  It 
shows  quite  convincingly  that  Mirabeau  was  perfectly  free  from  the  folly 
which  afterward  attacked  every  head  like  an  epidemic — namely,  the  idea 
of  binding  freedom  forever  to  a  country  by  the  forms  of  a  constitution.  He 
certainly  knew  the  contrary  to  be  true,  and  he  can  not  have  lost  this  convic- 
tion. Certainly,  too,  he  is  innocent  of  the  horrid  idea  of  universal  represent- 
ation, out  of  which  all  the  mischief  has  flowed,  and  which  arose  in  a  spirit 
of  imitation  that  had  taken  possession  of  shallow  minds,  and  so-called 
metaphysicians.  For  Necker  had  a  shallow  mind,  but  it  was  German 
shallowness,  which,  if  it  be  adorned  with  outward  showiness,  wears  an  ap- 
pearance of  practical  solidity  to  the  mass  of  Frenchmen.  That  Mirabeau 
afterward  made  use  of  this  power  is  nothing  to  the  purpose  ;  the  great  man 
can  make  use  of  every  thing  by  subjecting  it  to  himself.  I  should  like, 
however,  to  be  absolutely  certain  that  he  definitely  rejected  and  contemned 
this  folly.  Who,  after  him,  would  care  to  say  any  thing  concerning  the 
degeneration  of  all  branches  of  the  executive  power  under  a  despotism  ? 
Despotism  was  the  sickness  which  consumed  the  energies  of  Prussia  ;  Den- 
mark has  long  suffered  under  it ;  but  it  would  be  a  folly  to  take  the  trou- 
ble to  describe  the  yellow  fever  after  Thucydides,  and  since  ages  have  not 
taught  mankind  to  profit  by  his  wisdom,  it  is  at  least  quite  superfluous 
now  to  delineate  the  particular  symptoms  of  the  disease. 

What  inimitable  sayings  !  "L'animal  que  dechire  le  feroce  leopard,  ad- 
mire-t-il  la  garrure  de  sa  peau  ou  la  variete  de  ses  ruses  ?"  Set  in  the 
place  of  the  first  word,  the  subject,  the  equivalent  term  1'Allemand — and 
the  deep  truth  of  the  saying  is  gone.  The  animal  knows  nothing  beyond 
the  impulse  of  natural  feeling,  and  seeks  no  false  consolation ;  but  our 
countrymen  have  no  true  feeling  left;  not  even  that  of  pain  or  enjoyment. 
And  on  this  account,  I  can  not  conceive  what  is  to  become  of  us.  Are  we 
to  be  apes  of  apes  ?  I  implore  the  mercy  of  Heaven  to  grant  us  a  new 
revelation  ;  for  salvation  must  come  to  man  from  without ;  our  own  long- 
ings only  prepare  the  way  for  it. 

Mirabeau  was  indeed  a  great  sinner ;  he  was  possessed  by  a  devil,  but 
he  had  a  very  great  nature,  and  there  is  more  joy  in  heaven  over  one  such 
sinner,  than  over  a  hundred  just  men.  He  was  too  high  above  his  nation, 
like  Carnot,  the  only  two  great  men  of  the  revolution.  His  eloquence  car- 
ried away  the  people,  and  they  fancied  that  they  admired  him;  just  as 
the  loud  noise  of  a  full  orchestra  seizes  hold  of  the  common  people,  who 
would  have  remained  perfectly  indifferent  to  the  music  itself,  performed  on 
less  noisy  instruments.  Such  sinners  excite  a  peculiar  kind  of  veneration 
in  me,  though  most  truly  they  do  not  hold  the  highest  place.  There  is 
something  yet  far  higher,  and  over  that  we  can  only  weep.  Mirabeau 
says,  "Si  j'ai  dit  la  verite,  pourquoi  ma  vehemence,  en  1'exprimant,  di- 
minuerait-elle  de  son  prix?"  Vehemence  of  expression  is  but  brilliancy  of 
coloring,  and  as  this  is  no  defect  except  when  the  colors  are  false,  why 
must  I  find  it  so  often  assumed  as  a  proof  that  I  am  wrong?  Is  it  true 
that  he  who  reaches  the  goal  must  necessarily  go  beyond  it,  because  there 
is  a  possibility  of  his  doing  so  ?  Is  an  act  of  atrocity,  of  injustice,  of  folly, 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  187 

annihilated  because  it  excites  me  to  passionate  indignation  ?  Or  must  one 
even  take  the  poor  innocent  thing  under  one's  protection  against  its  unjust 
accusers  ?  Here  one  learns  to  speak  coldly,  that  is,  in  general,  to  hold 
one's  peace ;  for  amidst  the  praiseworthy  and  excellent  things  to  be  seen 
here,  the  stranger  feels  at  last  oppressed  by  the  care  bestowed  on  mere  out- 
ward life,  and  the  utter  incapacity  for  all  elevating  sentiments.  Opinions 
here  are  but  prejudices,  and  those  on  religion  perfectly  insupportable.  Yet 
the  people,  as  might  be  expected,  are  not  really  pious ;  just  as  they  have 
not  been  really  republicans  for  many  generations ;  but  the  administration 
was  free,  and  more  than  that  would  not  have  suited  the  nation 

CIX. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLEB,. 

AMSTERDAM,  \2th  December,  1808. 

In  the  first  place,  1  must  thank  you  for  all  the  affectionate  friendly 
things  in  your  letter,  beginning  with  the  advice  to  bear  lightly  disagreea- 
bles -which  can  not  be  avoided.  If  you  have  strong  shoulders,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  bear — but  if  they  have  become  weak  ?  Besides,  you  yourself 
would  not  bear  any  thing  of  this  kind  lightly.  You  have  many  a  time 
borne  with  folly  patiently.  I  can  do  so  too,  and  do  it  conscientiously 
where  a  few  good  qualities  make  amends ;  what  now  annoys  me  is  some- 
thing different. 

It  must  be  a  strange  sort  of  fellow,  a  true  Margites — neither 

digger  nor  plowman,  nor  acquainted  with  any  thing  in  the  world — from 
whom  I  could  not  gain  something  in  a  titt-a-tett  conversation ;  on  the  con- 
trary, I  think  I  surpass  most  in  this  art,  and  hence  form  so  many  friend- 
ships when  in  a  foreign  country,  because  men  of  almost  every  class  and 
calling  find  that  they  can  exchange  something  with  me.  But  when  such 
a  man  turns  up,  and  is  fastened  upon  one,  so  that  it  is' impossible  to  get 
rid  of  him — a  thoroughly  worthless  man — how  can  one  help  feeling  dis- 
gust toward  him,  however  much  reflection  he  may  give  rise  to.  And  re- 
flection, properly  speaking,  is  not  my  forte :  what  I  perceive,  I  see  with  a 
glance ;  and  it  is  not  till  I  have  reached  my  aim  (where,  indeed,  I  can  not 
fail  to  do  so)  that  I  am  able  to  connect  my  new  point  of  view  with  the 
old  one.  But  on  this  very  account,  I  am  far  less  able  to  choose  my  own 
course,  than  the  man  whose  mental  progress  is  the  result  of  deliberation ; 
my  powers,  whatever  they  are,  and  whenever  they  are  present,  depend  on 
an  external  talisman  like  Samson's  strength.  On  Faith,  in  the  general 
as  well  as  the  special  sense,  I  would  gladly  write  to  you,  as  I  can  not  talk 
with  you,  if  a  hypochondriac  could  write  a  letter  equivalent  to  a  book. 
Your  Faculty  of  Divination  I  would  not  concede  to  you,  except  as  it  might 
be  a  kind  of  poetry,  which  is  certainly  something  very  high.  But  Knowl- 
edge and  Faith  are  widely  different,  and  both  are  founded,  as  it  seems  to 
me,  on  Perception.  A  third  faculty  of  a  quite  peculiar  kind  (and  for  which 
we  have  no  word),  is  the  recognition  of  the  incomprehensible — of  the  im- 
possibility of  what  is,  according  to  our  ideas,  most  certain,  which  we  meet 
with,  for  example,  in  all  natural  circles.  What  I  mean  will  probably  not 
be  made  clear  to  you  by  this  awkward  expression ;  it  is  something,  the 
admission  of  which,  and  the  constant  reference  to  it,  distinguish  the  seer 
in  nature  from  the  ordinary  learned  man — something,  of  which  Dolomiea, 
for  example,  had  a  strong  feeling,  and  which  must  some  day  throw  a  new 


188  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

light  on  all  our  sciences.  Imagination— as  the  word  is  commonly  used — 
will  be  our  guide  least  of  all  here ;  more  may  be  gained  from  the  steady 
gaze,  by  which  we  may  at  last  even  obtain  a  glimpse  into  the  regions  of 
knowledge.  To  me,  faith  without  testimony  is  impossible.  But  as  far  as 
faith  in  all  personal  relations  of  life  is  concerned,  I  believe,  by  all  that  is 
holy !  in  all  that  I  see  to.  be  beautiful,  noble,  glorious — unalterably  and 
forever !  To  these  belong  sympathy,  kindness,  and  self-sacrifice,  when  the 
latter  forms  an  abiding  trait  of  the  character.  But  I  believe  only  in  the 
very  rarest  instances  in  an  unalterable  feeling  of  interest  in  a  person,  or 
subject ;  for  such  interest  is  in  its  causes  and  in  itself  a  variable  quantity, 
and  may  change  its  direction  without  any  change  taking  place  in  the  char- 
acter. Yet  I  know  that  I  myself  possess  this  kind  of  constancy — which 
is  no  merit  in  me. 

Stein's  evil  genius  has  blinded  his  eyes,  and  led  him  on  from  one  false 
step  to  another ;  whether  it  be,  as  some  say,  that  he,  the  unsuspicious,  has 
been  entangled  in  a  net  of  artifice,  or,  that  want  of  deliberation,  and  a  re- 
solve to  break  through  his  bonds,  careless  of  consequences,  have  led  him  to 
the  very  point  to  which  his  enemies  wished  to  allure  him.  In  times  of 
good  fortune,  it  is  indeed  easy  to  appear  great — nay,  even  really  to  act 
greatly — but  in  misfortune,  very  difficult.  The  greatest  man  will  commit 
blunders  in  misfortune,  because  the  want  of  proportion  between  his  means 
and  his  ends  progressively  increases,  and  his  inward  strength  is  exhausted 
in  fruitless  efforts 

ex. 

AMSTERDAM,  IQlk  January,  1809. 

Yesterday  I  saw  Stein's  proscription  in  a  Dutch  newspaper.*  I  was 
quite  unprepared  for  it,  as  you  will  have  been,  and  you  can  fancy  the 
grief  and  consternation  that  seized  me.  But  it  is  a  time  in  which  one 
must  lock  up  one's  sorrow  within  one's  own  breast,  especially  in  my  posi- 
tion, and  as  far  aS  letters  are  concerned.  I  am  waiting  with  a  beating 
heart  for  to-day's  papers,  which  will  perhaps  already  confirm  our  worst 
fears.  It  is  so  evident  that  his  evil  genius  has  driven  him  forward  to  his 
fate,  that  I  dare  not  hope  that  any  effort  will  be  made  at  Berlin  to  save 
him. 

I  repeat  for  your  relief  the  assurance  that  Stein  has  never  writ- 
ten me  a  word  by  which  I  could  be  compromised ;  and  you  will  the  more 
readily  believe  that  I  have  never  written  any  thing  which  could  even  be 
construed  into  an  expression  of  sentiments  similar  to  those  which  caused 
his  ruin,  since  we  conversed  together  last  winter  about  the  position  of 
Germany,  and  I  told  you,  as  I  told  every  one,  how  indignant  I  felt  at  the 
senseless  prating  of  those  who  talked  of  desperate  resolves,  as  of  a  tragedy. 
Ever  since  the  Peace  of  Tilsit,  my  maxims  have  been  those  which  Phocion 
preached  to  the  Athenians  of  his  age,  and  nowhere  have  I  seen  among  the 
declaimers  on  the  other  side,  a  Demosthenes,  or  even  a  Hyperides,  but 
many  a  Diaeus.  To  bear  our  fate  with  dignity  and  wisdom,  that  the  yoke 
might  be  lightened,  was  my  doctrine,  and  I  supported  it  with  the  advice 
of  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  who  spoke  and  acted  very  wisely,  living,  as  he 
did,  under  King  Zedekiah,  in  the  times  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  though  he 

*  The  sentence  of  outlawry  against  Stein  was  signed  by  Napoleon  at  Madrid 
16th  December,  1808,  but  did  not  reach  Berlin  till  early  in  January,  1809. 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SEEVICE.  189 

would  have  given  different  counsel  had  he  lived  under  Judas  Maccabtens, 
in  the  times  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes :  "  Seek  the  peace  of  the  city  whither 
I  hare  caused  you  to  be  carried  away  captives ;  for  in  the  peace  thereof 
•hall  ye  have  peace." 

CXI. 
TO  COUNT  ADAM  MOLTKE. 

AMSTERDAM,  15/A  January,  1809. 

You  can  imagine  how  the  thought  of  Stein's  proscription  tortures 

me,  by  raising  imaginations  which  I  can  neither  follow  out  nor  banish 
from  my  mind.  A  faint  hope  that  it  may  not  come  to  the  worst  comforts 
me  at  times,  and  encourages  me  to  dismiss  the  most  frightful  pictures  that 
present  themselves ;  it  would  not  be  the  first  time  that  the  terror  of  a 
sentence  of  condemnation  had  been  deemed  a  sufficient  punishment.  I 
will  form  no  conjectures  on  a  question  which  events  will  have  decided  be- 
fore you  read  this.  It  is  as  if  there  had  been  a  demon  at  work,  leading 
him  on  from  one  delusion  to  another,  now  blinding  him  by  hope,  now  by 
despair,  now  by  over-security,  now  by  misplaced  confidence,  till  he  was 
brought  to  the  edge  of  the  precipice ;  and  his  previous  course  terrifies  me 
above  all,  by  inspiring  the  fear  that  he  will  plunge  into  the  lowest  depths 
of  the  abyss  before  him.  I  shall  never  deny  him,  and  never  forget  him, 
though  he  has  become  estranged  from  me  of  late,  and  has  often  acted 
under  the  influence  of  a  spirit  that  grieved  me,  and  almost  drove  me  to 
despair.  It  was  his  misfortune  that  I  was  separated  from  him,  and  this 

conviction  makes  me  sadder  still I  loved  him  for  his  fiery  spirit, 

his  rough  cordiality,  his  integrity,  his  contempt  of  shams,  his  clear  under- 
standing, the  extent  of  his  knowledge,  his  real  enthusiasm,  and  his  pene- 
trating glance;  his  sharp  angles  did  not  hurt  me,  and  his  weak  points 
were  partially  vailed,  though  not  so  closely,  but  that  I  often  suspected 
them,  and  sometimes  recognized  them  with  dismay.  Such 'as  they  were, 
however  (I  saw  them  first  and  very  early,  in  his  unaccountable  bestowal 
of  confidence  on  unworthy  persons),  they  rather  affected  the  minister  than 
the  man  ;  had  we  worked  together  in  ordinary  times,  they  would  have  had 
no  injurious  consequences  in  the  business  I  had  to  transact,  and  my  con- 
nection with  him  would  have  been  a  bright  spot  in  my  life..  He  was 
never  reserved,  never  enigmatical ;  he  did  not  receive  expressions  of  warm 
attachment  as  a  due  homage,  but  welcomed  them ;  he  returned  them  fully, 
and  valued  them  highly.  He  seized  the  whole  character  at  a  grasp,  and 
did  not  pick  out  this,  and  that,  and  the  other  quality  in  a  man,  in  order 
to  determine  their  value  and  weigh  them  against  others.  I  shall  never 
forget  with  what  reluctance  he  took  leave  of  me  in  Memel :  he  called  me 
back  time  after  time,  said  I  must  not  go  yet,  and  after  all,  we  did  not  sup- 
pose it  a  final  parting.  At  that  parting  we  were  truly  friends,  as  truly  as 
persons  can  become  so  after  their  firtt  youth ;  the  unions  we  form  then 
are  indeed  of  a  different  character  from  any  of  later  years.  He  also  wrote 
me  very  affectionate  letters  afterward.  When  he  came  to  Berlin,  in  the 
spring,  their  tone  altered ;  he  seemed  already  to  be  under  foreign  influences, 
his  views  became  distorted ;  I  wrote  fiery  words  in  reply,  and  his  old  affec- 
tion came  forth  again  from  its  disguise.  But  the  length  of  our  separation 
may  have  weakened  it— or  was  it  the  influence  that  seems  to  have  taken 
possession  of  him  at  that  time  ?  Since  the  spring  his  letters  lost  their 


19Q  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

former  tone  of  familiarity  ;  we  retained  our  business  connection  with  each 
other,  and  who  knows  but  that  the  former  ties  might  have  been  restored 
if  we  had  been  brought  together  again  ?  Tor  some  mysterious  change 
must  have  taken  place  in  him  during  the  interval.  You  know  that  his 
successor*  and  I  became  good  friends  while  we  were  colleagues.  His 
character  is  amiable  and  very  upright ;  he  possesses  a  feeling  heart,  more 
sentiment  than  passion,  an  unequal  amount  of  knowledge  on  many  ques- 
tions, which  will  hardly  admit  of  being  treated  separately,  too  much  of 
the  routine  of  a  system,  scarcely  that  penetrating  eye,  by  which  a  states- 
man ought  to  be  able  to  take  in  all  the  outward  bearings,  and  inward  im- 
port of  a  question  with  a  glance ;  but  the  best  choice  that  could  be  made, 
and  one  in  which  I  should  rejoice  under  less  hopeless  circumstances ; 
though  his  systematizing,  and  his  slow  way  of  going  through  every  step 
in  a  chain  of  reasoning,  often  hinder  the  dispatch  of  business.  However, 
this  will  not  be  of  any  consequence  to  me  now,  as,  on  many  accounts,  my 
retirement  from  public  affairs  is  rendered  desirable,  indeed  almost  neces- 
sary. I  must  at  once  take  measures  to  prevent  injury  to  my  reputation 
from  the  ill-success  of  plans  which  I  know  to  be  impracticable ;  and  I 
really  can  not  place  myself  in  the  dilemma,  of  either  undertaking  a  re- 
sponsibility in  the  guidance  of  affairs  under  such  hopeless  circumstances, 
or  rinding  myself  a  mere  nullity,  or  unavailing  unit  amidst  opposing  voices 
of  equal  weight ;  consequently  1  must  retire.  It  is  no  unimportant  step  : 
I  feel  all  that  it  involves ;  but  even  if  the  end  of  our  State  is  not  so  near 
that,  whether  a  little  sooner  or  later,  it  will  be  reduced  to  its  former  atti- 
tude at  Kb'nigsberg,  perhaps  in  a  still  worse  place,  I  assure  you  it  would 
go  hard  with  me  to  eat  my  daily  bread  in  security,  as  a  not  absolutely 
necessary  servant  of  the  State,  while  the  country  is  in  such  misery.  It 
seems  that  many  would  be  pleased  at  my  retirement,  for  intrigues  and 
cabals  are  not  less  rife  or  less  malignant,  when  a  state  is  sunk  to  the 
lowest  point  erf  degradation.  Massenbach/s  account  of  Prince  Hohenlohe's 
joy  at  being  named  general-in-chief  of  a  disorganized  army,  that  was 
visibly  hastening  within  a  few  days  to  complete  destruction,  is  extremely 
striking  and  remarkable. — Altenstein,  and  probably  the  King,  are  perhaps 
the  only  ones  who  would  see  me  depart  with  regret.  Altenstein  has  less 
rigid  principles  with  regard  to  the  payment  of  public  servants,  than  I,  who 
have  a  more  republican  belief  in  the  obligation  to  serve,  if  we  can  be  of 
use ;  my  invincible  feelings  seem  to  him  over-scrupulousness ;  however,  I 
do  not  know  how  he  will  reconcile  his  pressing  invitations  to  me  to  return, 
with  the  organization  of  the  new  government,  which  seems  to  have  been 
formed  without  any  reference  to  me.  D.  appears  to  know  more  altogether 
about  the  cabals  against  me  than  I  myself,  who  can  only  have  a  presenti- 
ment of  them ;  he  will  probably  have  told  you  a  good  many  things  too. 

And  here  have  I  been  saying  not  a  little  upon  subjects  to  which  I  only 
meant  to  allude 

Through  the  circulating  library,  which  is  our  great  resource  here,  my 
attention  has  been  accidentally  turned  once  more  to  French  literature,  which 
we  foreigners  may  well  take  under  our  protection,  since  it  is  now  the  fashion 
among  the  French  themselves  to  decry  their  own  literature,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  poets  of  the  age  of  Louis  XIV.,  as  the  production  of  hell.  Mas- 
Billon's  "Petit  Careme,"  the  sublimity  and  splendor  of  which  you  know, 
*  Altenstein. 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  191 

(and  if  you  do  not  know  this  book,  you  most  read  yourself,  and  may  read 
most  of  it  to  Charles,  and  recommend  it  to  Dora,)  induced  me  to  read  his 
"  Histoire  de  la  Minorite  de  Louis  XV. ;"  a  book  which,  in  my  opinion,  is 
not  only  the  best  historical  work  in  the  French  literature,  but  is  not  inferior 
to  any  in  any  other  modern  language,  and  may  be  compared  to  the  ancients. 
The  grace  of  the  style  is  inimitable ;  the  descriptions  are  speaking  truth ; 
the  proportion  in  the  distribution  of  parts  harmonious ;  the  apothegms  full 
of  deep  significance ;  and  the  verdicts  passed,  those  of  a  great  statesman. 
The  judgment  which  the  Bishop  of  Clermont  pronounces  upon  subjects  of 
finance,  might  put  to  shame  nearly  all  the  ministers  who  have  no  other 
vocation  :  but  that  is  the  true  test;  of  a  great  man,  that  from  his  eminence 
he  can  survey  all  fields.  The  whole  work  displays  a  spirit  of  elevated 
purity,  the  real  human  sentiments  which  animate  his  sermons  also,  his 
classical  cast  of  thought,  and  the  truthfulness  of  a  man  who  is  at  one  with 
himself — his  freedom  from  all  bonds  of  class  and  opinion,  strong  as  was  his 
own  faith,  his  love  of  liberty,  his  correct  appreciation  of  the  duties  of  this 
world ; — finally,  it  breathes  throughout,  the  exquisitely  beautiful  spirit  of 
the  "  Petit  Careme ;" — the  spirit,  which  in  hia  Orations,  gave  rise  to  that 
delineation  of  the  times  of  Louis  XIV.,  which  must  have  made  his  hearers 
tremble,  as  the  great  man,  scarcely  guessing  their  feelings,  poured  forth  his 
own  soul.  This  description  is  annexed  to  the  ''Histoire."  I  am  certain 
that,  if  you  ever  read  it,  it  was  so  long  ago  that  your  memory  can  tell  you 
little  about  it.  Take  this  golden  book  in  hand,  beg  Dora  to  read  it  also, 
and  place  it  among  your  books,  not  beside  the  writers  of  hut  own  nation — 
except  perhaps  Diderot  and  Montesquieu — but  beaide  Thucydides  and 
Sallust :  if  you  have  it  not,  lose  no  time  in  procuring  it.  Tho  discovery  of 
such  a  pearl  gives  mo  a  day  of  delight,  and  you  need  such  days.  But  do 
not  speak  of  it  to  those  of  your  order ;  Massillon  was  no  friend  to  that ;  on 
the  contrary,  he  abhorred  it.  The  noble  who  can  not  bear  this,  had  better 

not  attempt  to  read  him 

This  autumn  I  have  read  Schiller's  "  History  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,'; 
and,  time  after  time,  I  have  raised  my  hands  in  astonishment,  not  in  ad- 
miration of  the  work,  O  by  no  means !  but  in  wonder  at  the  possibility 
that  a  book  like  this,  which  is  not  even  tolerably  well-written,  and  in  which 
the  narrative  never  flows  smoothly  on,  but  is  ever  halting  and  stumbling, 
should  be  allowed  to  rank  as  a  classical  work.  Time  will  assuredly  do 
justice  to  it,  and  allow  the  thing  to  sink  into  oblivion..  . . . 

CXII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

AMSTERDAM,  February  26/fc,  1809. 
'  .n.'..I  have  made  a  very  interesting  acquaintance  in  Valckenaer,* 

*  Valckenaer  was  the  son  of  the  celebrated  philologist.  His  literacy  fame, 
nnd  still  more  his  opposition  to  the  Orange  party,  procured  him  the  professor- 
fillip  of  Jurisprudence  in  Utrecht,  in  1787.  He  was  one  of  the  deputation  who 
went  to  Paris  to  request  the  assistance  of  the  Convention,  in  1795.  He  remained 
in  connection  with  the  government  up  to  the  resignation  of  Kine  Louis,  when 
he  also  retired  from  public  life.  It  is  somewhat  remarkable,  that  Niebuhr  should 
have  formed  so  close  a  friendship  with  a  man  so  completely  identified  with  the 
principles  of  the  Revolotion.  Tney  continued  to  correspond  after  Niebuhr  left 
Holland,  and  a  series  of  his  letters  to  Valckenaer  are  still  in  existence,  which 
his  friends  have  made  many  effort*  to  procure,  but  hitherto  without  success. 


192  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

who  was  formerly  ambassador  from  Holland  to  Spain.  He  is  a  Frisian,  a 
man  of  uncommon  intellect,  and  possessing  a  vivacity,  and  a  power  of 
taking  interest  in  a  wide  circle  of  subjects,  which  are  very  unusual  here. 
From  his  father  he  inherits  noble  philological  attainments,  and  it  is  the 
first  time,  at  least  for  many  years,  that  I  have  met  with  an  intellectual 
man  conversant  with  ancient  literature ;  as  familiarly  acquainted  with 
Rome  and  the  classics,  as,  for  instance,  we  Germans,  or  other  nations  pos- 
sessing a  literature,  are  with  their  own  literature  and  history,  and  with 
whom  I  could  converse  on  a  footing  of  equality.  For  all  the  other  more 
eminent  philologists  I  have  known,  assume  an  abominable  air  of  initiation 
which  I  by  no  means  concede  to  them.  Valckenaer  has  moved  about  in  the 
world  a  great  deal,  and  has  another  key  to  the  meaning  of  ancient  authors 
besides  grammar,  and  looks,  too,  for  other  things  in  them  besides  antiquities 
and  words.  Our  views  are  very  much  alike.  He  has  been  a  man  of  much 
ambition  and  violent  passions,  and  his  life  has  been  full  of  storms.  In  his 
house  lives  an  old  poet,  also  a  Frisian,  named  Van  Kooten,  who  has  written 
charming  Latin  poems,  an  achievement,  the  value  of  which  we  must  not 
underrate,  when  the  rare  case  occurs,  that  a  poetical  genius  has  so  com- 
pletely mastered  one  of  the  ancient  languages,  as  to  use  it  with  perfect 
freedom.  In  such  a  case  it  is  not  mere  sport  nor  affectation,  and  if  a  poet, 
as  must  happen  if  he  is  born  in  Holland,  finds  himself  forced  to  choose 
between  a  thoroughly  plebeian  idiom — possessing,  however,  forms  and  rules 
of  poetry,  which  he  can  not  break  through  without  losing  the  tone,  to  which 
he  and  all  his  nation  have  been  accustomed  from  childhood — and  an  ancient 
language  and  forms  of  poetry,  which  are  indeed  absolutely  inviolable,  and 
therefore  true  fetters,  but  were  created  by  the  most  exquisite  sense  of 
beauty— he  will  do  best  service  to  his  genius,  I  think,  by  choosing  the  lat- 
ter and  more  difficult  course.  There  still  exist  a  good  many  composers  of 
Latin  verses  here,  and  one  passes  for  a  great  poet ;  Van  Kooten  is,  however, 
the  only  real  poet  among  them.  We  Germans  are  happily  not  limited  to 
such  a  choice 

CXIII. 

MELDORF,  4tk  May,  1809. 
.....  .We  have  found  all  our  friends  here  pretty  well.    My  father  is  not 

much  altered,  a  little  paler,  much  blinder,  and  it  seems  as  if  his  blindness 
had  led  him  to  indulge  in  melancholy  reveries  in  his  hours  of  solitude,  which 
have  impaired  his  cheerfulness.  This  disposition  to  groundless  anxiety  he 
had  indeed  before  ;  it  relates  principally  to  the  imprudent  manner  in  which 
his  property  has  been  frittered  away,  about  which  we  strive  to  set  him  at 
rest.  It  is  touching  to  hear  his  unjust  reproaches  of  himself,  for  having 
neglected  different  objects  in  his  travels.  Thus  are  we  always  most  apt  to 
censure  ourselves,  for  not  having  accomplished  to  the  uttermost  what  lay 
before  our  hands,  and  was  the  easiest  part  of  our  work ;  while  we  overlook 
our  neglect  of  what  was  more  important,  but  what  we  had  to  find  out  for 
ourselves.  1  have  always  regretted  for  him,  and  still  regret,  that  on  his 
return  with  such  an  abundant  store  of  observations  and  discoveries,  the 
worth  of  which  could  scarcely  have  been  affected  by  a  few  facts  more  or 
less,  he  closed  his  active  life,  and  did  not  rather,  when  equipped  with  all 
this  knowledge,  undertake  some  learned  work.  Hence  it  is,  that  his  spirit 
has  long  languished  under  a  sense  of  indigence,  like  a  man  who  has  given 


THE   PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  193 

away  a  fortune,  earned  with  hard  labor  under  a  conjunction  of  circum- 
stances that  can  not  again  arise.  He  does  not  guess  the  cause  of  his  inward 
dissatisfaction  ;  ho  never  did.  And  woe  be  to  him  who  should  open  his 
eyes  to  it ! 

On  our  journey  we  found  papers,  which  heightened  the  painful  anticipa- 
tions with  which  we  had  left  Niitschan,  by  the  depressing  intelligence  they 
contained.  Since  we  have  been  here,  we  received  along  with  more  recent 
papers,  a  letter  from  our  obliging  friend,  containing  the  inclosed  :* — 

The  events  that  have  come  to  pass  grieve  mo  deeply,  and  almost  destroy 
all  my  hopes.  Even  if  the  news  of  Hiller's  victory  t  be  confirmed,  that  will 
do  little  toward  retrieving  our  affairs,  for  I  can  hardly  believe  the  possibility 
of  a  junction  being  effected  between  him  and  the  Grand  Duke,  if  the  latter 
has  really  crossed  the  Danube,  which  he  must  have  done  at  Ratisbon. 
After  the  faults  that  have  been  already  committed,  we  can  scarcely  look 
for  great  results,  even  if  this  better  contingency  prove  to  be  the  real  state 
of  the  case.  On  the  other  hand,  very  great  misfortunes  are  possible,  if  the 
contrary  be  true  ;  although  it  is  evident  that  the  organization  of  the  army 
has  been  much  improved,  and  probable  that  the  courage  and  energy  of  the 
Austrian*  answer  to  the  manifestations  of  their  government,  and  that  these 
last  are  really,  what  they  always  ought  to  be,  the  fruit,  and  the  faithful 
mirror  of  their  internal  sentiments. 

Victory  was  evidently  so  near  !  And  then  all  had  been  saved !  Then 
should  we  have  entered  on  a  life  which  we  should  not  have  dragged  along 
as  a  weary  burden.  But  armies  are  still  intrusted  to  boys  because  they 
are  the  sons  of  princes;  divisions  to  generals  who  have  outlived  captivity  j 
and  he  who  feels  in  himself  that  he  could  counsel  and  lead,  remains  in  the 
background,  not  only  because  of  a  thousand  miserable  considerations,  but 
because  the  hour  of  dissolution  is  not  yet  come  in  which  he  would  press 
forward  !  I  hive,  as  you  will  see,  guessed  the  whole  of  his  plan  at  a  hun- 
dred leagues  distance;  that  those,  who  were  immediately  opposed  to  him, 
have  not  done  BO  is  plain 

Read  in  Gibbon  the  history  of  Majorian ;  behold  a  man  who  surpassed 
in  virtue  all  the  emperors  that  had  sat  on  the  throne  of  Rome,  who  yield-  • 
cd  to  none  in  talent  and  valor,  who  still  had  at  his  command  a  powerful 
army,  small  only  when  compared  to  that  of  former  time's ;  see  how  he 
not  merely  understood  the  art  of  government,  how  he  perceived  that  he 
could  only  help  the  nation  by  granting  them  a  due  measure  of  freedom ; 
but  even  if  he  had  not  died  early,  and  under  suspicious  circumstances,  he 
could  have  availed  nothing  against  the  influences  of  his  age,  and  for  him 
individually  death  was  a  blessing — the  highest  blessing.  He  died  in  the 
enjoyment  of  a  delusive  hope  in  the  possibilities  of  the  future 

CXIV. 

MELDORF,  Utk  May,  1809. 

A  strong  desire  to  relieve  my  bitter  grief  and  comfortless  affliction,  by 
freely  pouring  forth  my  feelings  to  you,  has,  day  after  day,  been  forced  to 
yield  to  the  pressure  of  engagements  which  assail  us  on  every  side 

I  am  constantly  asking  myself  here,  whether  we  are  really  living  in  the 

*  This  inclosare  contained  an  account  of  the  occurrences  of  the  war  from  the 
19th  to  the  24th  April,  at  Ratisbou,  *c. 
t  Over  the  Bavarians,  under  Wrede,  at  St.  Verti,  April  24th. 

I 


194  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

same  age  of  the  world  that  we  did  formerly,  when  we  calmly  reckoned 
beforehand  on  the  future,  or  built  castles  in  the  air ;  or  whether  all  before 
us  is  not,  as  it  seems  to  our  eyes,  Chaos  and  Night— a  universal  destruc- 
tion of  all  that  now  exists  ? 

My  old  father  never  comprehends,  nor  dreams,  that  my  outward  circum- 
stances are  a  house  of  cards.  He  comforts  himself  with  the  idea  that  we 
shall  want  for  nothing !  For  his  own  sake,  I  try  to  prepare  him  for  the 
contrary,  but  whenever  it  comes,  it  will  be  a  terrible  surprise  to  him 

SchiH:s  desperate  step  will,  I  fear,  quite  decide  the  fate  of  Prussia.  It 
is  only  a  legitimate  consequence,  and  the  last  for  which  I  would  blame  the 
Emperor.  For  he  will  say  to  us  :  "Either  you  gave  your  consent  to  it,  or 
you  did  not ;  if  you  did,  you  are  my  enemies ;  if  you  did  not,  you  are  no 
longer  a  State,  because  you  can  no  longer  control  your  own  subjects." 

Is  Schill  an  adventurer,  or  a  great  man?  In  any  case  he  is  a  fortunate 
man  even  if  he  fall.  It  is  the  first  new  and  unheard-of  thing  that  has 
been  done  for  many  years.  The  dissolution  of  all  civil  bonds  and  institu- 
tions is  completed :  now  must  begin  either  universal  death  and  putrefaction, 
or  the  heavings  of  a  new  life.  But  where  are  its  germs  ? 

Which  excites  our  indignation  the  most :  he  who  applauds  the  desperate 
man  as  he  would  a  rope-dancer,  because  the  spectacle  amuses  him;  or  he 
who  chides  him  for  his  recklessness  ? 

I  can  not.  in  common  prudence,  set  off  for  Berlin  now.  Napoleon  is 
probably  already  in  Vienna.  Do  you  not  love  the  Tyrolese  ?  Their  lead- 
ers are  plebeians. 

cxv. 

NUTSCHAU,  25i!A  July,  1809. 

The  faculty  of  simple  endurance,  mere  passivity  under  the  press- 
ure of  a  heavy  calamity,  this  beautiful  and  noble  power,  to  the  practice  and 
development  of  which  you  exhort  me,  is  unfortunately  more  foreign  to  my 
disposition,  than  almost  any  other  kind  of  power  that  can  be  nourished  and 
strengthened  by  exercise.  But  be  assured  that  I  shall  go  forward  toward 
the  future,  not  only  undaunted,  but  for  the  present  consoled :  even  should 
we  be  summoned  to  Konigsberg  before  the  consequences  of  this  mischance 
have  had  time  to  develop  themselves. 

Moltke  became  still  more  unwell  in  Hamburgh,  and  came  on  here  before 
us  very  much  indisposed.  To-day,  thank  God,  he  is  beginning  to  improve. 

We  are  not  yet  properly  settled  down  here.  I  will  tell  you  in  my  next 
how  I  get  on  with  my  studies,  toward  which  I  feel  a  strong  desire  attract- 
ing me,  but  which  are  now  rendered  difficult  from  long  disuse. 

I  have  no  inclination  to  say  much  to  you  about  the  dreadful  decision  of 
this  great  judgment-day  of  the  world.  You  know  as  much  about  it  as  I 
do,  and  our  sentiments  are  the  same.*  The  sacrifice  of  the  Tyrol  drove  me 
to  despair ;  but  I  was  ready  to  believe  it  at  the  first  report,  it  was  so  ex- 
actly like  him,  so  completely  in  accordance  with  his  system  of  dragging  his 
victims  through  the  dirt,  and  making  them  as  contemptible  as  possible  ; 
just  as  the  boa  constrictor  covers  his  prey  with  his  slime,  to  swallow  it 
with  the  greater  ease.  But  it  is  a  hard  task  to  learn  how  to  live  quite 
without  hope ;  almost  harder  still  to  see  the  hopes  that  had  revived,  crushed 

*  This  letter  would  refer  to  the  armistice  of  Znaym,  concluded  between  the 
Archduke  Charles  and  Napoleon,  on  the  12th  of  July. 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  195 

to  the  earth  again.  Gallicia,  even  Terrol  and  Corunna,  were  evacuated. 
Romana  had  a  well-disciplined  army  of  30,000  men.  The  armica  in 
Estremadura  were  united  ;  that  from  Sicily  had  moat  likely  already  landed 
in  Catalonia,  the  great  expedition  to  Bayonne  or  Biscaya  was  decided  on. 
So  completely  did  salvation  hang  on  the  turn  of  a  straw  !  This  is  the  time 
when  the  elect  are  proved;  he  who  has  endured  to  the  end  will  have  a 
bright  evening  to  his  life.  But  for  the  present— happy  are  those  who  have 
never  withdrawal  themselves  too  far  from  the  calling  and  work,  which  can 
now  be  to  the  individual  his  only  consolation !  Such  feel  many  things 
much  less  acutely  than  he  who  haa  irrevocably  bound  up  his  own  destiny 
with  political  life.  Happy,  too,  are  they  who  have  early  resigned  them- 
selves to  trouble;  and,  like  you,  have  learnt  in  other  ways  and  former 
times,  to  bear  the  yoke  and  cross. 

In  other  respects  I  have  no  cause  for  complaint.  The  last  blow  has  not 
greatly  affected  my  health,  my  hopes  hung  on  such  a  slender  thread.  The 
thought  of  the  wounded — of  the  inhabitants  trampled  under  foot  by  their 
conquerors— of  the  Tyrolese — is  more  than  the  heart  can  bear.  And  the 
aspect  of  the  future  for  all  of  us,  who  are  now  parted,  and  shall  soon  be 
still  more  widely  separated  from  each  other,  is  indeed  very  grave. 

It  is  very  beautiful  here  at  this  season ;  but  it  is  the  first  time  that  we 
have  been  here  without  you,  and  0  how  we  miss  Marie ! 

CXVI. 

NUTSCHAU,  3d  Auguti,  1809. 

You  will  be  anxious  to  hear  from  us.  The  pressing  necessity  for  rest 
and  recreation,  which  you  have  too  often  traced  in  my  looks,  may  assure 
you  that  Moltke's  society,  the  quiet  of  this  place,  and  the  pure  country  air, 
would  do  me  good.  Many  a  chord  that  haa  been  vibrating  with  sharp  and 
yet  sharper  pain  for  years,  till  its  power  of  endurance  was  exhausted,  rests 
and  slumbers  here,  where  there  is  neither  the  fever  of  constant  rumors  and 
news,  nor  the  consuming  passions  of  intercourse  with  the  great  world  to 
torment  me.  I  succeed  in  the  attempt  to  keep  myself  from  the  contempla- 
tion of  things  for  which  there  is  no  consolation,  and  even  from  thinking 
seriously  about  our  own  fate,  while  I  withdraw  my  thoughts  from  the  more 
remote  present,  into  the  narrower  circle  of  the  present  that  surrounds  me 
at  this  moment.  I  succeed  in  reawaking  many  interests  that  had  long 
Iain  dormant,  many  of  my  half-forgotten  ideas;  and  the  fresh  breezy  air, 
the  corn-fields,  the  woods,  the  meadows,  infuse  something  of  their  life  into 
me.  Though  I  am  still  frequently  unwell,  seldom  in  good  spirits,  I  yet  feel 
that  I  am  much  better  here  in  the  open  air,  than  I  should  be  in  a  town,  and 
that  a  return  of  health  and  enjoyment  is  not  impossible. 

However,  I  fancy  that  for  the  present  I  shall  only  attain  to  a  negatively 
better  state,  which  is  certainly  in  comparison,  a  real  good,  but  is  far  from 
being  all  that  is  wanted,  and  will,  I  fear,  scarcely  long  outlive  the  external 
repose  which  has  produced  it.  I  have  hardly  as  yet  attained,  even  for 
single  moments,  to  that  free  creative  meditation  on  voluntarily  chosen 
topics,  lighted  up  by  the  glow  of  imagination,  in  which  alone  I  can  possess 
the  full  measure,  and  enjoy  the  satisfaction  of  all  my  faculties.  Is  it  that 
I  strive  after  an  element  which  is  not  natural  to  me  ?  The  instinct  that 
impels  me  toward  it,  can  scarcely  be  an  illnsion  ;  I  should  surely  find 


196  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

satisfaction  in  a  lower  sphere,  if  that  were  my  appointed  place.  But  my 
wings  are  clipped,  my  limbs  are  become  stiff  for  want  of  use,  my  mental 
habits  have  grown  rigid,  my  will  refuses  to  act,  is  awkward  or  heedless, 
while  my  accustomed  mode  of  life  impels  the  course  of  my  thoughts  in  an 
opposite  direction. 

You  will  find  it  pardonable,  though  not  conducive  to  the  attainment  of 
my  objects,  that  the  pile  of  books  upon  my  table  is  continually  increasing. 
For  I  have  been  too  long  denied  the  great  enjoyment  of  a  library,  not  to 
feel  manifold  temptations  to  revel  in  it  now;  and  this,  too,  has  in  some 
respects  its  advantages.  Only  in  this  way,  by  striking  a  hundred  chords 
that  have  lain  silent  for  years,  will  my  memory  revive  again,  and  without 
this  revival,  many  things  would  before  long  have  been  irrecoverably  lost  to 
me,  which  have  now  so  faint  an  existence  in  my  mind,  that  I  am  unable 
to  call  them  up  by  a  simple  effort  of  the  will.  I  even  find  it  necessary  to 
learn  afresh  by  practice  how  to  read  and  investigate  on  learned  subjects, 
and  this  is  the  best  way  in  which  I  can  accumulate  materials,  if  I  should 
ever  be  so  fortunate  as  to  produce  any  thing. 

I  have  been  collecting  contributions  to  the  subject  of  my  old  studies, 
from  Dionysius  of  Halicarna.ssus.  and  pursuing  the  track  of  proof  for  my 
conviction,  that  in  very  early  times  a  mutual  acquaintance  and  traffic 
subsisted  between  Rome  and  Greece  :  he  has  also  given  me  some  helps 
toward  a  survey  of  the  primitive  races  of  western  Europe.  I  have  like- 
wise read,  with  great  admiration  and  respect  (and  are  not  these  feelings 
among  our  most  invigorating  enjoyments  ?)  some  of  Mirabeau's  papers  on 
finance,  which  I  had  long  been  seeking  in  vain  to  procure.  They  have 
reminded  me  of  some  of  the  faults  I  have  myself  committed,  which  I  long 
since  recognized,  and  might  have  avoided,  had  I  been  earlier  acquainted 
with  his  doctrines  ;  but  not  less  of  the  egregious  blunders  of  others,  before 
whose  eyes  this  light  was  kindled,  when  they  ought  to  have  been  mature 
enough  to  have  profited  by  it,  and  whose  infatuation  was  such  that  they 
chose  rather  to  grope  in  darkness  !  And  this,  then,  is  the  vaunted  or 
imagined  use  of  even  great  writers  !  His  fatherland  was  deaf  to  him,  and 
plunged  into  the  abyss,  which  he  had  pointed  out  with  a  cry  of  terror,  and 
the  warning  of  example  as  well  as  of  truth  was  lost  on  other  rulers  ! 

I  am  reading  the  very  remarkable  physico-philosophical  writings  of 
Baader,  which  are  pervaded  by  a  spirit  of  the  wildest  mysticism,  and  in 
general  are  undoubtedly  as  mischievous  as  they  are  effete,  by  reason  of 
their  obscurity.  For  indubitable  as  it  must  be  to  any  one,  who  can  not 
satisfy  himself  with  definitions  and  explanations,  which  are  nothing  better 
than  reasoning  in  a  circle,  that  there  exists  a  wisdom  and  a  truth  above 
the  sphere  of  our  sciences,  a  wisdom  and  truth  which  bear  the  same  rela- 
tion to  them  as  the  living  creature  does  to  its  delineation,  yet  we  are  none 
the  less  incapable  of  divining  truth  without  these  sciences ;  and  the  trans- 
ient forecastings  and  glimpses,  which  present  themselves  to  us  at  times, 
have  their  truth  and  deeper  significance  only  in  and  through  the  steady, 
intelligent  keeping  in  view  of  the  boundaries  of  science  ;  apart  from  science 
they  become  day-dreams  and  castles  in  the  air.  To  excite  an  interest  in 
these  presentiments  before  the  need  of  them  is  felt,  or  the  capacity  of  call- 
ing them  up  exists,  is  a  dangerous  gift,  and  it  were  to  be  wished  that  such 
views  should  be  revealed  in  mysteries  to  the  initiated,  and  to  none  besides. 
Just  as  with  views  regarding  freedom  and  civil  institutions,  where  the 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  197 

beet  if  remote  indeed  from  the  actual,  and  yet  it  does  not  follow  that  the 
Jatter  is  altogether  inadmissible  for  the  time  being,  or  that  the  former  is 
capable  of  being  put  in  practice.  Nevertheless,  I  recommend  these  trea- 
tises to  you,  that  is,  all  those  which  do  not  form  part  of  the  system  of 
natural  philosophy,  which  appears  to  me,  to  say  the  least,  extremely  ad- 
venturous  and  dizzy ;  particularly  all  respecting  subjects  whose  elucidation 
can  be  assisted  by  profound  meditation,  elevation  of  feeling,  searching 
observation,  and  a  pure  and  warm  heart;  for  all  these  my  mystic  possesses. 
I  read  Horace  also  daily ;  he  is  my  constant  companion,  and  dearer  to  me 
than  ever 

CXVII. 

HAMBURGH,  S9tk  Atlgutt,  1809. 

On  the  opposite  side  I  wrote  yon,  in  the  first  glow  of  my  feelings,  the 
details  of  intelligence  that  will  not  leave  you  unmoved,  for  it  relates 
deeds  to  which  our  age  was  a  stranger,  and  a  result  which,  up  to  this 
time,  had  been  denied  to  the  noblest  enterprises.* 

Whether  this  ray  of  light  will  reach  germs  which  only  awaited  warmth 
to  burst  forth  into  life,  is  another  question.  For  ray  own  part,  I  begin  to 
cherish  the  encouraging  belief  that  many  hearts  have  grown  purer  and 
stronger,  through,  danger  and  suffering,  and  that  on  all  sides  there  lives  a 
spirit,  though  straitened  and  repressed,  whose  power  must  increase,  and 
produce  something  far  better  than  that  dull,  comfortable  existence,  which 
B.  describes  as  the  golden  age  of  thirty  years  ago.  It  was  from  the  insuf- 
ficiency of  this,  that  the  aimless  striving  after  something  beyond  arose, 
which,  combined  with  the  universal  effeminacy,  led  to  the  miserable  re- 
sults which  he  describes  as  constituting  our  later  condition,  and  which  we 
have  all  experienced.  If  God  would  take  pity  on  us,  I  almost  believe  we 
might,  though  with  bitter  grief  and  pain,  attain  to  something  much  better 
than  that  former  state.  We  are  indeed  standing  at  the  parting  of  two 
roads,  where  the  most  probable  among  the  many  possible  contingencies  is 
that  we  shall  have  to  endure  the  double  sorrow  of  seeing  this  flame,  which 
has  been  secretly  growing  more  and.  more  intense,  extinguished  by  oppres- 
sion. Much  indeed  would  still  remain  to  us  in  the  very  consciousness  of 
our  loss,  and  in  this  instance  I  entreat  you  not  to  listen  to  the  voice  of 
your  heart,  but  to  strive  against  that  tendency  of  your  mind  to  analysis, 
in  which  you  have  more  than  once  sought  consolation,  when  we  have 
been  conversing  about  the  misery  of  our  times,  present  and  future.  The 
value  of  every  earthly  good  and  happiness  may  indeed  be  explained  away 
by  reasoning,  just  because  what  makes  it  good  and  lovely  is  not  a  thing 
belonging  to  the  region  of  ideas,  and  can  not  be  founded  on  ideas  alone ; 
but  unless  yon  can  completely  transfer  yourself  into  Klinger'st  cold  intel- 
lect, it  seems  to  me,  that  even  in  the  clearest  mind  this  moat  introduce  a 
false  state  of  feeling,  which  may  indeed  suffice  for  present  comfort,  but  is 

*  The  successes  of  the  Tyrolese,  who  had  in  July  succeeded  in  completely 
establishing  their  independence,  and  were  at  this  time  governed  by  the  peasant 
Hofer. 

t  A  poet  of  the  last  and  present  century.  In  his  earlier  production!  the  pas- 
sions reign  supreme ;  in  later  years  a  kind  of  reaction  took  place,  and  he  placed 
stern  decision  of  character  and  moral  energy  above  all  things.  The  struggles 
and  difficulties  of  his  own  life  had  imparted,  moreover,  a  degree  of  bitterness  to 
his  judgment  of  others  and  of  the  world  in  general. 


198  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHE. 

not  good  in  itself.  Forgive  me  this  warning !  ,  It  is  the  only  one  which  I 
think  you  may  need,  on  account  of  your  propensity  to  solve  every  thing  by 
reasoning.  Perhaps,  too,  I  warn  you  because  I  envy  you  this  faculty, 
though  I  would  not  wish  to  make  use  of  it. 

In  this  case,  I  would  fain  see  you  become  the  advocate  among  your 
friends  of  that  which  as  yet  scarcely  begins  to  stir  in  the  bosom  of  night, 
but  whose  existence  is  certain,  for  they  are  far  too  much  inclined  to  look 
for  and  to  see  salvation  in  the  dead  remains  of  the  past.  Let  them  not 
(I  refer  particularly  to  L.  Stolberg)  regard  what  still  exists  on  the  surface 
of  things,  and  is  the  tottering  wreck  of  an  age  gone  by,  as  the  only  pos- 
session left  to  us.  Let  them  reflect  that  it  is  not  the  Known,  in  what 
remains,  that  can  profit  us ;  that  this  is  every  where  simply  injurious  ;  but 
the  hidden  things  which  must  be  brought  to  light,  and  are  here  and  there 
forcibly  breaking  their  way ;  that  a  single  spontaneous  stirring  is  worth 
more  than  a  thousand  oscillating  movements  of  worn-out  and  decrepit 
forms.  Who  could  have  dreamed  that  we  should  see  the  days  of  Morgar- 
ten  and  Naefel  once  more  ?  Who  can  deny  that  the  Tyrolese  have  stepped 
from  childhood  into  manhood  since  1790-7-9,  1800,  1805?  Who  can 
doubt  that  the  spirit  of  the  Spaniards,  the  martyr-spirit  of  the  Holy  Father, 
his  anathema  pronounced  at  the  high  altar  in  the  midst  of  the  French 
soldiery,  have  elevated  the  hearts  of  the  Tyrolese ;  that  their  example  will 
react  upon  the  Spaniards,  teaching  them  to  disregard  the  prejudices  of 
birth,  and  rewarding  them  for  their  suiferings  ?  For  they  can  not  but 
feel  that  they  themselves  have  sown  this  seed-corn.  Have  you  heard  the 
following  ?  When  Lannes'  adjutant  came  to  Saragossa  to  summon  the 
city  to  surrender,  he  found  the  assembled  junta  in  the  act  of  going  to  the 
cathedral,  whither  the  president  requested  him  to  follow  them.  Two 
thousand  armed  men  marched  in  military  order  into  the  church,  and  the 
envoy  asked  the  president  what  it  meant.  l:  Give  the  marshal  this  an- 
swer to  his  summons,"  replied  he,  "that  these  are  the  sentinels  on  duty 
to-day,  who  have  come  to  hear  mass  to  prepare  themselves  for  death  : 
this  is  done  every  day."  Were  but  the  right  impulse  given  from  above, 
we  should  see  great  things  likewise  among  other  nations,  in  every  nation, 
according  to  the  measure  of  its  capacity  for  greatness. 

I  go  to  Prussia  with  a  heavy  heart.  Besides,  I  dread  the  exhausting 
effects  of  the  journey,  from  which  I  shall  have  no  time  to  rest,  but  must 
enter  forthwith  upon  business  that  will  be  troublesome  and  painful  in 
many  ways ;  I  dread  the  distressing  scenes  on  the  road,  and  the  effect  of 
our  stay  in  Konigsberg,  and  the  climate  there  upon  my  health.  But  there 
is  no  help  for  it. 

I  must  have  left  unsaid  much  that  I  had  wished  to  say  to  you.  I  was  in- 
troduced to  Villers  yesterday  ;  we  met  on  both  sides  with  a  favorable  prepos- 
session. He  seems  to  me  to  be  a  truly  intellectual  and  upright  man 

CXVIII. 

KONIGSBERG,  21s£  September,  1809. 

You  can  not  have  looked  more  eagerly  for  tidings  from  us  than  we  have 
been  wishing  to  write  to  you  since  our  departure  from  Berlin.  But  during 
the  journey  it  was  not  possible  to  write ;  we  traveled  too  quickly 

We  took  the  route  through  Frankfort,  Londsberg,  and  straight  across 
West  Prussia  to  Marienwerder.  From  the  frontiers  of  Neumark  to  the 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  199 

Vistula  the  old  Polish  barbarism  reigns  over  this  territory,  which  has 
scarcely  ever,  until  lately,  been  trodden  by  the  foot  of  a  stranger.     On  the 
Bromberg  road  every  thing  had  already  assumed  a  German  aspect.     Here, 
even  in  the  so-called  towns,  you  scarcely  see  any  thing  but  walls  of  planks 
with  gaping  chinks,  and  roofs  thatched  with  brushwood ;  a  look  of  wretch- 
edness which  is  not  the  offspring  of  poverty  alone,  but  of  habitual  content- 
ment with  a  low  animal  condition.     The  same  mode  of  life  prevails  also 
among  the  Germans,  by  whom  I  found,  to  my  surprise,  the  whole  tract  as 
far  as  Conitz  inhabited.     Even  the  churches  are  as  wretched  as  the  dwell- 
ing-houses.    The  soil  is  indeed,  also,  very  bad;  many  of  the  fields  «i\\y 
produce  the  double  of  what  is  sown ;  and  the  whole  region  reminds  one  of 
the  wildest  parts  of  North  America,  for  the  thinly  scattered  villages,  with 
the  fields  belonging  to  them,  are  only  spots  of  cleared  land  in  the  vast 
forest  still  inhabited  by  the  wolves  and  wild  boars.     The  aspect  of  the 
country  improves  immediately  on  crossing  the  boundaries  of  West  Prussia, 
at  the  point  where  the  rule  of  the  Teutonic  knights  introduced,  four  centu- 
ries ago,  a  culture  which  the  Polish  sway  has  never  been  able  entirely  to 
efface.     The  wilderness  I  haVe  mentioned  belongs  to  the  valley  of  the  Netz. 
At  Neuenburg,  and  still  more  at  Marienburg,  our  admiration  was  excited 
by  the  remains  of  the  monuments  of  those  extraordinary  men,  which  are 
Roman  in  their  grandeur  ;  the-  churches,  and,  at  the  latter  place,  the  castle 
of  the  Grand  Master  of  the  order,  are  chef  d'amvres  of  the  most  beautiful 
Gothic  architecture.     In  this  place  we  also  saw  the  tombs  of  these  great 
men,  and  the  barbarism  of  the  late  masters  of  the  country,  who  have  turned 
the  principal  building  of  the  castle  into  a  magazine.     As  Wo  approached 
Marienwerder,  we  saw  the  beautiful  levels — there,  no  fens,  but  an  accumu- 
lation of  rich  light  soil — a  succession  of  contiguous  orchards.     Here,  the 
frequent  recurrence  of  newly-repaired  houses  and  fences  showed  that  the 
ravages  of  war  had  been  great,  but  energy  and  industry  had  already  re- 
stored the  former  appearance  of  things.     In  the  much  more  fertile  levels 
of  Marienburg,  also,  the  small  number  of  cattle  was  the  only  trace  left  of 
devastation.     But  on  this  side  Elbing,  the  general  misery  was  but  too 
visible ;  not  so  much  in  the  remains  of  ruined  houses,  or  wide  tracts  of 
land  left  untilled — of  these  I  only  saw  a  fbw  unequivocal  instances,  but  by 
much  more  frightful  tokens,  the  tattered  garments  and  famished  look  of  the 
inhabitants,  the  wretched  huts  that  numbers  had  erected  by  the  roadside, 
and  from  which  they  came  forth  as  we  passed,  with  looks  that  bespoke 
their  misery,  though  they  did  not  complain,  but  thanked  us  eagerly  for  the 
alms  we  gave  them.     By  universal  testimony,  they  are  a  very  good  set  of 
people  here.     We  found  among  our  friends  at  Braunsberg  the  cheerfulness 
which  is  inspired  by  great  activity,  and  much  rejoicing  over  the  new  cor- 
poration—Stein's work,  from  whom  all  the  towns  have  received  an  inde- 
pendent municipal  constitution,  the  worth  of  which  is  best  appreciated  by 
the  citizens  of  a  town  like  this,  which  was  a  free  town  up  to  1772.     Our 
venerable  friend,  Oestreich,  was  chosen  president  by  his  fellow-citizens,  and 
elected  by  his  native  town  and  all  the  towns  in  Ermiand,  as  their  repre- 
sentative in  the  Diet — a  reward  for  his  many  years'  faithful  and  active 
service  which  is  with  justice  dear  to  him.     I  shall  send  you  some  copies 
of  his  simple  and  beautiful  speech  for  the  Reventlows,  &c.,  that  you  may 
all  become  better  acquainted  with  the  noble  character  of  a  man  whom  we 
esteem  so  highly,  and  who  ha*  been  the  distribntor  of  your  alms.     It  con- 


200  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

tains,  also,  a  very  lucid  explanation  of  this  new  institution-^the  only  plan 
that  has  been  carried  into  execution,  out  of  a  universal  system  of  free  ad- 
ministration which  has  been  frustrated.  In  these  parts,  all  classes  are  ex- 
erting themselves  to  repair  the  ravages  of  war.  Heiligenbeil,  too,  with  its 
suburb,  is,  for  the  most  part,  rebuilt ;  but  it  is  quite  otherwise  in  the  more 
remote  districts  higher  up  the  Passarge.  There,  whole  villages,  and 
numerous  farm-houses  (which  are  here  generally  built  very  badly,  even  on 
noblemen's  estates),  have  entirely  disappeared  ;  and  in  many  which  are 
still  partly  standing,  the  population  has  been  almost  or-  altogether  exterm- 
inated by  pillage,  hunger,  and  pestilence.  In  one  of  these  villages,  there 
is  only  one  girl  left  out  of  the  whole  population.  The  towns,  portions  of 
which  are  in  ashes,  are  in  an  equally  deserted  state,  and  all  the  inhabitants 
of  this  part  of  the  country  are  plunged  into  like  poverty.  It  is  generally  an- 
ticipated that  nearly  all  the  landed  proprietors  will  become  bankrupt,  and 
that  property  will  entirely  change  hands ;  a  great  calamity,  because  those 
who  grow  rich  in  times  of  war  and  misery,  are  nearly  always  the  worst 
members  of  society.  The  people  do  not  derive  much  help  from  the  abundant 
harvest,  because  prices  are  so  low,  and  the  freights  for  export  so  enormously 
high.  One  remarkable  phenomenon  is  the  Associations  for  the  Good  of  the 
People  which  have  sprung  up  within  the  last  year.  They  are  composed 
of  all  classes,  and  their  object  is  the  restoration  of  prosperity,  by  uniting 
their  efforts  to  improve  all  hitherto  neglected  sources  of  wealth.  Where 
this  is  carried  out  in  such  a  spirit  as  at  Braunsberg,  it  certainly  deserves 
all  praise. 

I  should  have  much  to  say  to  you  about  ourselves,  if  I  could  trust  the 
post.  As  it  is,  I  can  only  say  this  much,  that  the  outward  position  of  the 
State  is  discouraging,  and  its  internal  condition  any  thing  but  admirable. 

I  find  nothing  decided  respecting  my  appointment.  Violent  party-spirit 
divides  my  most  intimate  acquaintance.  Some  are  impelled,  by  their  re- 
sentment at  Stein's  conduct,  to  utter  bitter  invectives  against  him  which 
cut  me  to  the  heart.  It  is  absolutely  impossible  to  arrive  at  any  well- 
founded  conviction  respecting  the  grounds  of  these  charges  against  Stein, 
and  equally  so  to  get  a  reliable  account  of  the  .last  moments  of  his  official 
life,  and  the  occurrences  that  led  immediately  to  the  fatal  result.  Even 
men  of  the  greatest  veracity  make  statements  which  are  entirely  irreconcil- 
able with  each  other,  in  many  separate  particulars 

CXIX. 

KONIGSBERG,  28C&  September,  1809. 

I  wrote  to  you  from  Niitscb.au,.  that,  in  spite  of  Milly's  unbelief,  I  was 
determined  this  time  to  have  faith.  The  result  has  not  justified  my  hopes. 
I  have  had  a  notable  proof  that  respect  and  attachment,  even  when  they 
are  accompanied  by  a  kind  heart,  and,  through  long  intercourse,  have 
assumed  the  color  of  friendship,  aftbrd  a  weak  pledge  for  actions,  if  their 
possessor  is  not  free  from  selfishness.  However,  I  should  probably  soon 
succeed  in  opening  for  myself  a  fair  career  of  mental  activity  in  this  place 
if  tolerable  apartments  were  to  be  obtained.  Besides  this,  I  feel  very 
seriously,  and  even  depressingly,  the  effects  of  the  last  three  years,  during 
which  my  life  has  been  constantly  unsettled,  and  my  movements  determined 
by  others.  Such  a  life  has  no  inward  vitality ;  it  is  like  a  flower  plucked 
from  its  parent  stem — it  fades,  and  leaves  no  seed  behind. 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  201 

I  find  every  thing  here  much  what  I  had  expected  from  my  former  ex- 
perience. One  day  slips  away  after  another,  without  leaving  any  trace  of 
its  existence ;  there  is  no  earnestness,  no  steady  contemplation  :  it  is  like 
the  liff  of  a  worldling,  who  is  wasting  in  a  consumption,  expecting  death 
and  a  fearful  eternity,  and  yet  shrinks  from  the  pain  of  turning  his  thoughts 
upon  himself.  This  universal  tone  of  feeling  (some  exceptions  of  course 
there  are)  is  to  me  the  most  shocking  possible,  and  it  gives  me  an  indescrib- 
able feeling  of  oppression  to  see  it  prevailing  all  around  me.  By  the  side 
of  this,  it  is  frightful  to  perceive  the  general  self-complacency,  and  the 
opinion  of  many  that  every  thing  possible  and  needful  is  being  done,  that 
any  thing  more  would  produce  evil. 

Humboldt,  the  king  of  letters,  I  have  only  seen  once  as  yet.  His  re- 
ception of  me  was  most  friendly.  I  had  expected  indeed  to  derive  much  in- 
struction from  his  conversation.  He  asked  very  kindly  after  Moltke. 

There  is  much  that  is  very  beautiful  about  Pantheism,  in  the  wider  sense 
of  the  terra,  to  be  found  in  Schelling's  philosophical  writings,  in  his  Re- 
searches into  Freedom.*  In  reading  this  treatise  I  can  perfectly  enter  into 
his  system,  but  to  mould  my  own  mind  into  it,  woukl  be  quite  impossible. 
Besides,  I  shudder  at  the  presumptuous  attempt  to  scale  heaven,  by  piling 
mountains  on  mountains,  much  as  I  delight  in  the  wide-spread  prospect 
from  their  heights.  This  treatise  deserves  to  be  widely  read ;  it  is  clearly 
written,  and  full  of  thought.  Its  defects  are  those  inseparable  from  the 
nature  of  the  rash  and  fruitless  attempt  to  set  limits  to  the  Infinite.  Still 
I  have  felt  myself,  for  some  time  past,  more  strongly  attracted  than  ever  I 
was  before  to  the  search  after  the  Real,  the  Living,  and  on  this  account  I 
have  enjoyed  reading  it.  In  many  parts  I  have  recognized,  with  great 
pleasure,  the  inmost  convictions  of  my  brightest  hours.  But  I  can  not 
ascend  to  the  summit  of  his  philosophy  upon  his  ladder,  nor  fly  upon  the 
wings  of  others.  There  are  some  strong,  and  almost  bitter  expressions 
attacking  Schlcgel's  "  Review  of  Stolberg's  Church  History,"  which  I  also 
think  an  unsatisfactory  performance,  though,  ou  other  grounds,  I  can  by  no 
means  reconcile  myself  to  this  method  of  interpreting  the  Old  Testament, 
which  is  in  such  direct  opposition  to  my  feeling  of  historical  criticism,  that 
it  is  the  greatest  obstacle  in  the  way  of  my  faith.  If  Lord  Chatham's 
letters  to  his  nephew,  Thomas  Pitt,  fall  in  your  way,  read  them ;  you  will 
spend  a  pleasant  hour  in  contemplating  the  picture  they  afford  of  paternal 
tenderness,  and  the  urbanity  of  a  truly  great  man.  Have  you  read  Goethe's 
'•  Benvenuto  Cellini  ?"  Though  I  found  fault  with  you  for  setting  too  high 
a  value  upon  mere  power,  or  cherishing  an  overweening  predilection  for  it, 
(I  may,  however,  have  been  unjust  toward  you  on  this  point),  this  man  will 
interest  us  both  equally.  Nowhere  can  you  find  a  more  vivid  picture  of  the 
artist's  great  era  than  in  this  biography,  and  with  mournful  feelings  do  you 
watch  it  fading  away  with  the  hero,  and  see  him  outlive  it.  There  are 
coarse,  and  worse  than  coarse  passages  in  the  book,  but  you  will  easily 
avoid  them  by  referring  to  the  table  of  contents. 

I  have  found  a  fellow*admirer  of  the  Faust,  in  Prince  Radziwill,  and 
his  admiration  does  not  remain  as  barren  as  mine.  He  has  set  to  music 
all  the  paasagea  adapted  for  singing ;  but  though  the  music  is  very  touch- 
ing, I  can  not  be  persuaded  that  Gretchen's  song  at  her  spinning-wheel  is 

"  Philosophical  Researches  into  the  Essence  of  Human  Freedom ;  published 
in  May,  1809. 

i  * 


202  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

a  suitable  subject  for  a  high  style  of  composition ;  that  is  to  say,  I  should 
prefer  something  extremely  simple.  I  am  quite  delighted  with  his  deli- 
cate sense  of  every  beauty,  though  he  is  no  German.  *  I  am  curious  to 
know  whether  Villers  really,  bona  fide,  understands  and  likes  the  Faust  ? 
Vanderbourg  has  written  some  great  nonsense  about  it. 

In  this  unprecedented  state  of  the  world,  individual  character  assumes 
a  greater  distinctness  of  outline  than  in  any  previous  age,  and  a  few  ex- 
hibit a  firmness,  decision,  and  truthfulness,  such  as  was,  perhaps,  rarely 
to  be  met  with  in  former  times. 

I  have  been  studying  Davy's  "  Chemical  Discoveries"  with  great  inter- 
est. They  open  to  us  a  hitherto  closed  sanctuary.  My  only  fear  is,  that 
men  will  again  content  themselves  with  standing  at  the  door. 

cxx. 

KONIGSBEUG,  ll//i  December,  1809. 

In  our  last  we  said  it  was  not  likely  you  would  receive  another  letter 
from  us  dated  from  this  place  ;  but  I  will  not  so  far  yield  to  the  pressure 
of  business  and  interruptions,  as  to  leave,  without  bidding  you  yet  another 
farewell.  My  old  impulse  to  communicate  to  you  without  delay  every 
thing  of  consequence  that  concerns  us,  will  not  let  me  wait  a  day  before  tell- 
ing you  that  this  morning  my  fate  has  been  decided,  as  I  have  received  my 
appointment  as  Privy  Councilor  of  State,  and  head  of  the  section  for  the 
management  of  the  National  Debt  and  Monetary  Institutions,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  L'Abbaye.  This  double  appointment  is  an  anomaly  committed 
at  my  request,  in  order  to  avoid  a  very  injurious  division  of  the  public 
business,  and  to  anticipate  and  prevent  the  mortification,  which  an  old 
and  deserving  servant  of  the  state  might  otherwise  possibly  feel.  I  re- 
ceive no  increase  of  salary,  because  I  think  it  a  sin  at  the  present  moment 
to  accept  more  than  I  absolutely  require,  though  all  my  colleagues  have 
had  their  salaries  raised  2000  dollars  per  annum.  Since,  however,  there 
will  now  be  many  fresh  sources  of  expense  and  new  taxes,  I  shall  really 
be  worse  paid  for  my  services  than  I  was  three  years  ago  ;  and  therefore 
shall  accept  with  all  the  better  conscience,  an  official  residence  now  stand- 
ing empty,  which,  moreover,  M.  Von  Stein  had  three  years  ago  destined 
for  my  use,  together  with  an  addition  to  my  salary  of  1000  dollars,  which 
I  have  never  applied  for,  and  now  resign  entirely.  I  am  sure  we  shall  be 
able  to  manage  by  making  use  of  the  interest  of  our  capital. 

I  have  been  persuaded  for  some  time,  that  this  would  be  the  issue  of 
affairs  with  us,  and  therefore  did  not  hesitate  to  meet  a  proposal  made  to 
me,  by  the  Carlsruhe  cabinet  to  enter  their  service  as  vice-president,  with 
the  answer  that  I  expected  shortly  to  receive  a  permanent  appointment, 
and  only  in  the  opposite  case  could  I,  or  would  I,  entertain  the  idea  of 
leaving  this  country.  The  picture  of  the  beautiful  country,  the  southern 
climate,  and  the  milder  air,  is  not  without  its  charms  to  me;  but  I  long  for 
a  permanent  position  and  occupations,  and  for  rest ;  and  I  am  attached 
to  this  government  and  nation,  by  the  bonds  of  common  sentiments  and 
common  sufferings.  I  should  have  felt  myself  a  foreigner  there  ;  as  I  shall 
do,  perhaps,  in  Berlin  ;  for  as  yet  I  only  feel  at  home  in  the  land  of  my 
youth.  I  feel  at  this  moment,  when  all  is  decided,  as  a  bride  might  feel, 
who  had  given  her  hand  away  on  well-considered  reasons. 

WiH  you  believe — I  know  you  will — that  the  outward  show  of  the  post 


THE   PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  203 

I  have  just  received  has  not  for  a  moment  attracted  or  pleased  me  ?  I 
feel  that  I  am  free  from  that  ambition,  which  received  its  hateful  name 
from  the  presumed  existence  of  a  bad  motive — but  not  from  that  which 
•prings  from  the  feeling  and  consciousness  of  a  vocation  to  action  and 
power ;  this  no  one  can  censure.  I  commiserate  the  nation,  and  I  feel  a 
calling  to  alleviate  its  misery,  even  if  its  greatest  evils  admit  of  no  rem- 
edy. The  object  of  my  wishes  and  plans  is  to  save  the  poor  state-credit- 
ors (who  are  in  the  greatest  extremity  and  have  received  no  interest  for 
years),  without  the  necessity  of  imposing  fresh  burdens  upon  the  nation  ; 
to  satisfy  the  most  sacred  claims  of  thousands  of  sufferers ;  to  regulate  the 
provincial  debts,  so  as  to  relieve  the  poor  inhabitants  ;  and  to  save  the 
landed  proprietors.  I  trust  that  the  restoration  of  the  paper  currency  to 
its  full  value  will  be  the  result  of  one  of  the  plans  I  have  drawn  up.  Out- 
ward-events may  frustrate  these  undertakings  at  their  very  commencement ; 
the  difficulties  which  their  details  present  to  myself,  I  feet  that  I  am  strong 
enough  to  conquer,  for  the  importance  of  their  object  inspires  energy  and 
power ;  no  one  can  lay  any  thing  to  my  charge,  and  a  definite  vocation 
is  a  fulcrum  by  which  your  lever  can  raise  any  weight.  And  even  if  your 
enterprise  only  succeeds  to  a  certain  extent,  so  long  as  you  can  not  attrib- 
ute its  partial  failure  to  your  own  indolence,  you  have  a  sweet  reward—- 
you sleep  in  peace  and  your  heart  is  at  rest,  even  amid  bitter  disappoint- 
ments and  irreparable  losses.  If  I  were  to  talk  in  this  style  to  others,  it 
might  be  called  boastful  and  ostentatious ;  it  is  not  so  to  yon,  with  whom 
I  am  used  to  talk  as  with  my  own  heart. 

We  begin  our  journey  to-morrow  by  way  of  Pillau  and  Dantzic;  the  beat 
route  there  is,  though  it  is  bad  enough 

CXXL 

TO  HIS  FATHER. 

STETTIN,  Kd  December,  1809. 

•  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  accept  no  post,  in  which  the  execu- 
tion of  my  plans  would  have  been  committed  into  other  hands,  for  I  know 
that  these  plans  are  salutary,  and  I  feel  an  unequivocal  vocation  to  ren- 
der help  to  this  suffering  nation.  The  administration  of  finance  is  not  a 
science  that  can  be  learnt  by  studying  a  system ;  it  is  in  reality  an  art. 
Many  of  its  rules  can  not  be  reduced  to  the  principles  of  a  system,  even  in 
the  hands  of  those  who  have  the  clearest  practical  acquaintance  with  them ; 
besides,  there  are  a  hundred  arts  and  knacks  connected  with  its  manage- 
ment, which  one  can  only  find  out  for  oneself,  by  actual  experiment,  and 
long  practice.  I  am  conscious  of  possessing  this  art,  and  venture  to  say, 
moreover,  that  I  know  very  few  who  are  more  than  bunglers  in  it.  It 
would  be  bad,  indeed,  if  I  did  not  possess  it,  seeing  that  its  acquisition  has 
cost  me  the  best  years  and  the  true  vocation  of  my  life.  While  I  was  in  ' 
Copenhagen,  indeed,  I  only  practiced  it  as  an  apprentice  ;  still,  I  shall  al- 
ways reproach  myself  that,  through  my  weakness  and  desire  to  oblige,  the 
views  which  I  saw  to  be  correct  were  not  carried  into  effect.  It  does  not 
silence  my  conscience  on  this  point,  that  the  structure  I  wished  to  rear  was 
overthrown  by  terrible  convulsions,  when  it  had  scarcely  risen  above  the 
ground  ;  for,  with  really  wise  institutions,  even  when  their  general  fabric 
is  shattered  by  calamity,  some  detached  results  remain  ;  an  attentive  ob- 


204  MEMOIE  OF  NIEBUHR. 

server  sees  every  where  around  him,  even  in  common  things,  traces  of  the 
deeds  and  actions  of  long-past  centuries.  The  last  few  years,  likewise- 
weary,  bitter  years  to  me,  during  which  I  have  constantly  removed  further 
and  further  from  my  earlier  sphere — have  not  been  lost  as  respects  my 
progress  in  knowledge  of  this  kind  ;  but  so  much  the  more  binding  is  the 
duty  of  putting  in  practice  what  I  have  learnt,  especially  considering  the 
urgency  of  the  present  distress,  in  which  every  alleviation  is  a  blessing. 
What  is  there  left,  too,  for  myself,  but  to  act  so  as  to  have  the  comfort  of 
this  consciousness,  since  my  favorite  studies  and  favorite  ideas  are  lost 
and  gone  ? 

[After  giving  an  account  of  his  colleague,  L'Abbaye,  and  explaining 
their  relative  position,  he  proceeds  as  follows  :] 

My  first  business  now,  is  to  mark  out  and  divide  our  respective  depart- 
ments. In  general,  my  department  includes  the  management  of  the  na- 
tional debt,  home  and  foreign,  the  bank-notes  or  treasury-bonds,  the  finan- 
cial arrangements  respecting  the  alienation  of  the  crown  lands,  the  invest- 
ment of  all  the  cash  balances  not  immediately  required,  the  collection  of 
the  outstanding  debts  due  to  the  exchequer,  the  salt  monopoly,  and  the 
banking  operations  of  the  state.  From  the  personal  confidence  with  which 
the  minister,  Count  Cohna,  honors  me,  I  shall  also  exercise  a  general  super- 
vision over  the  public  debts  and  systems  of  credit  of  the  separate  prov- 
inces, and  over  the  private  banks,  which  I  propose  to  establish.  The  ex- 
tent of  my  duties  will  thus  be  very  great,  and  unless  my  health  keeps 
good,  I  shall  scarcely  be  able  to  get  through  them.  But  with  method  and 
a  retired  life,  arranged  in  all  respects  with  reference  to  my  work,  I  trust  it 
will  be  possible  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  my  conscience. 

I  have  the  great  pleasure  of  finding  that  the  ordinance  I  drew  up  re- 
specting the  treasury- bonds  has  made  a  very  favorable  impression  on  the 
public.  They  have  already  risen  to  80,  and  there  is  no  doubt  they  will 
be  nearly  at  par  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  months.  This  change, 
which  will  extend  the  currency  of  the  country  by  two  or  three  millions, 
has  been  effected  by  a  comparatively  slight  effort ;  and  I  hope  that  the 
payment  of  interest  on  the  exchequer  bills  will  be  accomplished  in  the 
same  way,  without  adding  to  the  burdens  of  the  nation.  1  told  you  in 
my  former  letter,  dear  father,  that  I  was  convinced  the  Konigsberg  bonds 
would  rise  as  soon  as  I  was  intrusted  with  the  management  of  the  na- 
tional debt.  My  expectation  was  justified  ;  they  have  risen,  in  fact,  from 
64  to  72.  This  proof  of  national  confidence  is  to  me  the  most  flattering 
distinction  I  could  have ;  and  it  is  incredible  how  much  popularity  will 
accomplish  in  financial  matters.  If  I  succeed  in  being  elected  at  the  next 
renewal  of  a  part  of  the  municipal  council  of  Berlin — the  so-called  town 
deputies — I  hope  to  restore  the  credit  of  that  city,  now  almost  destroyed, 
by  the  same  plan  that  I  drew  up  for  Konigsberg.  The  new  municipal  institu- 
tions have  worked  very  badly  in  many  places,  because  the  so-called  people 
of  rank  have  refused  to  take  any  share  in  them  ;  but  the  spirit  of  these 
institutions  is  admirable,  and  will  inevitably  purify  the  mode  in  which 
they  are  carried  out.  But  there  must  be  an  example  given  of  a  public 
officer  of  high  standing  who  does  not  object  to  meet  operatives  and  petty 
citizens  as  his  equals  in  this  connection. 

I  hope,  my  dearest  father,  that  neither  you,  nor  any  of  our  friends  to 
whom  you  may  communicate  this  letter  (it  will  interest  Behrens  partic- 


THE   PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  205 

ularly),  will  think  that  ray  expressions  savor  of  ostentation,  or  making  a 
boast  of  juggling  expedients.  None  of  you  can  so  mistake  me,  and  who- 
ever will  believe  my  word,  must  believe  me  when  I  say,  that  I  would  will- 
ingly give  all  this  popularity,  to  go  back  to  the  world  in  which  I  lived  so 
happily  in  years  gone  by.  Still,  it  is  happiness  to  feel  that  you  can  alle- 
viate misery,  pave  the  way  for  what  is  good,  and  avert  evil.  When  the 
heart  is  heavy,  you  feel  that  thus  you  can  lay  up  joy  in  secret,  and  even 
in  heaven.  I  have  made  a  speculation  for  my  poor  Ermlanders,  with 
moneys  that  would  otherwise  have  lain  useless  in  ray  coffers,  which  I  hope 
will  bring  in  upwards  of  12,000  dollars.  If  so,  they  shall  give  joy  to 
many  a  heart  that  has  felt  none  these  three  years 

CXXII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

BERLIN,  27<&  January,  1810. 

The  war  has  hitherto  cost  the  remnant  of  our  State  not  less 

than  100,000,000  dollars,  and  yet  in  the  country  parts  here  things  arc 
scarcely  worse  than  in  many  other  places  where  the  ravages  of  war  did 
not  reach  ;  in  the  little  towns  things  are  certainly  much  worse.  I  pre- 
sume you  will  admit  that  commerce  is  a  good  thing,  and  the  first  requi- 
site to  the  life  of  any  nation.  It  appears  to  me  that  this  much  has  now 
been  palpably  demonstrated,  that  an  advanced  and  complicated  social 
condition,  like  that  in  which  we  live,  can  only  be  maintained  by  estab- 
lishing mutual  relationships  between  the  most  remote  nations,  and  that 
the  limitation  of  commerce  would,  like  the  sapping  of  a  main  pillar,  in- 
evitably occasion  the  fall  of  the  whole  edifice  ;  and  also,  that  commerce 
is  so  essentially  beneficial,  and  in  accordance  with  man's  nature,  that  the 
well-being  of  each  nation  is  an  advantage  to  all  the  nations  which  stand 
in  connection  with  it 

CXXIII. 

BERLIN,  16th  February,  1810. 

I  complained  to  you  lately  of  the  numberless  hindrances  and  in- 
terruptions which  deprive  me  of  all  the  satisfaction  I  might  otherwise  de- 
rive from  my  official  occupations.  If  it  were  not  for  these,  which  render 
it  impossible  for  me  to  accomplish  what  I  ought,  and  would  like  to  do, 
my  official  duties  would  often  afford  me  some  gratification  ;'  though  the 
ruins  amidst  which  I  have  to  clear  a  spot,  and  commence  a  new  edifice, 
are  melancholy  enough.  As  it  is,  however,  the  natural  connection  be- 
tween thought,  action,  and  consequences,  is  quite  broken,  though  my  efforts 
are  not  wholly  without  success.  Things  of  apparently  little  importance 
hinder  or  absolutely  prevent  the  accomplishment  of  what  is  most  essential. 
Another  source  of  grief  to  me,  lies  in  the  spirit  in  which  the  administra- 
tion is  carried  on,  and  in  the  principles  of  the  financial  arrangements  for 
the  country  at  large,  which  are  widely  different  from  mine.  Frugality, 
the  utmost  retrenchment  of  the  public  expenditure  consistent  with  the  due 
performance  of  the  state  services,  and  the  just  claims  of  individuals — the 
encouragement  of  all  sources  of  wealth — the  mildest  possible  taxation  ac- 
cording to  local  and  other  circumstances — conscientiousness  and  judgment 
in  the  appointment  of  the  subordinate  officers  of  government,  combined 
with  A  strict  superintendence  of  them— -are  among  the  most  indispensable 


206  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

conditions  of  an  administration  such  as  we  need,  which,  however,  any 
man  must  and  will  fail  to  carry  out,  who  has  not  passed  through  a  long 
course  of  preparation,  and  is  not  possessed  of  deep  and  penetrating  wisdom. 

Besides  alt  this  too,  I  must  confess  that  my  sorrow  for  the  sacrifice  of 
my  inward  life  to  this  miserable  finance  often  wakes  up  with  renewed 
force.  A  consciousness  how  dearly  any  perfection  in  this  art  must  be  pur- 
chased by  a  man  who  is  fit  for  something  better,  is  probably  the  true  rea- 
son, why  so  very  few  honest  men  have  ever  made  themselves  masters  of 
it.  This  consciousness,  with  which  I  was  vividly  impressed  with  regard 
to  official  life  in  general,  before  I  had  entered  on  it,  did  not  warn  me, 
when  after  my  entrance,  a  path  opened  to  me  toward  finance.  For  a  long 
time  past,  I  have  been  almost  unable  to  refresh  myself  by  study,  and  yet 
the  mind  becomes  sadly  poverty-stricken  when  filled  by  no  other  thoughts 
than  those  arising  from  one  monotonous  occupation.  This  estrangement 
from  my  true  life  has  now  already  lasted  nearly  three  years  and  a  half, 
and  time  tends  ever  onward  away  from  the  forsaken  shore,  till  return  be- 
comes impossible. 

As  yet  I  have  seen  very  few  of  the  learned  men  of  this  place. 

I  still  consider  our  future  as  very  precarious — many  times  I  doubt  of  it 
altogether  ;  the  Dutch  loan,  however,  does  something  to  render  it  more 
secure.  Poor  Holland  is  often  in  my  mind,  and  fills  me  with  compassion. 
I  have  little  doubt,  however,  that  we  shall  drag  along  for  a  time  in  our 
present  position.  And  so  we  trust  that  nothing  in  our  fate  will  hinder  us 
from  seeing  you  here  this  summer,  and  receiving  you — oh,  with  what  joy- 
ful hearts  ! 

The  Countess  Werthern  is  very  weak ;  her  sister  has  at  last  been  set 
at  liberty  in  Paris,  and  is  now  with  her.  Stein  is  said  to  be  in  Briinn, 
and  in  good  spirits.  It  is  said  here  that  negotiations  are  going  on  for 
Hardenberg's  recall. 

CXXIV. 

BERLIN,  27lh  May,  1810. 

We  want  sadly  to  see  you  just  now,  that  we  might  forget  in  your  so- 
ciety the  miserable  position  in  which  we  are  living.  Hardenberg,  who  can 
scarcely  at  present  enter  the  government  openly  as  a  minister,  exercises, 
nevertheless,  a  sort  of  premiership  in  private.  He  is  at  a  country-house 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  city,  where  he  is  concocting  measures  on 
subjects  of  which  he  and  his  assistants  are  perfectly  ignorant.  The  present 
ministry  is,  in  fact,  quite  set  on  one  side,  and  is  sinking  into  exhaustion 

without  having  resolution  to  resign I  have  remained  firm  to  my 

conviction,  that  we  must  not  use  bad  means,  nor  enter  into  companionship 
with  the  wicked,  even  for  good  ends ;  that  an  honest  man  even  should  he 
possess  sufficient  skill  to  fight  intriguers  with  their  own  weapons,  must 
not  do  it,  and  that  we  must  never  suffer  ourselves  to  be  misled,  by  the 
hope  of  being  useful,  into  doing  what  we  should  not  be  willing  to  avow 
openly.  I  leave  the  present  ministry  to  defend  itself;  but  being  convinced 
that  the  actual  state  of  things  is  injurious,  and  that  the  next  step  will 
not  be  an  amendment,  I  have  sent  a  very  earnest  representation  of  the 
state  of  the  country  to  the  King,  pointing  out  its  evils,  and  have  requested 
my  dismissal,  and,  at  the  same  time,  my  appointment  to  the  chair  of  his- 
tory, in  the  University  which  will  be  opened  here  at  Michaelmas. 

Milly  has  been  unwell  for  some  days,  &c.,  &c. 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  207 

cxxv. 

TO  HIS  FATHER. 

BERLIN,  3d  June,  1810. 

Amelia  has  already  written  to  you  about  my  position,  as -it  ought  to  be 
at  present,  and  since  then  you  will  have  read  an  official  article  on  it  in  the 
"Hamburgh  Correspondent,"  copied  from  the  Berlin  journal.  I  certainly 
am  not  so  free  from  government  business  as  I  had  wished,  but  am  still 
connected  with  the  finance  department.  However,  I  am  no  longer  person- 
ally engaged  in  the  Finance  Commission,  and  the  rest  will  no  doubt  settle 
itself  in  time.  If,  however,  things  should  continue  as  they  have  been  for 
the  last  week,  during  which  my  time  has  been  completely  taken  up  with 
composing  reports  on  proposed  measures,  there  is  but  little  hope  of  im- 
provement in  ray  health  or  return  to  my  studies.  I  particularly  wish  to 
resume  the  study  of  Arabic,  to  which  my  thoughts  have  been  recalled  by 
Lord  Valentia.  I  have  been  reminded,  too,  how  unpardonable  it  was  in 
me  to  content  myself,  when  in  Copenhagen,  with  merely  looking  at  the 
Chronicle  of  Zebid,  which,  from  the  contents  of  one  chapter  I  remember, 
would  doubtless  enable  us  to  fill  up  the  gaps  in  the  Abyssinian  history  of 
the  middle  ages,  and  probably  throw  light  on  that  of  the  Mohammedan 
states.  If  things  should  remain  quiet,  and  I  am  able  to  make  use  of  the 
permission  granted  me  to  travel  for  literary  purposes,  I  intend,  therefore, 
as  soon  as  I  have  revived  my  Arabic,  to  go  to  Copenhagen,  in  order  to 
examine  the  Arabic  MSS.  there,  and  in  particular  this  Chronicle. 

As  long,  however,  as  I  am  occupied  with  business  which  must  absorb  any 
one  who  is  not  accustomed  to  work  superficially,  and  am  obliged  to  confer  and 
associate  so  much  with  people  who  have  no  life  beyond  their  official  one,  so 
long  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  return  to  science  as  completely  as  I  should 
wish.  Still,  a  great  step  has  been  made  toward  the  attainment  of  quiet. 

It  gives  us  the  greatest  pleasure,  dearest  father,  that  this  termination 
of  affairs  does  not  annoy  you,  and  that  it  seems  as  though  you,  too,  would 
be  pleased  to  see  me  more  decidedly  devote  myself  to  letters 

CXXVI. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

BERLIN,  1st  July,  1610. 

There  are  schemes  afloat  about  which  I  can  not  be  silent.     I 

have  risked  every  thing  by  venturing  to  expose  their  essentially  pernicious 
character,  and  even  though  the  consequences  to  myself  should  be  very  un- 
pleasant, I  have  never  enjoyed  a  clearer  conviction  of  having  acted  rightly 
and  wisely.  I  am  satisfied,  that  even  if  I  fail  in  the  attempt  to  stifle 
them  in  the  birth,  they  will  come  into  the  world  only  half  alire.  My  op- 
position, which,  I  am  pleased  to  find,  wins  me  respect  in  many  quarters, 
gives  others  also  time  and  courage  to  come  forward,  though  I  have  long 
stood  alone  in  my  efforts  to  protect  the  State  against  their  projects.  Such 
opposition  has  its  dangers,  and  I  have  not  been  altogether  without  un- 
easiness. Yet  I  soon  recovered  my  calmness  in  the  consciousness. that  I 
stand  or  fall  in  a  thoroughly  good  cause,  and  however  things  turn  out,  I 
shall  never  recall  this  time  with  regret,  but  rather  dwell  upon  its  memory 
with  pleasure. 


208  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

When  this  crisis  is  over,  I  hope  to  succeed  in  abstracting  my  thoughts 
from  public  affairs,  and  returning  to  my  studies.  We  are  at  last  expecting 
the  arrival  of  my  library,  along  with  our  other  effects.  When  surrounded 
with  my  books,  a  few  months  will  suffice  to  revive  the  images  that  have 
half  faded  from  my  memory,  and  then  I  must  resume  my  pen— unless  fate 
should  have  forever  denied  me  rest,  as  a  punishment  for  having  desired 
excitement  and  activity. 

You  are  not  far  from  us  now,  yet  1  scarely  dare  to  think  of  your  coming 
'  to  us  as  certain  and  near. 

CXXVII. 

TO  COUNT  ADAM  MOLTKE. 

BERLIN,  3d  July,  1810. 

Dearest  Moltke,  I  feel  it  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  advantages  I  derive 
from  my  partial  liberation  from  public  business,  to  be  able  to  answer  the 
letter  I  received  from  you  yesterday.  A  few  weeks  earlier,  it  would  have 
been  impossible,  from  the  causes  which  have  overwhelmed  me  with  a 
greater  amount  of  correspondence  than  at  any  previous  time  since  my 
return  from  Konigsberg,  and  of  a  more  unpleasant  nature.  But  suffer  me 
to  pass  over  the  period  that  is  just  closed ;  it  has,  however,  been  one  of 
the  darkest,  perhaps  quite  the  darkest  portion  of  my  life.  I  was  very  ill 
at  Konigsberg,  so  ill  that  the  foretaste  of  intellectual,  if  not  of  physical 
death  was  on  my  lips  ;  I  sank  under  the  influences  of  the  climate,  com- 
bined with  the  bodily  exhaustion  produced  by  long-continued  exertions  of 
passionate  intensity,  and  the  disappointment  of  all  my  dearest  hopes  (al- 
low me  to  attribute  to  my  body  a  participation  in  the  operations  of  my 
mind)  ;  and  in  this  state  I  was  forced  to  toil  at  Prussian  Citissime1  s,  ac- 
companied by  ponderous  piles  of  deeds.  There  was  nothing  cheering  to 
turn  to  ;  every  thing  excited  bitterness  and  discontent ;  I  was  indeed  in 
a  new  world — in  the  world  of  the  coldest  iron  age.  When  I  was  only 
beginning  to  recover,  I  traveled  hither  at  the  worst  season  of  the  year ; 
tried  to  conceal  from  myself  how  ill  and  exhausted  I  was  ;  got  stupefied 
with  business  and  new  faces  ;  pushed  and  dragged  at  the  rusty  wheels  of 
the  machine  till  my  hands  were  sore,  and  I  was  worn  out  with  fatigue ; 
continued  constantly  unwell ;  grew  worse  from  time  to  time,  and  quite 
unfit  for  any  sort  of  exertion  :  at  last  I  got  a  little  better,  but  by  that 
time  business  had  accumulated  so  that  I  had  to  work  doubly  hard  till  I 
fell  ill  again. 

When  the  intrigues  began,  which  have  led  to  the  present  changes  (per- 
haps not  yet  ended),  I  soon  got  an  inkling  that  they  might  very  likely 
issue  in  my  release  from  the  yoke  of  public  life. 

Your  letter  of  the  25th  of  April,  about  the  provincial  system  of  credit, 
did  not  reach  me  till  the  end  of  May,  and  then — which  quite  puzzles  me 
to  conceive  where  it  could  have  come  from — bearing  an  address  in  a  strange 
hand,  and  franked  through  Boitzenburg.  You  can  neither  have  sent  it 
from  Hamburgh  nor  Kiel  by  that  route.  About  the  matter  itself,  I  can 
say  little  in  a  letter,  and  nothing  in  the  space  of  a  few  lines  ;  for  it  could 
only  be  suitably  disposed  of  in  a  voluminous  report,  or  a  verbal,  discussion, 
and  for  the  former  I  feel  by  no  means  inclined  just  as  I  have  made  my 
escape  from  business.  I  think  that  our  system  of  credit,  which  reached 


THE  PRUSSIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE.  209 

a  much  greater  extension  than  people  Seem  to  bo  aware  of  in  your  country, 
and  at  last  kept  in  circulation  mortgage  notes  to  the  amount  of  more  than 
54,000,000  dollars,  has  done  much  injury,  by  promoting  a  trade  in  land, 
although  it  has  been,  and  still  is,  productive  of  some  advantages 

Pray  for  free  trade,  for  if  you  could  export  your  wheat,  barley  and  oats, 
to  foreign  countries,  you  would  be  saved,  just  as  in  that  case  East  Prussia 
might  also  recover  from  the  war  in  the  course  of  a  few  years. 

None  of  the  new  works,  with  which  the  Leipsic  fair  has  rejoiced  your 
heart,  are  known  to  me  as  yet.  With  our  heavy  expenses,  we  are  obliged 
to  be  very  economical,  and  I  deny  myself  new  books  like  wine.  The  new 
edition 'of  the  original  text  of  the  "Nibelungen  Lied"  is  the  only  thing 
lying  before  me,  and  that  was  sent  me  by  the  editor  himself.  In  this 
form,  this  wonderful  poem  can  not  fail  of  producing  the  greatest  effect 
upon  you 

CXXVIII. 

TO  HIS  FATHER. 

BERLIN,  81*1  July,  1810. 

As  Salt  appears  to  be  a  very  judicious  and  unassuming  man, 

who  will  not  in  any  way  irritate  and  insult  the  feelings  of  the  natives,  I 
firmly  believe  that  the  embassy  may  be  of  the  highest  benefit  to .  the 
Abyssinians,  since  they  seem  to  be  peculiarly  prepared  for  the  reception 
of  European  arts  and  civilization.  The  only  fear  is,  that  the  unseasonable 
activity  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  which  has  disturbed  the  peace 
of  India,  might  endanger  there  also  the  good  understanding  which  would 
no  doubt  subsist  at  first  between  them  and  the  English,  from  their  not 
regarding  the  latter  as  Catholic  Europeans.  The  Abyssinians  with  their 
lively  curiosity,  stand  nearly  on  the  same  level  as  the  Russians  did  before 
Peter  the  Great,  and  in  their  beautiful  climate,  civilization  may  develop 
itself  with  more  completeness  and  nationality  than  in  Russia,  where  it 
has  been  spoilt  by  a  bad  model.  That  England  will  reap  any  polit- 
ical advantages,  or  even  any  considerable  extension  of  her  commerce,  is 
very  improbable.  She  might  perhaps  enlist  some  very  serviceable  soldiers 
there,  but  the  entire  trade  of  the  country  itself;  and  of  that  part  of  Africa 
to  which  Abyssinia  would  serve  as  an  approach,  can  only  employ  a  few 
ships,  at  least  for  many  years  to  come.  In  the  course  of  a  century  perhaps 
a  great  market  may  be  opened  even  in  these  regions,  and  this  may  be 
worthy  of  consideration  in  the  policy  of  a  state,  which  may  calculate  with 
security  on  a  prolonged  existence,  unless  it  be  destroyed  from  within. 

No  one  certainly  can  deny  that  England  is  at  this  moment  rapidly  ad- 
vancing in  power  and  prosperity,  but  that  she  is  safe  from  internal  con- 
vulsions and  changes,  can  not  be  affirmed  with  equal  certainty.  The 
present  ministers  are  not  equal  to  the  exigences  of  their  position,  and  no 
internal  prosperity  can  allay  the  discontent  and  fermentation  arising  from 
this  circumstance,  which  may,  too,  lead  to  something  much  worse  than 
the  existing  grounds  of  dissatisfaction,  and  yet  ought  not  perhaps  to  be 
deprived  of  an  outlet  for  expression.  In  times  of  extraordinary  internal 
prosperity  and  great  outward  emergency,  the  absence  of  great  men  is  al- 
most as  ruinous  as  in  times  of  great  calamity,  and  unquestionably  England 
has  never  been  so  poor  in  great  men  as  she  is  at  the  present  moment. ...... 


CHAPTER  VII. 

NIEBUHR'S  PROFESSORSHIP  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  BERLIN, 
1810  TO  1813. 

NIEBUHR'S  relinquishment  of  office,  in  1810,  forms  an  important 
epoch  in  his  life.  He  was  now  thirty-four  years  of  age,  and  since 
his  twentieth  year  (with  the  exception  of  the  sixteen  months  passed 
in  England  and  Scotland),  had  been  actively  engaged  in  the  pub- 
lic service.  During  this  period  he  had  indeed  never  lost  sight  of 
his  philological  researches,  but  he  had  only  been  able  to  devote  to 
them  his  few  hours  of  leisure  ;  now,  it  was  to  be  seen  whether  he 
could  find  satisfaction  in  the  life  of  a  student,  after  years  passed 
in  the  midst  of  the  great  world,  and  surrounded  by  exciting  cir- 
cumstances. How  far  he  had,  however,  turned  these  leisure 
hours  to  account,  may  be  judged  by  the  following  memorandum, 
found,  with  many  others  of  a  similar  kind,  among  his  papers,  and 
written,  most  probably,  in  Copenhagen,  about  1803. 

"  Works  which  I  have  to  complete  : 

"  1.  Treatise  on  Roman  Domains. 

"  2.  Translation  of  El  Wakidi. 

"  3.  History  of  Macedon. 

"  4.  Account  of  the  Roman  Constitution  at  its  various  Epochs. 

"  5.  History  of  the  Achaean  Confederation,  of  the  Wars  of  the 
Confederates,  and  of  the  Civil  Wars  of  Marius  and  Sylla. 

"  6.   Constitutions  of  the  Greek  States. 

"7.  Empire  of  the  Caliphs." 

No  detailed  outlines  of  these,  or  any  of  his  other  literary  under- 
takings, are  to  be  found ;  but  it  must  not  be  inferred  that  such 
memoranda  contain  mere  projects,  toward  whose  execution  no 
steps  were  ever  taken.  That  Niebuhr  proposed  any  such  work 
to  himself,  was  a  certain  sign  that  he  had  read  and  thought  deeply 
on  the  subject,  but  he  was  able  to  trust  so  implicitly  to  his  extraor- 
dinary memory,  that  he  never  committed  any  portion  of  his  essays  to 
paper,  till  the  whole  was  complete  in  his  own  mind.  His  memory 
was  so  wonderfully  retentive,  that  he  scarcely  ever  forgot  any  thing 
which  he  had  once  heard  or  read,  and  the  facts  he  knew  remained 
present  to  him  at  all  times,  even  in  their  minutest  details. 


PROFESSOESHIP  IN  BERLIN.  211 

His  wife  and  his  sister  once  playfully  took  up  Gibbon,  and  asked 
him  questions  from  the  table  of  contents,  about  the  most  trivial 
things,  by  way  of  testing  his  memory.  They  carried  on  the  ex- 
amination till  they  were  tired,  and  gave  up  all  hope  of  even  de- 
tecting him  in  a  momentary  uncertainty,  though  he  was  at  the 
same  time  engaged  in  writing  on  some  other  subject.  He  was 
once  conversing  with  a  party  of  Austrian  officers  about  Napoleon's 
Italian  campaigns.  Some  dispute  arose  respecting  the  position  of 
different  corps  in  the  battle  of  Marengo.  Niebuhr  described  ex- 
actly how  they  were  placed,  and  the  progress  of  the  action.  The 
officers  contradicted  him ;  but  on  maps  being  brought  he  was 
found  to  be  in  the  right,  and  to  know  more  of  the  details  of  tho 
conflict  than  the  very  officers  who  had  been  present.  One  day, 
when  he  was  talking  with  Professor  Welcker,  of  Bonn,  the  con- 
versation happened  to  turn  on  the  weather,  and'  Niebuhr  quoted 
the  results  of  barometrical  observations  in  the  different  years,  as 
far  back  as  1770,  with  perfect  accuracy. 

This  power  was  not  a  merely  mechanical  faculty ;  it  was  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  power  of  instantaneously  seizing  on  all 
the  relations  of  any  fact  placed  before  him,  and  with  his  wonder- 
ful imagination ;  his  imagination,  however,  was  that  of  an  his- 
torian, not  of  a  poet — it  was  not  creative,  but  enabled  him  to 
form,  from  the  most  various,  and  apparently  inadequate  sources, 
distinct  and  truthful  pictures  of  scenes,  actions,  and  characters. 
Hence  his  keen  delight  in  travels ;  hence,  too,  his  habit  of  pro- 
nouncing judgment  on  the  men  of  other  countries  and  of  past 
times,  with  all  the  warmth  of  a  fellow-countryman  and  a  con- 
temporary. 

With  his  warm  affections,  and  clear-sighted  moral  sense,  it  was 
impossible  for  him  to  form  such  opinions  on  past  or  present  history, 
coolly  standing  aloof,  as  it  were,  and  regarding  the  subject  with 
calm  superiority ;  he  could  not  but  condemn  and  despise  all  that 
was  pernicious  and  base ;  he  could  not  but  love  and  reverence, 
with  his  whole  heart,  whatever  was  noble  and  beautiful.  Snch 
opinions  and  feelings  he  expressed  with  the  utmost  frankness, 
sometimes  even  with  vehemence,  when  prudence  would  have 
counseled  more  guarded  language. 

It  was  this  same  power  of  entering  into  the  cast  of  thought  and 
circumstances  of  others,  which  led  foreigners  to  find  pleasure-  in 
his  society,  and  even  to  form  intimate  friendships  with  him,  and 


212  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

which  enabled  him  to  predict,  with  remarkable  accuracy,  what 
course  such  and  such  statesmen  would  pursue  in  public  affairs. 
But  he  was  not,  in  general,  fond  of  analyzing  character,  especially 
the  characters  of  those  whom  he  loved.  He  could  not  endure  to 
separate  off  their  different  qualities,  and  balance  their  excellences 
against  their  defects ;  he  seized  on  the  whole  personality  at  once. 
In  his  friendships  he  was  most  warm  and  constant ;  though  his 
constitutional  irritability  of  mind  and  body  sometimes  betrayed 
him  into  expressions  which  gave  pain  for  the  moment,  yet  no  one 
could  be  in  truth  more  tender-hearted.  He  was  fully  aware  of 
his  own  uncommon  endowments,  but  his  absolute  freedom  from 
envy,  and  his  eagerness  to  recognize  and  do  homage  to  merit  of 
whatever  kind,  preserved  him  from  such  mean  faults  as  vanity 
and  conceit.  He  was  himself  habitually  serious,  but  had  a  quick 
sense  of  the  ludicrous,  and  greatly  enjoyed  wit  and  humor  in 
others.  Of  children  he  was  very  ibnd,  and  was  always  a  great 
favorite  with  them. 

The  university  of  Berlin  was  opened  at  Michaelmas,  1810. 
The  most  distinguished  men  in  nearly  all  the  departments  of 
knowledge  had  been  appointed,  among  whom  Schleiermacher, 
Savigny,  Buttmann,  and  Heindorff  are  names  well  known  to  En- 
glish readers.  Indeed  Berlin,  from  this  time  forward,  may  almost 
be  considered  as  the  centre  of  the  intellectual  life  of  Germany. 
Niebuhr  was,  therefore,  in  a  favorable  atmosphere  for  the  prose- 
cution of  his  learned  researches,  and,  in  fact,  the  next  three  years 
formed  one  of  the  calmest  and  happiest  portions  of  his  life.  The 
political  state  of  the  world  occupied  him  less  than  at  almost  any 
former  period,  partly  because  he  was  satisfied  that  no  great  im- 
provement in  the  outward  position  of  Prussia  could  take  place  for 
the  present,  while  he  retained  the  hope  that,  after  a  long  prepar- 
atory night  of  discipline,  a  brighter  day  would  yet  dawn  upon  the 
future ;  partly  because  he  now  lived  almost  exclusively  in  the 
world  of  letters,  and  had  comparatively  little  intercourse  with 
political  circles. 

His  first  literary  production,  after  his  retirement  from  public 
life,  was  a  Treatise  on  the  Amphictyons,  written  in  July,  1810. 

At  the  opening  of  the  university,  Niebuhr  delivered  those  lec- 
tures on  Roman  History  which  formed  the  foundation  of  his  great 
historical  work.  He  thus  describes  the  mode  in  which  the  idea 
was  first  suggested  to  him,  in  a  letter,  dated  the  31st  of  August, 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  213 

to  Madame  Hensler,  who  had  just  quitted  Berlin  after  a  visit  at 
his  house :  "  We  meant  to  be  alone  after  you  had  left  us,  but 
Spalding  dropped  in  accidentally.  He  told  us  that  he  meant  to 
deliver  lectures,  in  connection  with  the  university,  this  winter, 
and  urged  me  to  do  the  same.  Nicolovius,  to  whom  I  mentioned 
the  subject  afterward,  was  most  warmly  in  favor  of  it.  I  would 
willingly  take  Spalding's  suggestion  as  a  call  to  the  work ;  but  he 
who  announces  a  series  of  lectures  without  any  official  call  to  do 
so,  especially  when  he  can  not  conceal  from  himself  that  he  should 
be  disappointed  if  he  had  not  some  distinguished  auditors,  is  bound 
to  deliver  something  of  more  than  ordinary  excellence.  Now  the 
time  for  preparation  is  short,  and  I  could  never  reconcile  myself 
to  patching  my  work  up,  and  eking  out  the  deficiencies  with  ir- 
relevant matter.  To  give  a  course  of  lectures  upon  the  whole  of 
a  science,  or  the  history  of  a  country,  for  the  instruction  of  youths, 
is  not  a  hard  task ;  in  most  cases,  one  which  simply  requires  a 
continued  effort  of  memory ;  but  it  is  quite  another  thing  when 
one  wishes,  and  ought  to  give  only  a  quintessence,  to  the  exclusion 
of  all  generally  known  points.  I  think  I  should  succeed  best  at 
first  with  an  account  of  the  political  and  civil  institutions  of  the 
nations  of  antiquity.  You  know  how  much  study  I  have  bestowed 
on  these  subjects  already." 

It  is  evident  here  that  he  had  not  yet  decided  upon  the  subject 
of  his  lectures,  but  on  September  1st,  he  writes  :  "  I  have  determ- 
ined to  give  a  course  of  lectures  on  the  History  of  Rome.  Spalding 
urged  me  to  deliver,  instead,  a  course  for  young  men  at  first,  and 
afterward  a  single  lecture  upon  some  select  theme.  I  would  never 
have  undertaken  to  write  the  History  of  Rome,  but  to  lecture  on 
it  is  a  somewhat  less  rash  undertaking.  I  shall  begin  with  the 
primitive  state  of  Italy,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  represent  the  an- 
cient races,  not  only  from  the  narrow  point  of  view  of  their  subju- 
gation, but  also  as  they  were  in  themselves,  and  as  they  had  been 
in  their  earlier  stages ;  then,  in  the  Roman  History,  I  shall  give 
an  account  of  the  constitution  and  administration,  of  which  I  have 
a  vivid  picture  before  my  mind's  eye.  I  should  like  to  bring  this 
history  down  to  the  latest  era,  when  the  forms  developed  from  the 
germs  of  antiquity  became  utterly  extinct,  and  those  of  the  middle 
ages  took  their  place."  He  writes  to  his  father,  ia  October,  that 
he  feels  very  happy  in  his  new,  or  rather  old,  sphere  of  action,  and 
desires  its  continuance  ;  although  there  are  moments  in  which  he 


214  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

almost  reproaches  himself  for  his  tranquillity,  when  he  is  conscious 
that  he  could  fulfill  certain  public  duties  better  than  those  who 
are  now  charged  with  them.  This  letter  is  also  a  proof  that  the 
most  intense  occupation  with  a  subject  like  the  Boman  history, 
which  called  every  feeling  and  power  into  action,  could  not  stifle 
his  interest  in  other  perfectly  dissimilar  studies,  belonging  likewise 
rather  to  an  earlier  period  of  his  life  ;  for  he  relates  to  his  father 
several  facts  connected  with  Brace's  Travels,  which  had  recently 
come  to  light  through  the  publication  of  the  journals  of  the  Italian 
who  accompanied  him. 

Savigny  says,  of  this  opening  course  of  lectures  :  *  "  Nie- 
buhr  himself  describes  the  impression  made  by  his  course  of 
lectures  on  Roman  history,  in  a  manner  that  can  not  fail  of  its 
effect  on  the  mind  of  any  susceptible  reader.f  Certainly  many 
might  be  disposed  to  think  that  in  this  letter  he  overrates  the  ex- 
tent of  his  own  success,  as  we  are  so  apt  to  do  in  our  own  case, 
even  when  we  are  animated  by  the  strongest  love  of  truth  ;  but  I 
can  testify  that  he  has  rather  said  too  little  than  too  much.  Nie- 
buhr  was  appearing  for  the  first  time  in  the  character  of  an  in- 
structor ;  he  had  as  yet  earned  no  fame  as  a  writer,  and  thus  the 
esteem  and  consideration  which  he  certainly  already  enjoyed,  were 
necessarily  limited  to  the  narrower  circle  of  his  personal  ac- 
quaintance. He  told  me  himself  at  the  time,  that  he  had  only 
expected  to  have  students,  and  a  small  number  of  them,  as  his 
hearers,  and  should  have  been  fully  satisfied  if  that  had  been 
the  case  ;  but  in  addition  to  a  large  audience  of  the  students,  they 
were  attended  by  members  of  the  Academy,  professors  of  the  Uni- 
versity, public  men  and  officers  of  all  grades,  who  spread  the  fame 
of  the  lectures  abroad,  and  thus  continually  attracted  fresh  hearers. 
It  was  the  fairest  harbinger  of  the  future  eminence  of  the  youthful 
university.  This  unexpected  success  re-acted  on  Niebuhr's  sus- 
ceptible nature,  and  filled  him  with  fresh  inspiration.  While  he 
had  previously  felt  a  peculiar  partiality  for  this  subject  of  research, 
his  courage  and  his  inclination  were  now  raised  to  the  highest 
point  by  this  respectful  appreciation  of  his  merits,  and  the  daily 
and  familiar  intercourse  with  distinguished  scholars. 

"  His  time,  at  that  period,  was  unceasingly  occupied  in  product- 
ive efforts  made  with  youthful  energy  and  joy,  and  rewarded  by  a 

*  In  his  Essay  on  Niebuhr,  appended  to  the  Lebensiiachrichten,  vol.  iii.  p. 
143-  t  See  letter,  page  220. 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BEELIN.  215 

grateful  recognition  of  their  value ;  and  it  is  visible  even  in  these 
letters,  as  well  as  confirmed  by  many  expressions  to  his  friends, 
that  no  portion  of  his  life  afforded  him  such  high  and  unmixed 
enjoyment. 

"  The  mode  of  his  delivery  was  also  remarkable.  He  had  writ- 
ten down  his  lecture  verbatim,  and  read  it  off  before  his  hearers. 
This  proceeding,  which  usually  injures  the  liveliness  of  the  impres- 
sion, had,  in  his  case,  the  most  animated  and  powerful  effect,  such 
as  in  general  only  accompanies  an  extempore  delivery.  His  hearers 
felt  as  if  transported  into  ancient  times,  when  the  public  reading 
of  new  works  supplied  the  place  of  our  printed  books,  and  there 
was  a  less  extended  circulation,  but  they  made  a  warmer  and 
more  personal  impression." 

The  writer  of  the  foregoing  extract  was  one  of  those  to  whose 
intimacy  Niebuhr  considered  himself  most  deeply  indebted  for  the 
acquisition  of  new  ideas,  and  for  that  sympathy  with  his  own, 
which  was  the  best  stimulus  to  his  creative  powers.  Von  Savigny 
had  already  attained  a  high  reputation  as  a  professor  of  jurispru- 
dence, at  Marburg  and  Landshut,  when  he  was  called  to  Berlin 
at  the  opening  of  the  university  ;  but  he  had  not  yet  published  his 
"  History  of  Roman  Law  in  the  Middle  Ages,"  and  "  System  of 
Roman  Law  at  the  Present  Day,"  through  which  he  has  since 
acquired  celebrity.  Niebuhr  has  acknowledged  his  obligations  to 
Savigny,  in  the  preface  to  his  first  volume  of  the  "  History  of 
Rome."  Another  of  the  learned  friends  to  whom  he  alludes  was 
Nicolovius,  who  was  now  employed  in  Berlin  under  the  minister 
for  ecclesiastical  affairs  and  public  instruction. 

Schleiermacher,  Buttmann,  Heindorf,  Spalding>  and  two  others, 
with  Niebuhr,  instituted  a  sort  of  little  philological  society,  the 
members  of  which  used  to  meet  once  a  week  at  each  other's 
houses  in  turn,  to  read  and  correct  some  classical  author.  The 
evenings  concluded  with  a  supper,  at  which  the  utmost  freedom 
and  hilarity  prevailed.  Buttmann  especially  was  as  much  distin- 
guished by  his  sparkling  wit  as  by  his  learning.  Niebuhr's  was 
one  of  those  child-like  open  natures  that  can  not  exist  without  tho 
unrestrained  communication  of  their  thoughts.  Probably  this  im- 
pulse to  express  his  ideas,  just  as  they  arose,  was  one  of  the  chief 
causes  which  so  long  withheld  him  from  coming  forward  as  a 
writer.  He  threw  out  all  his  best  thoughts  in  conversation,  and 
lost,  by  so  doing,  the  incentive  to  any  further  communication  of 


216  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

them ;  meanwhile  he  retained  them  with  unfading  colors  in  his 
own  mind,  by  means  of  his  unexampled  memory,  without  needing 
to  write  them  down,  and  with  this  he  was  satisfied.  To  this  must 
also  be  added,  that  he  set  before  himself  an  unattainable  ideal, 
which,  on  objective  rather  than  subjective  grounds,  he  thought  it 
a  duty  to  realize  before  submitting  any  production  to  the  world. 

Now,  however,  the  success  which  attended  his  lectures  in  the 
delivery,  induced  him  to  extend  his  researches,  and  to  combine 
their  results  so  as  to  render  them  fit  for  publication.  From  this 
time  forward  he  regarded  the  writing  of  his  "  History  of  Rome"  as 
the  vocation  and  task  of  his  life. 

He  was  closely  occupied  during  this  winter  with  his  lectures, 
and  their  preparation  for  printing,  which  began  as  early  as  May. 
But  he  found  time  to  write,  besides,  a  "  Treatise  on  the  History  of 
the  Scythians  and  Sarmatians,"  for  the  Academy  of  Science,  and 
at  the  request  of  the  minister  Dohna,  drew  up  a  plan  for  the  re- 
organization of  the  provincial  govemments. 

By  the  middle  of  June,  1811,  the  printing  of  the  first  volume 
of  his  history  was  so  far  advanced,  that  he  was  able  to  take  a 
long-projected  journey  to  Holstein.  The  fatigue  occasioned  by  his 
constant  labor  in  the  composition  of  his  History,  had  begun  seri- 
ously to  affect  his  health,  and  rendered  a  change  necessary.  He 
remained  among  his  relations  in  Holstein  till  the  middle  of  Sep- 
tember. These  family  meetings  were  among  the  most  delightful 
recollections  of  all  who  took  part  in  them.  After  spending  the 
morning  in  work,  Niebuhr  devoted  the  rest  of  the  day  to  relaxa- 
tion, entering  eagerly  into  the  games  of  the  children,  or  reading 
aloud  to  their  parents,  on  which  occasions  he  used  generally  to  take 
the  comic  parts,  to  the  great  amusement  of  his  hearers. 

On  his  return  to  Berlin,  he  found  the  first  volume  of  his  History 
ready  for  publication.  In  the  winter  of  1811-12,  he  continued 
his  lectures,  and  at  the  same  time  prepared  the  second  volume  of 
his  History  for  the  press.  He  attended,  this  winter,  Schleiermach- 
er's  lectures  on  the  history  of  philosophy,  and  declares  in  one  of  his 
letters  that,  "  he  does  not  think  any  other  university  can  boast  of 
any  thing  like  them."  In  December  he  wrote  a  treatise  for  the 
Academy,  on  which,  however,  he  himself  did  not  set  any  great 
value.  The  second  volume  of  the  "  History  of  Rome,"  which  he 
composed  during  this  winter,  contains  the  remainder  of  the  lec- 
tures that  he  delivered  in  the  preceding  one.  According  to  the 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  217 

plan  he  had  made  at  this  time,  the  lectures  of  1811-12  were  to 
form  the  third,  and  a  part  of  the  fourth  volume.  He  then  ex- 
pected to  be  able  to  bring  the  History  down  to  the  time  of  Augus- 
tus, with  the  fifth  volume — which  he  afterward  found  impossible, 
as  his  researches  extended — and  hoped  to  complete  the  work  in  a 
few  years,  if  he  continued  to  labor  at  it  without  interruption. 

In  February,  1812,  he  was  seriously  ill  with  an  inflammation 
of  the  chest,  and  was  obliged  to  discontinue  his  lectures  for  some 
time. 

In  the  spring  of  this  year,  the  French  armies  began  their  march 
through  Prussia,  on  their  way  to  Moscow.  The  interest  in  poli- 
tics, which  had  only  slumbered  for  a  time  in  Niebuhr's  mind,  could 
not  but  be  roused  again  by  the  aspect  of  affairs,  and  directed  with 
eager  attention  to  the  results  of  the  events  that  were  taking  place. 
On  occasion  of  the  passage  of  one  of  the  bodies  of  troops,  he  met 
with  Intendant-gencral  Dumas,  whom  he  hod  formerly  known  in 
Holstein,  when  he  took  refuge  there  after  the  French  Directory  had 
condemned  him  to  be  transported  to  Cayenne.  He  regarded  Dumas 
as  an  honorable  and  intelligent  man,  whom  he  should  have  heart- 
ily rejoiced  in-meeting  under  different  circumstances. 

Though  the  constant  arrival  and  departure  of  troops  occasioned 
him  much  disturbance,  as  soldiers  were  quartered  in  his  house,  he 
got  his  second  volume  ready  for  the  press  by  May.  He  wrote 
several  reviews  during  the  summer  of  1812,  but,  with  this  excep- 
tion, allowed  himself,  at  length,  a  little  intermission  from  his 
labors.  These  reviews  he  did  not  wish  to  survive  him,  and  he 
had  a  similar  feeling  with  regard  to  all  his  polemic  writings.  His 
opinion  was  that,  though  it  is  necessary  to  be  able  to  contend  for 
the  truth,  no  unfriendly  words  ought  to  be  preserved.  With  regard 
to  his  political  writings  he  said,  that  they  might  be  collected  after 
his  death  if  it  seemed  advisable. 

Meanwhile,  the  second  volume  of  his  Roman  History  was  sent 
to  press.  The  indifference  with  which,  as  he  thought,  it  was 
received  by  the  public,  pained  him  much ;  but  he  persisted  in  his 
resolution  of  continuing  the  work.  The  circumstances  of  that  time, 
when  the  public  attention  was  universally  engrossed  by  the  great 
transactions  taking  place  in  the  north  of  Europe,  were  necessarily 
unfavorable  to  the  reception  of  a  work  like  his. 

In  October,  1812,  he  began  a  course  of  lectures  on  Roman 
antiquities,  and  went  on  with  them  to  the  end,  notwithstanding 

K 


218  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

the  excitement  occasioned  by  the  frequent  passage  of  troops.  He 
was  likewise  occupied  by  the  revisal  of  the  third  volume  of  the 
History,  which  he  intended  to  have  ready  for  the  printer  by  the 
beginning  of  the  new  year.  This  plan  was  frustrated  by  the  im- 
portant events  that  ensued,  which  engaged  all  his  thoughts,  and 
filled  his  soul  with  new  hopes  of  deliverance  from  the  French 
yoke.  He  was  soon  involved  in  the  bustle  and  turmoil  of  public 

life. 

Niebuhr  had  hitherto  read  his  lectures  gratis  ;  he  now  took  fees 
for  them,  which  he  devoted  to  the  assistance  of  distressed  families, 
who  were  naturally  at  this  time  more  numerous  than  usual.  To 
have  it  in  his  power  to  afford  help  wherever  he  saw  anxiety  or 
want,  was  always  a  joy  to  him.  He  and  his  wife  exercised  their 
benevolence  most  nobly,  both  in  great  things  and  small,  and  he 
often  expressed  his  thankfulness  to  God  for  having  given  him  the 
means  to  be  of  service. 

During  the  winter  of  1812—13,  French  troops  were  constantly 
passing  through  Berlin  on  their  way  from  Russia.  Their  disasters 
kindled  a  ray  of  hope  in  every  heart ;  and  though  the  unutterable 
sufferings  of  the  enemy  excited  general  compassion,  the  spirit  of 
patriotism  rejoiced  in  the  prospect  of  brighter  days.  On  the  evacua- 
tion of  Berlin  by  the  French,  in  February,  1813,  Niebuhr  shared 
in  the  national  rejoicings,  and  not  less  in  the  enthusiasm  displayed 
in  the  preparations  for  the  complete  re-conquest  of  freedom.  When 
the  Landwehr  was  called  out,  he  refused  to  evade  serving  in  it,  as 
he  could  take  no  other  part  in  the  war.  His  wish  was  to  act  as 
secretary  to  the  general  staff;  but  if  this  were  not  possible,  he 
meant  to  enter  the  service  as  a  volunteer  with  some  of  his  friends. 
For  this  purpose  he  went  through  the  exercises,  and  when  the 
time  came  for  those  of  his  age  to  be  summoned,  sent  in  his  name 
as  a  volunteer  to  the  Landwehr.  He  would  have  preferred  enter- 
ing a  regular  regiment,  and  applied  to  the  King  for  permission  to 
do  so ;  but  this  request  was  refused  by  him,  and  he  added  that  he 
would  give  him  other  commissions  more  suited  to  his  talents. 

Niebuhr's  friends  in  Holstein  could  hardly  trust  their  eyes,  when 
he  wrote  them  word  that  he  was  drilling  for  the  army,  and  that 
his  wife  entered  with  equal  enthusiasm  into  his  feelings.  The 
greatness  of  the  object  had  so  inspired  Madame  Niebuhr,  who  was 
usually  anxious,  even  to  a  morbid  extent,  at  the  slightest  imagin- 
able peril  for  the  husband  in  whom  she  might  truly  be  said  to  live, 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  219 

that  she  was  willing  and  ready  to  bring  even  her  most  precious 
treasure  as  a  sacrifice  to  her  country. 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  that  he  might  at  least  do  some- 
thing, if  only  indirectly,  for  the  good  cause,  Niebuhr  established  a 
journal,  under  the  sanction,  of  the  Prussian  government,  entitled 
the  "  Prussian  Correspondent,"  the  name  of  which  expresses  its 
object.  He  edited  it  himself,  until  he  was,  after  a  short  time, 
called  to  head-quarters.  He  resumed  the  editorship  several  times 
afterward,  but  never  for  long  together,  because  he  was  so  fre- 
quently summoned  in  other  directions.  During  the  intervals,  when 
the  journal  was  conducted  by  other  hands,  some  very  bitter  articles 
appeared  against  Denmark,  which  excited  his  strong  displeasure, 
but  for  which  he  has  nevertheless  been  much  blamed  in  that 
country,  where  it  wa*  supposed  that  he  was  responsible  for  their 
insertion. 

Extracts  from,  Niebuhr1  s  Letters  from  the  Summer  of  1810 
to  t)te  Spring  of  1813. 

CXXIX. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

BERLIN,  \»t  October,  1810. 

Zelter  says  that  Goethe  in  at  work  on  hit*  biography,  and  means  after- 
ward to  continue  Wilhelm  Meister.  Zelter  has  been  studying  his  Questions 
upon  Music,  and  declares  that  he,  not  being  at  all  musical,  not  even  having 
learnt  music,  will  yet  bring  forward  a  doctrine  of  acoustics,  •  which  is  pro- 
found, quite  novel,  and  in  his  opinion  convincing.  Here,  also,  he  discovers 
the  law  of  diverging  tendencies.  la  not  this  an  extraordinary  triumph  of 
genius  ?  Goethe  has  seen  the  King  of  Holland,  and  they  are  mutually 
pleased  with  each  other. 

I  have  ofiered  my  services  to  the  Minister  Bohna,  with  whorn  I  am,  as 
you  know,  on  a  footing  of  friendship,  to  organize  the  affairs  of  the  provinces, 
but  my  name  is  not  to  be  mentioned.  I  have  already  finished  a  consider- 
able part  of  this  work,  and  given  it  in.  If  it  should  be  carried  into  actual 
operation,  I  should  hope  to  feel  myself  of  sufficient  use,  for  my  conscience 
t»  be  easy  about  the  receipt  of  my  salary. 

I  have  been  unwell  for  some  time  with  low  fever,  but  it  is  going  off. 

cxxx. 

BERLIN,  \3tk  October,  1810. 

We  are  gradually  making  our  arrangements  for  a  more  settled  mode  of 
life.  My  Hilly  has  arranged  all  my  books  upon  the  shelves  with  much 
oare  and  industry,  which  is  worth  a  great  deal  to  me.  I  buy  a  good  many 
books  at  auctions  now,  so  that  my  library  enlarges  every  week 

Within  the  last  few  weeks  we  have  seen  Savigny  several  tirnes.  He 
seems  inclined  to  be  very  friendly  with  me,  and  I  fancy  we  shall  get  in- 


220  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

timate  when  we  have  known  each  other  longer.  His  wife  is  very  lively 
and  pleasing. 

I  have  bought  at  an  auction  a  bundle  of  pamphlets  written  in  the  six- 
teenth, and  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century.  If,  in  a  collection 
formed  so  fortuitously,  we  find  many  things  that  are  excellent,  and  none 
that  are  positively  bad,  we  can  not  but  conceive  a  respect  for  the  age  that 
produced  them.  This  collection  contains  a  string  of  apophthegms,  under 
the  title  of  "New  and  True  Gazette  for  the  year  1620."  Our  literature 
has  not,  since  its  revival,  recovered  the  truthful  and  earnest  spirit  which 
they  breathe,  although  it  has  taken  a  higher  flight.  What  does  this  profit 
us  ?  It  is  now  the  delight  of  a  few  ;  formerly  it  was  an  expression  of  the 
national  character;  and  we  may  justly  call  the  period  from  Luther  to  the 
Thirty  Years'  War,  the  golden  age  of  Protestant  Germany. 

I  agree  with  you,  that  it  is  better  not  to  read  books  in  which  you  make 
the  acquaintance  of  the  devil.  I  have  been  reading  criminal  trials  lately, 
and  have  seen  how  judges  and  accusers  have  come  to  look  on  the  most 
hardened  and  crafty  criminals  as  objects  of  interest.  But  no  danger  of 
this  kind  can  arise  from  reading  a  poetical  work.  In  general  the  danger 
springs  from  the  way  in  which  vices  are  made  to  border  on  virtues,  and 
the  two  are  mingled  together  in  characters,  so  that  you  rarely  find  any 
me  so  abandoned  as  to  have  no  good  sides  to  his  character  when  you  look 
closely  into  it,  and  hence  you  are  apt  to  show  him  undue  indulgence. 

Amelia's  eyes  are  again  very  weak ;  and  you  will  therefore  receive  only 
a  short  postscript  from  her,  for  she  can  only  write  by  daylight,  and  it  is 
already  some  time  since  dinner.  Her  cough  is  rather  more  tolerable,  but 
not  gone. 

CXXXI. 

BERLIN,  9th  November,  1810. 

Milly  has  already  answered  your  questions  about  my  lectures,  while  I 
was  at  our  philological  society  yesterday,  so  that  I  can  only  glean  after 

her She  has  told  you  that  the  number  of  my  hearers  was  much 

greater  than  I  had  anticipated.  But  their  character,  no  less  than  their 
number,  is  such  as  encourages  and  animates  me  to  pursue  my  labors  with 
zeal  and  perseverance.  You  will  feel  this  when  I  tell  you  that  Savigny, 
Schleiermacher,  Spalding.  Ancillon,  Nicolavius,  Schmedding,  and  Siivern 
were  present.  In  reply  to  your  other  question,  I  must  tell  you  that  I  am 
more  satisfied  with  them  myself  than  with  any  of  my  former  productions ; 
(I  have  quite  remodeled  the  introduction.)  This  is,  no  doubt,  partly  ow- 
ing to  the  universal  approbation  they  call  forth,  which  is  a  great  stimulus 
and  high  enjoyment  to  me.  For  besides  the  number  and  selectness  of  my 
audience,  the  general  interest  evinced  in  the  lectures  exceeds  my  utmost 
hopes.  My  introductory  lecture  produced  as  strong  an  impression  as  an 
oration  could  have  done ;  and  all  the  dry  erudition  which  followed  it,  in 
the  history  of  the  old  Italian  tribes,  which  serves  as  an  introduction  to 
that  of  Rome,  has  not  driven  away  even  my  unlearned  hearers.  The 
attention  with  which  Savigny  honors  me,  and  his  declaration  that  I  am 
opening  a  new  era  for  Roman  history,  naturally  stimulate  my  ardent  de- 
sire to  carry  out  to  the  full  extent  the  researches  which  one  is  apt  to  leave 
half-finished,  as  soon  as  one  clearly  perceives  the  result  to  which  they  tend, 
in.  order  to  tarn  to  something  fresh.  That  it  is  impossible,  with  two  hours 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  221 

a  week,  to  present  the  history  of  Rome  in  due  proportions  in  the  course  of 
a  single  winter,  I  am  quite  aware ;  and  yet  1  would  on  no  account  com- 
press what  I  have  to  say ;  for  it  is  precisely  this  vivid,  life-like  representa- 
tion of  a  multitude  of  well-defined  objects,  which  constitutes  the  excellence 
of  any  historical  work,  that  aims  to  rise  above  mediocrity.  As  far  as  I 
can,  I  compose  the  whole  in  manuscript  in  such  a  way  that  it  may  serve 
as  the  basis  of  a  work,  suited  for  publication.  For  I  must  begin  to  think 
of  publishing  now,  because  it  is  while  I  am  delivering  my  lectures  that  my 
best  discoveries  in  ancient  history  come  to  light,  which,  if  not  published, 
might  probably  be  forgotten,  and  lost  to  the  world.  In  addition  to  my 
previous  discoveries,  which  are  now  all  gaining  in  clearness  and  certainty, 
I  have  already  made  several  new  ones,  some  of  which  are  very  important, 
in  the  progress  of  my  labors. 

Our  little  philological  association  will  not  degenerate.  We  are  reading 
and  emendating  Herodotus.  I  explain  the  historical,  others  the  grammat- 
ical part,  and  thus  we  really  fonn  a  miniature  academy. 

CXXXII. 

BERLIN,  24/A  November,  1810. 

I  advance  but  slowly  with  my  lectures,  and  shall  have  to  stop  far  from 
the  goal ;  but  I  discover  much  that,  to  me  at  least,  appears  interesting ; 
for  instance,  the  cyclical  system  of  the  old  Italian  mode  of  reckoning  the 
years  is  new.  The  Mexican  mode  of  chronology  gave  me  a  light  upon 
this  point.  I  have  collected  a  great  number  of  data  tending  to  confirm 
my  long-cherished  view,  that  the  West  of  Europe  possessed  a  primitive 
ami  quite  peculiar  cultivation — a  system  of  science  strictly  speaking — be- 
fore it  had  received  any  influences  from  the  East.  I  would  rather  write  to 
you  about 'things  of  this  kind,  than  of  what  we  see,  and  hear,  and  witness. 

I  have  received  a  commission  which  some  might  think  important,  but 
to  me  appears  of  very  little  consequence — to  draw  up  a  Constitution  for 
the  Academy  of  Science,  in  conjunction,  with  Ancillon  and.  some  others. 
I  like  Savigny  very  much,  and  he  seems  to  have  a  great  regard  for  me  too. 
Our  respective  studies  lead  us  over  the  same  ground,  so  that  we  have 
much  to  talk  over  and  exchange  with  each  other.  I  felt  diffident  when  I 
first  heard  that  he  was  among  my  hearers,  but  his  extraordinary  interest 
in  my  lectures  is  the  most  favorable  sentence  that  could  be  pronounced  on 
them,  as  he  is  certainly  better  acquainted  with  their  subject  than  any  other 
of  our  contemporaries. 

1th  December. — Since  writing  the  above  I  have  been  at  work  on  the 
Constitution  of  the  Academy,  with  the  view  of  completely  remodeling  it. 
I  have  also  read  a  paper  in  the  Academy  lately.  You  see  that  I  am  ful- 
filling my  engagement  to  you,  and  writing  more  than  I  read.  May  all  go 
well  with  you,  and  Gretchen  speedily  recover !...... 

CXXXIII. 

BERLIN,  19M  March,  1810. 

•  .-  .  ^  -  • 

With  a  little  more  quiet  my  position  would  be  one  more  com- 
pletely in  accordance  with  my  wishes  than  I  have  long  ventured  even  to 
hope  for.  There  is  such  real  mutual  attachment  between  my  acquaintances 
and  myself,  and  our  respective  studies  give  such  an  inexhaustible  interest 
to  conversation,  that  I  now  really  possess  in  this  respect  what  I  used  to 


222  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

feel  the  want  of;  for  intercourse  of  this  kind  is  quickening  and  instructive. 
The  lectures  themselves,  too,  are  inspiriting,  because  they  require  persever- 
ing researches,  which  I  venture  to  say  can  not  remain  unfruitful  to  me.  and 
they  are  more  exciting  than  mere  literary  labors,  because  I  deliver  them 
with  the  warmth  inspired  by  fresh  thoughts  and  discoveries,  and  afterward 
converse  with  those  who  have  heard  them,  and  to  whom  they  are  as  new 
as  to  myself.  This  makes  the  lectures  a  positive  delight  to  me,  and  I  feel 
already  quite  averse  to  bring  them  to  a  close.  What  I  should  like  would 
te  to  have  whole  days  of  perfect  solitude,  and  then  an  interval  of  inter- 
course with  the  persons  I  really  like,  but  not  to  remain  for  so  many  hours 
together  with  them  as  is  customary  here.  This  is  the  very  land  of  calls 
and  parties.  Even  our  Friday  meeting  I  would  sometimes  rather  be  with- 
out, though  it  has  always  hitherto  done  me  good.  It  would  scarcely  be 
possible  to  have  less  frivolity  or  dullness  in  a  mixed  society.  Schleier- 
macher  is  the  most  intellectual  man  among  them.  The  complete  absence 
of  jealousy  among  these  scholars  is  particularly  gratifying. 

My  historical  researches  seem  to  me  to  gain  in  importance  every  week, 
and  I  hope  to  solve  enigmas  in  the  history  and  constitution  of  Rome,  which 
my  predecessors  have  either  labored  at  in  vain,  or  passed  over  in  silence. 
Much  is  wanting,  indeed,  to  the  formation  of  a  history,  and  I  shall  not 
give  my  work  to  the  world  as  such 

CXXXIV. 

BERLIN,  in  March,  1811. 

Milly  has  already  written  to  you  about  your  skepticism  with  re- 
gard to  the  existence  of  in-born,  incorruptible  integrity,  unswayed  by 
motives  of  self-interest.  I  should  be  shocked  at  it,  were  I  not  already 
aware  of  your  holding  other  similar  opinions  which  belong  to  the  same 
theory  as  this.  Yet  you  can  have  no  doubts  with  regard  to  your  own 
motives ;  and  without  asking  whether  I  too  may  not  defy  any  suspicion 
of  the  kind  through  the  whole  course  of  my  life — whether  self-interest  of 
any  sort  has  ever  had  charms  for  me — 1  will  point  you  to  other  examples. 
You  yourself  are  convinced  that  there  is  an  innate  difference  in  talents,  at 
least  in  man  as  he  exists  in  the  actual  world.  Now  even  granting  that 
this  arises  solely  from  organization,  and  that  this  organization  is  from  the 
beginning  something  external  and  foreign  to  the  individual,  and  that  its 
consequences  do  not  affect  the  spiritual  unity  of  man's  nature  ;  still  among 
actual  living  men  one  individual  is  essentially  different  from  another.  In 
one,  certain  tendencies  predominate  from  the  first,  in  another,  opposite 
ones.  This  can  not  be  denied  by  any  one.  In  one  man,  we  see  disinter- 
estedness from  his  earliest  childhood ;  in  another,  covetousness.  In  most 
cases  these  tendencies  may  be  controlled  or  suppressed ;  a  large  majority 
of  men  may  become  utterly  corrupt ;  but  the  man  who  has  an  innate  love 
of  justice,  who  would  scorn  to  oppress  or  injure  another,  will  resist  the 
external  influences  of  his  condition  in  life,  especially  where  he  might  reap 
a  base  advantage  for  himself.  It  must  indeed  be  admitted,  that  ambitious 
pretensions  may  dazzle  and  take  a  firm  hold  of  minds,  noble  in  themselves, 
but  narrow  in  their  views,  and  we  will  forgive  them  for  it  morally,  as  la- 
boring under  a  mischievous  delusion.  But  no  moderately  honest  man  can 
Bay,  "  Others  shall  become  poor  that  I  may  remain  rich ;"  and  whoever 
says  this,  to  himself  or  aloud,  is  not  one  whit  better  than  a  thief. 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  223 

Who  could  have  the  heart  to  sit  as  a  judge  in  criminal  cases,  if  he  lis- 
tened to  the  voice  of  such  sophistry  :  "  Behold !  the  criminal  whom  thou 
art  about  to  condemn— to  render  wretched  for  hii  whole  life,  if  not  to  de- 
prive  of  that  life — is  at  bottom  no  worse  than  thou.  Had  he  been  born 
and  brought  up  in  thy  condition,  he  would  sit  on  thy  seat  of  judgment ; 
and  thou,  in  his  place,  wouldst  have  stood  before  the  tribunal  to  answer 
for  thy  crimes!"  "No,"  answers  the  just  man,  "I  will  not  deny  my 
sins,  nor  that  I  might  be  rightfully  judged  by  ray  superior — I  might  have 
committed  greater  faults  than  have  actually  occurred — but  that  I  could 
never  have  become  base  I  know,  as  I  know  my  own  existence,  for  it  is  a 
part  of  my  existence,  which  is  no  mere  transcendental,  colorless  '  I  am.'  " 
No  one  can  be  further  than  I  am  from  the  proud  belief  in  an  absolute 
freedom  of  will  belonging  to  all  human  beings ;  for  the  will  can  be  exer- 
cised only  by  means  of,  and  with  thought ;  and  can  we  think  as  we  will — 
or  do  we  think  as  it  is  given  to  us  ?  Thus,  too,  I  believe  only  in  a  limit- 
ed force  of  will,  to  every  one  according  to  his  kind,  and  his  original  pecul- 
iar impulses.  These  impulses  may  be  in  some  individuals  so  bad,  BO  de- 
cidedly wicked,  that  in  their  wickedness,  in  the  lawfulness  of  exterminating 
so  deformed  a  creature,  lie  the  right  and  the  duty  to  inflict  the  penalty  of 
death  in  cases  which  legislators  no  longer  punish  with  severity.  In  others, 
every  thing  is  so  undecided  and  weak,  that  they  can  never  attain  to  more 
than  habilt,  with  regard  to  all  that  is  not  purely  animal ;  and  these  habits, 
even  when  good,  testify  to  no  intrinsic  virtue.  You  may  be  perfectly  right, 
as  far  as  such  persons  are  concerned,  in  Haying  that  their  disinterestedness 
— a  quality,  however,  very  rare  in  people  of  this  kind— occupies  a  place  in 
which  other  circumstances  might  have  planted  covetousness  and  shameless 
arrogance.  But  no  one  can  have  less  right  to  extend  this  verdict  to  the 
generality  of  men  than  you,  whose  strong  and  beautiful  soul  certainly  pos- 
sessed within  itself  the  capacity  for  becoming  what  it  is,  however  we  may 
allow  that  external  circumstances  may  have  helped  to  enrich  it.  But 
circumstances  were  favorable  to  you,  only  as  they  are  to  the  pine,  which 
possesses  within  itself  the  strength  to  entwine  its  roots  among  the  rocks, 
and  to  spring  into  the  air  from  the  mountain  peak. 

You  have  often  wounded  me,  and  done  me  injustice  by  the  assertion 
that  ray  strictness  of  judgment  is  dictated  by  party  feeling.  Yet  in  spite 
of  this  condemnation  you  will  hardly  accuse  me  seriously  of  unwarrantable 
palliation  of  faults,  which,  however,  is  always  presupposed  in  party  opin- 
ions ;  the  one  never  exists  without  the  other.  The  degree  of  danger,  of 
injury,  of  conscious  responsibility,  may  render  our  judgment  of  an  action 
milder  or  severer ;  the  hearer  must  weigh  this,  and  calculate  its  worth. 
It  in  impossible  to  feel  an  equal  amount  of  indignation  toward  a  band  of 
poisoners,  or  of  incendiaries  in  Turkey,  and  one  in  the  city  where  we  live ; 
for,  in  the  latter  case,  the  impression  which  gives  rise  to  our  feeling  multi- 
plies itself,  and  a  human  weakness  mixes  with  it  some  dim  apprehension 
of  personal  danger.  But  I  should  be  a  childish  novice,  unworthy  to  believe 
myself  capable  of  writing  history — which  means,  in  fact,  to  depict  and 
pass  sentence  on  the  past  as  if  it  were  the  present— or  of  conducting 
business,  if  a  thing  appeared  to  me  good  or  bad,  according  as  it  came  from 
the  east  or  the  west.  The  financial  legislation  of  Austria,  for  instance, 
is  evidently  dictated,  like  all  her  measures,  by  honorable  intentions,  and 
is  not  intended  to  favor  the  nobility,  or  any  other  class — any  unfairness 


224  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

which  may  have  crept  in,  is  so  slight  as  not  to  be  worth  mentioning — yet 
it  is  so  perverted  and  ruinous  that  it  has  made  me  almost  as  angry  as  the 
projects  of  the  Notables  among  us,  only  with  this  difference,  that  anger  is 
much  sooner  appeased  in  this  case  than  where  selfishness  is  the  root  of 
the  evil. 

And  now  something  else,  as  I  have  still  room.  Have  you  ever  heard 
of  Goethe's  inaugural  disputation,  and  of  a  theological  essay,  which  he 
wrote  in  his  youth?  I  first  heard  of  them  lately,  and  have  had  the  latter 
in  my  possession  (since  Boje's  auction)  without  knowing  that  it  is  his. 
In  this  he  proves,  not  in  jest,  but  to  the  full  conviction  of  all  truth-loving 
readers  that  it  was  not  the  Ten  Commandments,  but  the  ten  fundamental 
laws  of  the  distinctive  peculiarities  of  the  Israelites,  which  were  inscribed 
on  the  tables  of  the  law.  This  was  also  the  subject  of  his  inaugural  dis- 
putation, which  he  wished  to  publish  at  Strasburg,  where  he  took  his  de- 
gree. The  heads  of  the  University,  however,  considered  it  as  profane,  and 
denied  their  permission.  The  second  half  of  the  essay,  in  which  ie  ex- 
plains the  phrase  "to  speak  with  tongues,"  is  very  remarkable,  because  it 
is  quite  mystical,  and  belongs  to  that  strange  period  of  his  life  in.  which 
he  was  a  mystic 

cxxxv. 

BERLIN,  18th  May,  1811. 

You  have  no  doubt  seen  Oehlenschliiger  :  what  impression  has  he 

made  upon  you  ?  The  Danes  undoubtedly  possess  poetical  talents,  if  they 
were  not  so  deficient  in  clearness  and  penetration  of  mental  vision,  with- 
out which  the  imagination  can  never  create  pure  and  great  conceptions, 
free  from  mannerisms,  as  well  as  from  Oriental  phantasms. 

I  am  now  approaching  the  conclusion  of  my  lectures,  and  the  printing 
is  about  to  commence.  I  begin  it  with  a  thorough  consciousness  of  what 
is  in  my  book,  and  of  the  rank  it  will  hold  at  some  future  day ;  but  I  am 
not  quite  easy  as  to  its  immediate  reception,  partly  because  I  am  aware 
that  the  execution  might  and  ought  to  be  improved  in  many  respects, 
partly  because  no  one  is  allowed  to  bring  forward  novelties  before  our 
public  with  impunity,  however  clearly  their  correctness  may  be  proved. 
Then  I  have  already  enjoyed,  for  the  most  part,  the  reception  given  to  it 
by  affection,  from  Savigny  and  other  friends  :  that  of  disapprobation  is 
still  to  come,  fl  have  written  with  such  strict  conscientiousness — not 
merely  with  regard  to  the  praise  and  blame  I  have  dispensed,  but  also 
with  respect  to  the  historical  researches — that  I  could  die  on  this  book. 
It  certainly  will  furnish  little  reading  for  recreation,  and  I  confess  to  my- 
self that  by  the  side  of  many  passages  successful  in  point  of  style,  there 
are  others  very  awkward  and  stiff.  The  great  merit  of  the  book  lies  in 
the  criticism  of  history,  and  in  the  light  thrown  on  many  insulated  points 
of  the  constitution,  laws,  &ot\  You  will  understand  that  I  talk  to  you 
about  my  work,  because  at  present  I  am  living  wholly  in  it.  You  will 
hear  all  the  less  of  it  when  I  come  to  see  you.  To-day  the  publisher  has 
sent  me  Frederick  Schlegel's  lectures ;  I  have  dipped  into  them  here  and 
there,  and  received  a  pleasant  impression.  He  incontestably  possesses 
genuine  talent,  and  he  has  freed  himself  from  that  unhappy  taste  which 
he  formerly  did  so  much  to  promote. 


PROFESSORSHIP   IN  BEBLIN.  225 

CXXXVI. 

HAMBURGH,  llth  September,  1811. 

.......  The  president  of  the  court  of  justice,  De  Serre,*  is  spoken  of 

in  the  highest  terms.  He  is  so  completely  muter  of  the  German  language 
that  he  opened  his  first  sitting  with  an  address  in  German,  which  gives 
the  consolatory  pledge  that  all  proceedings  at  law  will  be  carried  on  in  the 
language  of  the  country.  In  a  party  of  Germans,  a  short  time  since,  he 
defended  Klopstock  from  the  attacks  of  his  fellow-townsmen,  adding,  in- 
dignantly, that  no  one  should  dare  to  speak  of  him  who  had  not  a  pure 
heart  himself.  It  appears  as  if  the  French  courts  of  justice  had,  in  gen- 
eral, retained  all  the  respectability  of  the  old  parliaments. 

I  have  no  inclination  to  write  to  you  of  political  facts  and  rumors.  Let 
us  know  every  particular  about  yourself  and  your  employments.  Yester- 
day the  Behrenses  also  will  have  left  you.  I  fancy  you  will  have  found 
your  house  oppressive,  and  sought  the  open  air.  Do  not  chase  away  the 
image  of  your  absent  friends,  when  it  rises  up  with  longing  before  you ; 
do  not  despise  its  companionship.  But  perhaps  I  do  you  injustice ;  and 
you  know  how  to  retain  as  well  as  endure  the  feeling  of  separation.  Give 
our  love  to  Gretchen,  and  all  our  friends.  We  shall  not  be  able  to  write 
to  you  from  Berlin  for  a  week  to  come 

CXXXVII. 

BCRMK,  Stk  October,  1811. 

Milly  has  told  you  of  the  anxiety  caused  us  by  the  detention  of  your 
letter  ;  we  have  received  it  to-day  by  the  Russian  post.  If  we  were  able 
to  write  freely,  I  should  have  much  to  tell  you  worth  relating,  though  it 
does  not  immediately  concern  ourselves.  However,  it  is  impossible  to  be 
quite  silent  respecting  things  on  which  our  fate  and  external  repose  de- 
pend, even  if  this  letter  should  be  opened.  During  our  absence  the  public 
alarm  and  excitement  have  been  great,  but  there  has  been  no  talk  of  the 
departure  of  the  court,  or  of  packing  up  at  the  palace,  as  you  were  told. 
Preparations  for  war  have  been  made,  and,  as  this  has  been  done  in  imi- 
tation of  the  French,  it  has  excited  attention  on  both  sides.  As  I  told 
you  in  my  last,  we  found  the  public  mind  unexpectedly  calmed  down,  and 
the  report  was  current  that  the  Emperor  had  written  an  autograph  letter 
containing  an  assurance  of  his  friendly  intentions.  Now  this  letter  has, 
in  all  probability,  merely  existed  in  the  heads  of  some  who  thought  them- 
selves bound  to  keep  the  public  free  from  uneasiness,  even  by  deceit  j  this 
much  only  is  certain,  that  the  Count  St.  Marsan  had  an  audience  of  the 
King,  and  that  in  consequence  the  preparations  which  were  in  progress 
have  been  suspended.  The  main  question,  the  maintenance  of  peace  be- 
tween France  and  Russia,  is  still  as  undecided  as  before.  Some  affirm 
that  Austria  is  engaged  in  active  negotiations,  and  that  the  winter  will 
pass  over  without  war.  Others  draw  an  entirely  opposite  inference  from 

*  This  Count  de  Scrre  became,  many  years  after  in  Rome,  one  of  Niebahr's 
denrest  friends.  His  family  had  emigrated  from  France  in  1791,  when  he  was 
sixteen  yean  of  «£*e.  and  lettled  in  Germany.  He  thus  became  early  acquaint- 
ed with  German  literature,  and  he  teems  to  have  had  by  nature  a  cast  of  mind 
more  German  than  French.  He  supported  himself  for  «ome  years  by  keeping 
a  school,  till  Napoleon  made  him  president  of  the  Court  of  Appeal  in  Hamburgh, 
after  that  city  had  been  incorporated  with  France. 


226  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR, 

circumstances  that  are,  known,  and  from  an  unprejudiced  consideration  of 
circumstances,  which  we  can  scarcely  expect  to  be  overlooked  by  him  on 
an  whose  will  the  decision  depends. 

If,  however,  I  do  not  reckon  as  confidently  as  many  on  a  quiet  winter. 
I  am  not  much  disturbed  about  the  matter,  and  freely  give  myself  up  to 
the  enjoyment  of  the  quiet  that  has  hitherto  been  unexpectedly  pro- 

longed. 

My  lectures  will  recommence  at  the  end  of  the  month,  and  I  must  be 
preparing  for  them.  The  journey  has  certainly  put  me  out  a  little,  but  I 
shall  soon  get  into  train  again ;  the  being  too  long  engaged  with  one  sub- 
ject is  a  more  dangerous  enemy ;  both  because  one's  interest  may  relax, 
and  because  one  contracts  an  habitual  mode  of  looking  at  things,  whereby 
the  work  loses  a  part  of  its  distinctness — the  worker  his  susceptibility  to 
new  impressions.  I  shall  have  to  guard  against  both  dangers,  particularly 
at  first,  for  their  publication  has  certainly  to  me  stripped  the  charm  of 
novelty  from  the  subjects  of  my  history.  I  shall  not  hurry  the  composition 
of  the  second  volume,  that  my  mind  may  remain  fresh. 

This  morning  we  have  been  to  see  the  Museum  of  Natural  History, 
which  is  being  formed  here  under  Illiger's  direction,  and  is  really  a  very 
splendid  one.  I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  my  own  fault  that  such  collections 
suggest  no  pious  thoughts  to  me  ?  The  infinite  variety  of  nature  is  brought 
too  close  to  one;  and  in  its  contemplation  the  individual  vanishes  entirely 
from  view ;  only  the  species  remains,  and  one  asks  one's  self,  why  should 
it  be  otherwise  with  man?  Besides,  the  melancholy-looking,  as  well  as 
the  ugly  animals  give  me  a  very  painful  impression.  Yet  I  could  will- 
ingly linger  there,  and  can  only  console  myself  for  my  ignorance,  as 
compared  to  the  learning  of  naturalists,  by  reflecting  that,  after  all,  they 
confine  themselves  so  exclusively  to  the  external  side  of  things,  that  their 
knowledge  would  only  give  one  hints  for  investigation,  and  but  little  in- 
sight. 

I  have  begun  to  attend  our  philological  party  again.  There  are  two  of 
its  members  wanting,  whom  we  all  miss  very  much,  Spalding  and  Hein- 
dorf. 

cxxxvm. 

BERLIN,  1st  November,  1811. 

So  Goethe's  life  has  come  out,  and  I  shall  have  it  in  a  few  days.  It 
always  gives  me  a  melancholy  feeling  when  a  great  man  writes  his  life. 
It  is  already  evening  with  him  then,  and  that  he  relates  how  he  lived, 
shows  that  he  no  longer  lives  quite  from  the  root.  Else  he  could  never  do 
it.  Jacobi's  book  is  not  yet  out ;  as  far  as  I  know,  can  indeed  hardly  be 
looked  for  yet.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  can  rejoice  in  its  appearance. 
When  he  was  in  his  prime  he  felt,  very  rightly,  that  the  spirit  of  his  phi- 
losophy required  to  be  presented  in  a  visible  shape,  in  the  picture  of  a  life, 
just  as  the  philosophy  itself  does  not  separate  the  formal  from  the  real ;  in 
an  abstract,  systematic  shape,  it  will  not  be  like  itself. 

I  enjoy  my  lectures  for  their  own  sake.  I  should  like  to  deliver  several 
more  courses.  My  audience  is  much  less  numerous  than  it  was  last  win- 
ter ;  there  are  only  about  sixty,  and  among  them  several  officers.  I  do  not 
know  whether  I  may  reckon  this  as  a  confirmation  of  the  favorable  opinion 
I  have  often  expressed  of  this  class.  There  are  many  elements  of  good 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  227 

among  us  striving  for  life — of  a  better  spirit  than  existed  in  happier  times. 
There  are  hearings  under  the  heavy  burden,  and  though  we  may  have  evil 
days  still  before  us,  yet  a  better  time  must  follow  than  that  which  suc- 
ceeded to  the  misery  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  Nonsense  of  all  kinds  has 
been  so  brought  to  the  test,  and  become  HO  powerless,  that,  at  last,  sense 

must  necessarily  take  its  place,  be  it  under  what  form  it  may 

Have  you  heard  that  Madame  de  Stael  has  received  an  intimation  not  to 
hold  intercourse  with  Schlegel  ?  A  violent  resentment  against  him  reigns 
at  the  French  court,  because  it  is  supposed  that  it  was  he  who  inspired  her 
to  praise  the  German  literature.  Her  praise  has  done  us  a  bad  service  in 
France ;  for  to  it  is  owing  the  animosity  against  German  literature,  which 
lies  at  the  bottom  of  the  regulations  concerning  the  publishing  trade  in  the 
new  Departments.*  The  German  literature  is  considered  as  hostile  to  the 
French,  as  an  intellectual  power  which  proudly  refuses  to  the  latter  the 
homage  due  to  that  of  the  victorious  nation.  The  French  translation  of 
the  "  Lectures  on  the  Drama,"  is  prohibited  ;  and  some  consider  this  as  a 
just  punishment  of  Schlegel  for  having  said  he  would  not  indeed  use  the 
French  language  for  poetry ;  but  for  prose,  he  would  use  that  which  was 
most  widely  read 

CXXXIX. 

BERLIN,  16f»  November,  loll. 

When  it  came  into  my  head  to  say  to  you  that  autobiography  in  gen- 
eral was  the  song  of  the  swan — and  Goethe's  no  exception — I  certainly 
made  too  sweeping  an  assertion.  With  him,  at  least,  youth  hail  been  re- 
newed by  the  contemplation  of  his  youth,  and  if  he  should  write  nothing 
like  it  again,  he  has  written  nothing  like  it  for  a  long  time  past.  The  pic- 
ture of  his  life  is  inimitably  sweet  and  graceful.  I  feel  sure  that  we  can 
not  differ  in  our  judgment  of  this  book.  The  number  of  trifles  it  relates 
will  not  annoy  you — you  will  fancy  him  narrating,  and  it  is  the  peculiar 
charm  of  the  style  that  you  can  really  feel  as  if  he  were  telling  you  the 
whole.  The  story  of  his  first  love  is  exquisitely  beautiful ;  no  second  equal 
to  it  can  occur  in  the  history,  and  I  should  not  be  sorry  if  the  book  were  to 
remain  unfinished. 

Our  life  flows  on  in  its  uniform  course  without  change.  On  Friday,  I  at- 
tend my  society ;  four  days  a  week  I  hear  Schleiermacher ;  two  days  I  lec- 
ture myself ;  we  seldom  go  into  company,  and  visits  at  our  own  house  take 
up  much  less  time  than  they  did  last  winter.  I  might  do  a  great  deal  in 
consequence,  but  I  can  not  boast 

One  evening  in  the  week,  the  Savignys  and  ourselves  generally 

spend  together ;  and  we  often  spend  an  evening  with  one  or  other  of  our 
friends  besides — at  Prim*  Radziwill's,  for  instance. 

CXL. 

BERLIN,  S91&  November,  1811. 

I  have  been  for  some  time  past  disturbed  by  something  in 

Schleiermacher's  lectures,  which  could  not  come  out  so  plainly  in  the  first 

*  Publishers  in  the  parts  of  Germany  that  were  incorporated  with  France 
were  obliged  to  submit  all  books  to  a  censorship  before  bringing  them  out,  and 
works  containing  any  passages  which  could  be  construed  into  expressions  of 
hostility  to  France  or  French  interests,  were  liable  to  be  prohibited. 


228  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

part,  and  certainly  enables  me  to  comprehend  the  unfavorable  impression 
entertained  of  him  by  some  noble-minded  men,  which  used  to  give  me  pain, 
as  I  thought  it  unfounded.  Schleierinacher  does  not  content  himself  with 
bare  notices  of  the  various  philosophical  teachers ;  he  brings  them  into  con- 
nection, and  endeavors  to  trace  out  the  fundamental  idea  of  each  of  the 
ancient  philosophers.  This  in  as  it  ought  to  be ;  but  it  is  a  very  difficult 
and  critical  matter  to  pursue  such  investigations,  and  requires  that  you 
should  divest  yourself  of  your  own  views  ;  the  necessity  of  which  he  him- 
self inculcated  in  his  introduction  most  impressively,  but  which  he  does  not 
put  in  practice.  It  is  my  firm  belief  that  he  acts  with  perfect  honesty  in 
the  matter,  and  that  those  who  dispute  his  strict  integrity  in  such,  or  any 
other  cases,  do  him  wrong;  nevertheless,  he  appears  to  me  to  be  in  error. 
Though  he  does  not  indeed  always  attribute  to  the  ancient  philosophers 
that  pantheistic  view,  which  regards  matter  merely  as  a  phenomenon,  and 
yet  calls  a  Cause  of  the  world  external  to  matter  an  absurdity,  he  con- 
stantly refers  to  this  view  as  to  the  primitive  one,  from  which  the  various 
systems  gradually  departed,  although  it  was  only  presented  originally  in 
poetical  works.  He  also  speaks  of  Anaxagoras,  who  first  taught  that 
Reason  was  an  independent  order  of  the  universe,  with  a  distaste,  almost 
amounting  to  animosity,  which  has  made  a  very  painful  impression  on  me, 
little  as  I  am  inclined  to  implicit  faith.  According  to  him,  too,  the  early 
Ionian  philosophers,  the  most  elevated  of  all  those  who  clothed  their  faith 
in  the  form  of  the  popular  religion,  did  not  act  sincerely  in  so  doing.  With 
these  drawbacks,  I  like  his  lectures  much — they  revive  many  recollections 
of  the  wisdom  of  the  ancients,  and  contain  much  which  I  have  never  yet 
read.  If  we  still  possessed  Herodotus  and  the  earliest  philosophers,  we 
should  recognize  at  what  an  infinite  height  they  stood  above  Plato  and  the 
later  philosophers.  Schleierinacher  probably  feels  this  too,  with  much  more 
capability  of  exploring  the  recesses  of  the  subject  than  I  possess,  and  yet, 
on  the  other  hand,  there  is  something  in  him  which  repels  him  from  them, 
and  that  is  what  I  would  rather  not  have  perceived. 

When  you  receive  your  own  copy  of  my  History,  give  the  one  you  have 
now  to  Gretchen. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  see  Goethe's  opinion  of  Niebuhr's  His- 
tory of  Rome,  as  expressed  in  the  following  letter  to  him,  on  re- 
ceiving a  copy  of  the  first  part  of  the  work. 

FROM  GOETHE  TO  NIEBUHR. 

If  I  have  often  sinned  against  my  friends  and  well-wishers  by  the  delay 
of  my  answers,  I  will  rather,  for  this  once,  be  somewhat  premature,  and 
thank  you,  even  before  I  have  received  your  work,  for  the  pleasure  you  have 
given  me  by  your  letter.  You  bear  a  name  which  I  have  learnt  to  honor 
from  my  youth  up,  and  of  yourself,  I  have  heard  from  many  friends,  so 
much  that  is  amiable,  excellent,  and  distinguished,  that  1  feel  as  though  I 
already  knew  you  well,  and  can  sincerely  assure  you  that  I  have  a  great 
desire  to  make  your  personal  acquaintance. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  work  which  you  announce  to  me  will  afibrd  me 
an  agreeable  and  instructive  occupation ;  for  what  can  be  more  attractive 
than  to  find  a  subject,  which  has  been  so  often  and  so  variously  discussed, 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  229 

placed  in  a  new  light,  and,  aa  it  were,  born  into  a  fresh  life,  by  means  of 
new  researches  ?  However  rarely  it  has  been  permitted  to  me,  in  the  course 
of  my  life,  to  occupy  myself  with  topics  which  interest  me  so  deeply,  I 
know  well  how  to  value  those  who  have  the  talent  and  perseverance  to 
undertake  such  enterprises. 

I  hope  you  will  accept  kindly  these  hasty  thanks,  and  continue  to  think 
of  me  with  friendship. 

GOKTHK. 

JKXA,  November  27**,  1811. 

I  brought  this  letter  with  me  from  Jena  to  Weimar,  where  I  found  your 
excellent  work  awaiting  me,  and  immediately  began  to  read  it.  Now  I 
have  finished  it,  and  should  like,  before  I  begin  it  over  again  (which  is  most 
necessary  in  order  to  understand  and  profit  by  it),  to  express  my  thanks, 
not  merely  in  general  terras  as  a  first  impression,  but  in  detail  as  they  hav<> 
been  called  forth  by  the  various  point*  in  your  work.  Very  probably,  how- 
ever, a  considerable  time  might  elapse  ere  I  should  be  able  to  do  this,  and 
with  the  best  will  in  the  world,  I  might  be  forced  to  detain  this  sheet  still 
longer.  Permit  me,  therefore,  to  say  no  more  than  that  I  have  felt  myself 
transported  to  the  time  of  my  own  visit  to  Rome,  when  all  around  me 
impressed  me  perpetually  with  the  want  of  such  researches,  while  at  every 
step  I  became  too  clearly  aware  how  little  capable  I,  no  less  than  others, 
was.of  conducting  them.  Since  then,  a  long  time  has  passed,  during  which 
I  have  continued  to  turn  my  attention  to  these  subjects ;  and  your  book, 
which  solves  so  many  enigmas  at  once,  is  most  welcome. 

fWe  can  now  picture  to  ourselves  the  condition  of  Italy  before  the  Roman 
period,  and  form  a  clear  idea  of  the  order  in  which,  so  to  speak,  the  various 
strata  of  population  were  deposited  one  above  another.  Your  discrimina- 
tion of  the  poetical  from  the  historical  element  is  of  inestimable  worth, 
since  by  it  neither  is  destroyed,  but  rather  for  the  first  time  fully  confirmed 
in  its  true  value  and  dignity ;  and  there  is  an  inexhaustible  interest  in  see- 
ing how  the  two  again  coalesce,  and  exert  a  mutual  influence.  It  is  much 
to  be  wished  that  all  similar  phenomena  in  the  history  of  the  world  may  be 
treated  in  the  same  method.  Does  it  need  many  words  to  assure  you  that 
I  have  derived  the  utmost  instruction,  from  your  development  of  the  posi- 
tion of  the  State  and  of  its  finances,  of  its  relations  to  Greece,  of  the 
anarchical  condition  of  Rome  after  the  expulsion  of  the  kings—in  short, 
from  all  and  every  partf  Were  I  to  go  into  detail,  and  to  speak  of  your 
description  of  Ancus  Martius,  of  your  unvailing  of  the  Sibylline  books,  or 
to  dwell  upon  the  poems  of  Lucretia  and  Coriolanns,  I  should  have  to  write 
book  upon  book,  and  these  sheets  would  never  reach  the  post.  Rest  assured 
that  you  have  sent  me  a  noble  gift,  for  which  I  shall  all  my  life  feel  grate- 
ful to  you ;  that  I  am  looking  forward  to  the  continuation  with  the  great- 
est eagerness,  and,  in  order  to  render  myself  worthy  of  it,  am  making  your 
first  volume  thoroughly  my  own  by  the  most  diligent  study. 

May  I  ask  you  fo  give  some  attention  to  the  inclosed  papers,  and  espe- 
cially to  procure  for  me  the  autograph  of  your  honored  father.  Recom- 
mending myself  once  more  to  your  land  remembrance  and  friendly  sym- 
pathy. GOETHE. 

WKIMAU,  17th  December,  1811. 


230  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUH&. 


CXLI. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

BERLIN,  Htk  January,  1812. 

. .  .1  do  not  take  M.'s  verdict  in  bad  part.  The  two  great  Greek 
historians  are  essentially  episodical,  and  if  I  wrote  better  than  I  do,  I 
should,  no  doubt,  place  and  connect  the  episodes  with  more  art,  but  there 
would 'certainly  be  rather  more  than  fewer  of  them.  For  do  we  see  a 
country  by  merely  traveling  throught  it  on  the  most  direct  post  roads,  or 
by  deviating  frequently  from  the  route,  while  keeping  to  one  main  direc- 
tion?  

CXLII. 

BERLIN,  28lh  January,  1812. 

The  censure  passed  by  some  upon  the  inequality  of  my  style  was  not 
unexpected.  I  can  not  trust  myself  to  decide  whether  it  is  deserved  or  not. 
You  are  well  aware  that  the  style,  such  as  it  is.  is  the  unsought-for  expres- 
sion of  my  thoughts  at  the  moment,  and  never  affected.  That  inequality 
is  not  a  fault  in  itself,  and  that  the  simplicity  of  a  chronicle  may  stand 
side  by  side  with  poetry  in  the  same  historical  work,  I  am  ready  to  main- 
tain against  any  one ;  for  there  is  much  that  is  only  rendered  bearable  by 
the  greatest  simplicity  of  expression,  but  with  that  becomes  even  good; 
and  then,  again,  there  are  parts  where  the  clearness  of  your  inward  vision 
raises  your  style  to  what  is  called  poetical.  In  this  sense,  Thucydides  is 
unequal,  so  unequal  that,  even  in  ancient  times,  critics  have  doubted 
whether  the  eighth  book  was  his  composition  ;  and  how  unequal  is  Demos- 
thenes in  one  and  the  same  oration !  Must  not  the  style  naturally  follow 
the  change  of  the  subject  ?  Cicero  is  very  uniform  ;  I  think  not  altogether 
to  his  praise.  For  uniformity  is  the  color  which  the  writer  lays  on  ;  though 
I  allow  that  a  great  author  may  have  such  a  perfect  command  over  his 
subject  as  to  bring  even  the  most  dissimilar  parts  into  one  ground  tone 
without  injury,  as  Tacitus  has  done  in  his  latest  work,  the  "  Annals  :"  with 
the  modern  writers,  however,  who  have  attempted  this,  objective  truth  is 
utterly  lost.  Should  I  some  day,  when  the  first  volumes  are  quite  com- 
pleted, be  able  to  prepare  a  new  edition,  I  will  conscientiously  examine 
whether  I  have  caught  the  right  tone  for  each  passage  ;  I  may  have  failed 
in  this  respect,  but  I  can  not  judge  of  it  at  present.  However,  the  judg- 
ment of  the  reader  on  this  point  does  not  trouble  me  much ;  few,  if  1 
may  venture  to  say  so,  are  familiar  with  the  true  antique  style,  and  can 
enter  into  its  spirit  when  presented  to  them  under  a  new  form :  and  as 
such,  in  fact,  I  regard  the  varying  tone  of  my  discourse.  Does  not  Shaks- 
peare  give  us  the  most  commonplace  language  in  one  scene,  and,  in  the 
next,  the  highest  poetry?  Is  it  possible,  for  instance,  to  relate  the  Bava- 
rian War  of  Succession,  and  the  struggle  of  Thermopylae,  with  the  same 
cast  of  expression  ? 

I  am  not  quite  satisfied  with  the  few  first  sheets  of  the  second  volume, 
which  are  now  printed ;  they  are  wanting  in  life  and  movement.  It  is  a 
bad  thing  to  be  obliged  to  force  oneself  to  work  of  this  kind  ;  industry  we 
can  command,  but  the  state  of  mind  comes  from  God  and  from  without. 
Meanwhile,  the  contents  are  not  bad.  I  am  continually  finding  confirm- 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  231 

aticns  and  developments  of  my  fundamental  views.  In  my  lectures  I  have 
just  been  relating  the  story  of  Pyrrhua  with  real  pleasure ;  he  has  always 
been  my  favorite  hero * 

CXLIII. 

BERLIN,  f>(h  March,  1813. 

I  thank  you  for  the  sympathy  expressed  by  your  anxiety  about  my  health, 
but  there  is  no  cause  for  uneasiness.  It  is  not  likely  that  I  shall  be  really 
and  permanently  well  before  the  spring.  There  is  some  one  ill  in  every 
house ;  nearly  all  my  acquaintances  are  more  or  less  unwell,  low-spirited, 
and  good  for  nothing.  I  fear  that  the  traces  of  my  present  state  will  be 
only  too  visible  in  my  book ...... 

So  Mailer's  Letters  have  made  as  agreeable  an  impression  upon  you  as 
they  did  upon  Savigny ;  but  with  him  this  impression  has  not  proved  lasting. 

I  have  not  seen  them  yet,  because  I  do  not  choose  to  buy  them.  They 
will  be  as  remarkable  as  those  to  Bonstetten,  but  I  can  not  blind  myself 
to  the  fact  that,  from  his  earliest  youth,  M tiller's  t  feelings  and  opinions 
were  made  up.  The  pure  vital  breath  and  freshness  of  truth  are  wanting 
in  all  his  writings.  He  had  an  extraordinary  talent  for  assuming  a  char- 
acter, and  maintaining  it  with  consistency,  till  he  changed  it  again  for 
another ;  but,  after  reading  his  writings  on  the  Bellura  Cimbricum,  it  would 
have  been  clear  to  me,  from  now  to  the  day  of  judgment,  that  he  had  no 
native  solidity  of  character,  even  had  I  never  seen  him.  There  was  no 
harmony  in  him,  and  the  sources  of  his  power  gradually  dried  up  as  he  ad- 
vanced in  age.  His  talents  marked  him  out  for  a  literary  man  in  the  nar- 
rowest sense  of  the  term ,  historical  criticism  was  utterly  foreign  to  him ; 
his  imagination  had  no  wide  range,  and  the  unexampled  multitude  of  facts 
which  he  accumulated,  remained  in  reality  a  lifeless  and  unorganized  mass 
in  his  head.  Forgive  me  for  this  verdict :  you  will  not  suspect  that  I,  who 
am  only  just  coming  forward  as  an  historical  author,  would  willingly  say 
any  thing  in  disparagement  of  the  man  who  enjoys  the  highest  celebrity 
among  us  in  this  department ;  though  he  is  hardly  read  at  all,  and  the 
worthlessness  of  his  "  Universal  History"  is  acknowledged  even  by  his  ad- 


CXLIV. 

BKRLIX,  Zltt  April,  1812. 
Again  your  letter  has  come  a  day  too  late.     Though  we  Could  not  have 

*  In  the  latter  part  of  this  letter,  and  in  the  next,  dated  22d  February,  he 
gives  an  account  of  a  serious  illness  he  had  about  this  time. 

t  Johannes  von  Muller,  the  celebrated  author  of  the  "  Universal  History"  and 
the  "  History  of  Switzerland,"  the  first  German  historian  who  attained  literary 
excellence  iu  the  treatment  of  his  subject  The  great  blot  upon  his  character 
is  his  abandonment  of  his  country's  cause,  and  espousing  the  French  interests  in 
the  calamitous  days  of  October,  1806.  He  had  drawn  up  the  Prussian  manifesto 
before  the  battle  of  Jena,  and  when  the  French  entered  Berlin  on  the  27tb  Octo- 
ber, be  was  the  first  to  announce  his  adhesion  to  the  Emperor  Napoleon.  When 
the  news  of  the  battles  of  Jena  and  Auerstadt  reached  Berlin,  and  it  was  evident 
that  the  authorities  must  remove  northward,  Niebnhr  called  on  Muller  to  propose 
that  they  should  travel  together  to  Stettin.  Muller,  who  had  not  long  before  been 


qu , ,    , 

can  think  of  his  books  note  is  a  scoundrel !"  muttered  Niebuhr  indignantly,  as 
he  turned  on  his  heel.. 


232  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

concluded  with  certainty,  from  the  delay,  that  it  had  been  opened,  its  ap- 
pearance left  no  doubt  on  this  point.  This  must,  however,  explain  and 
justify  to  you  my  silence  respecting  our  hopes  and  fears,  even  when  they 
positively  concern  our  own  fate.  Besides,  all  my  knowledge  is  confined 
to  mere  rumors.  The  impending  stroke  is  preparing  with  a  most  undeni- 
ably judicious  secrecy.  All  that  I  can  say — and  that  is  rather  based  upon 
calculation  than  positive  testimony — is,  that  none  of  the  reports  about 
the  possible  continuance  of  peace  deserve  any  attention.  The  armies  are 
collecting  from  all  sides.  Such  enormous  masses  of  men  have  never  before 
been  brought  against  each  other  in  the  whole  course  of  modern  history,  in- 
deed never  since  the  Crusades  and  the  migration  of  races.  The  long  con- 
tinuance of  winter  weather  may  a  little  delay  the  opening  of  the  campaign ; 
for  in  East  Prussia  they  are  still  using  sledges,  and  when  the  frost  breaks, 
the  state  of  the  roads  will  prevent  any  rapid  operations  for  a  few  weeks. 

Dumas  is  here  as  Intendant-general  of  the  army.  I  met  him  at  the 
Princess  Radziwill's  and  we  have  since  exchanged  visits.  Nicolovius  has 
invited  him  and  me  to  dine  at  his  house  to-day.  He  is  very  friendly,  and 
inquires  very  particularly  after  all  his  friends  in  Holstein. 

And  now  we  will  retire  from,  the  outward  world  into  our  own  private  one. 
Milly  is  constantly  unwell  without  being  positively  weak.  But  it  pain* 
and  alarms  me  that  the  physician  does  not  seem  to  know  what  measures 
to  take  for  her  relief.  Her  cough  remains  just  the  same  in  spite  of  all 
remedies.  I  am  rather  better  than  for  some  weeks  past. 

I  have  now  finished  the  most  difficult  part  of  my  book — the  Roman  law 
respecting  the  public  lands. 

I  have  felt  the  death  of  old  Hegewisch  deeply.  So  his  fainting  fits  last 
summer  were  the  beginning  of  his  gradual  decay.  People  in  Germany  were 
no  longer  just  to  him.  His  best  writings  were  forgotten 

CXLV. 

BERLIN,  IMh  June,  1812. 

It  will  be  an  evil  omen  to  you  that  Milly's  pain  in  the  eyes  continues, 
when  you  see,  on  opening  this  letter,  that  she  has  again  left  me  the  greater 
part  of  the  space.  It  is  even  so.  &c 

We  are  reading  Wilhelm  Meister  at  present,  as  fast  as  my  want  of  prac- 
tice in  reading  aloud  will  permit.  I  had  never  before  been  able  to  take 
any  pleasure  in  this  book,  and  was  curious  to  see  if  it  would  be  difierent 
now,  as  in  middle  age  we  are  less  one-sided  than  in  youth,  and  can  enjoy 
relative  and  separate  beauties,  even  when  the  whole  does  not  make  an 
agreeable  or  overpowering  impression  on  us.  But  it  is  the  same  as  ever 
with  me.  Our  language  possesses,  probably,  nothing  more  elaborate  or 
more  perfect  in  style  (excepting  Klopstock's  "  Republic  of  Letters")  ;  in 
clearness  of  outline  and  vividness  of  coloring,  there  is  nothing  to  compare 
with  it  in  our  literature ;  it  contains  a  multitude  of  acute  remarks  and 
magnificent  passages ;  the  situations  are  managed  with  extreme  ingenuity, 
and  all  the  parts  are  in  admirable  keeping ;  all  this  I  can  appreciate  now 
better  than  formerly.  But  the  unnaturalness  of  the  plot,  the  violence  with 
which  what  is  beautifully  sketched  and  executed  in  single  groups  is  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  development,  and  mysterious  conduct  of  the  whole,  the 
impossibilities  such  a  plot  involves,  and  the  thorough  heartlessness,  which 
even  makes  one  linger  with  the  greater  interest  by  the  utterly  sensual  per- 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  233 

son  ages,  because  they  do  show  something  akin  to  feeling ;  the  villainy  or 
meanness  of  the  heroes,  whose  portraits  nevertheless  often  amuse  us — all 
this  still  makes  the  book  revolting  to  me,  and  I  get  disgusted  with  such  a 
menagerie  of  tame  cattle. 

Is  it  not  your  feeling,  too,  that  few  things  leave  a  more  painful  impres- 
sion than  for  a  great  spirit  to  bind  its  own  wings,  and  seek  to  excel  in  the 
lower  regions  of  art,  while  renouncing  the  higher  ?  Goethe  is  the  poet  of 
human  passion  and  human  greatness  under  all  their  manifestations,  and 
as  such  he  appears  in  his  early  poems.  Probably,  indeed,  he  might  then 
have  made  himself  master  of  the  whole  sphere,  to  the  furthest  limits  of 
which  he  was  often  involuntarily  borne  on  the  wings  of  spontaneous  inward 
impulse.  He  neglected  to  possess  himself  of  this  united  realm,  which  per- 
haps no  single  intellect  had  ever  ruled  with  so  absolute  a  sway  as  might 
have  been  his,  and  the  wild  and  fragmentary  character  of  his  youthful  pro- 
ductions displeased  even  himself  in  his  riper  years.  It  was  chiefly  after 
he  had  studied  art,  during  his  travels  in  Italy,  that  he  strove  after  unity 
and  completeness.  His  first  attempts  in  this  style,  and  his  productions 
from  1786  to  1790,  are  quite  unworthy  of  him.  They  simply  display  a 
thoroughly  unpoetical,  wearisome  reality.  But  he  wished  to  become  a  mas- 
ter in  this  style  as  well  as  in  others,  and  to  do  so,  he  narrowed  his  mind. 
To  me  this  is  most  melancholy.  If  you  study  his  writings  from  this  time 
forward,  you  find  in  nearly  all  of  them  a  tameness  which  is  quite  unnatural 
to  him.  By  degrees,  there  appears  some  re-awakening  of  his  native  and 
peculiar  feelings,  particularly  with  reference  to  his  own  inward  life,  at  least 
in  recollection  ;  but  the  years  gone  by  are  lost,  and,  through  them,  those 
also  which  yet  remain  to  him.  I  hope  that  he  will  find  his  youth  restored 
by  living  through  his  history  again  in  memory.  The  second  part  will  be 
certain  to  come  out  at. Michaelmas.  So  early  as  the  end  of  April  he  went 
to  Carlsbad,  to  work  there  in  solitude.  They  expect  him  back  at  Weimar 
this  month.  We  shall  not  see  him  now  this  year,  but  I  shall  write  to  him 
more  at  length  when  I  send  him  my  second  volume. 

The  physical  sciences  had  been  so  exclusively  limited  to  what  was  visi- 
ble and  demonstrable,  that  a  reaction  was  inevitable  as  soon  as  the  one- 
sidedness  of  this  was  perceived ;  now,  when  you  find  it  said,  in  so  many 
words,  in  printed  books,  that  a  dreaming  state  is  higher  than  a  waking 
one,  and  that  madness  is  the  highest  condition  of  humanity — now  the 
charlatans  have  done  their  worst,  ajid  the  ridicule  with  which  they  have 
covered  themselves,  will  soon  put  an  end  to  their  trade.*  The  good  will 
then  remain,  and  a  considerable  interval  will  elapse  before  people  can  re- 
turn to  the  old  one-sided  views.  For,  in  truth,  it  is  ever  the  fate  of  mod- 
ern nations  to  oscillate  between  two  follies. 

Have  you  seen  A.  W.  Schlegel's  noble  Essay  on  the  old  German  poetry, 
in  the  January  number  of  the  "  Deutches  Museum?" 

I  have  filled  these  two  pages  with  the  things  by  which  we  try  to  divert 
our  attention  from  the  sorrow  impending  over  all.  If  I  could  write  to  yon 
on  this  subject,  I  should  have  much  to  say. ....'.. 

CXLVI. 

BERLIN,  27/A  June,  18)2. 

You  will  have  seen  from  the  proclamation  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  that 
*  This  refers  to  animal  mna-netism. 


234  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

the  war  has  actually  begun  by  this  time.  We  know  nothing  here  as  yet 
of  the  events  that  have  happened. 

We  have  not  yet  finished  "  Wilhelm  Meister;"  the  latter  part  pleases 
me  no  tetter.  Mdlle.  Klettenberg  is  alluded  to  in  the  "  Confessions  of  a 
Beautiful  Soul." 

You  will  have  seen  Stein's  arrival  in  Hamburgh  from  the  newspapers. 
It  is  said  that  he  is  going  to  St.  Petersburg,  by  invitation  of  the  Emperor. 

We  are  calm  and  composed,  but  not  cheerful,  still  less  mirthful,  for  this 
is  a  solemn  and  critical  epoch."  The  war  is  inflicting  no  wounds  on  this 
part  of  the  country,  but  all  is  sick  enough,  and  the  bleeding  provinces 
which  have  to  supply  the  resources  of  war,  will,  in  time,  infect  the  capital 
with  their  fever.  The  accounts  from  East  Prussia,  which  had  not  fully 
recovered  from  the  last  war  before  this  new  misery  began,  are  enough  to 
overwhelm  one  with  grief 

CXLVII. 

BERLIN,  llth  July,  1812. 

We  have  no  news  whatever  from  the  seat  of  war ;  it  appears  that  we 
shall  have  to  learn  them  first  from  the  pages  of  the  "  Moniteur."  We 
only  know  that  the  whole  of  the  northern  French  army  stands  on  Russian 
soil.  How  far  the  Russians  have  retreated,  whether  they  make  any  show 
of  offering  resistance  on  any  part  of  the  road  between  the  Niemen  and  the 
Dwina.  probably  no  human  being  here  knows.  This  utter  silence  respect- 
ing events  of  such  prodigious  magnitude,  heightens  the  terrors  of  expecta- 
tion. Meanwhile,  it  enables  us  to  concentrate  ourselves  more  entirely  on 
the  present,  by  leaving  us  leisure  for  other  thoughts  and  occupations 

I  do  not  even  read  any  thing  requiring  exertion  at  present,  but,  among 
other  things,  I  have  taken  up  Klopstock's  ''  Correspondence."  I  find  it 
very  attractive,  and  still  more  instructive.  The  more_,you  study  it,  the 
more  materials  do  you  find  in  it  for  the  intellectual  history  of  our  nation  ; 
and  it  exhibits  the  history  of  Klopstock's  mind,  with  scarcely  a  break,  from 
the  year  1750  onward.  In  these  letters  his  character  appears  indescriba- 
bly amiable,  sincere,  and  spotless,  which  we  certainly  knew  before  to  be 
the  case.  They  give  a  singular  picture  of  the  period  in  which  his  youth 
was  passed.  Accustomed  as  we  are  to  great  variety  and  precision  of 
thought,  the  circle  of  ideas  prevailing  then  seems  to  us  poor  and  narrow ; 
each  one  is  occupied  about  himself;  all  are,  we  may  almost  say,  ignorant, 
contented,  nay,  even  delighted  with  things  that  we  should  with  reason 
pronounce  mediocre,  and  filled  with  reverence  for  men  who  would  now  be 
thought  commonplace ;  all  of  them  are  so  self-important,  so  convinced 
that  their  united  works  must  form  a  golden  age  of  literature.  And  for 
this  reason  they  have  all  faded  and  passed  away,  except  Klopstock,  who, 
in  his  innocence,  was  far  enough  from  suspecting  how  little  they  were  his 
equals.  There  is  something  really  maidenly  about  him  and  the  best  of 
his  friends,  not  only  in  the  good  sense  of  the  word,  but  in  that  which  is 
incompatible  with  the  manly  character,  particularly  in  that  limitation  of 
their  .range  of  thought  I  have  mentioned.  From  the  beginning  to  the  end 
of  his  correspondence,  you  could  not  perhaps  find  a  single  uncommon,  or 
even  ingenious  idea,  nor  yet  in  any  of  his  works,  except  the  "  Republic  of 
Letters."  It  ia  possible  that  such  ideas,  like  all  abstractions,  are  only 
suggested  when  the  mental  harmony  is  somewhat  disturbed,  and  that  he 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  235 

would  not  hare  retained  that  deep  peace,  in  which  he  always  lived,  if  he 
had  attempted  to  fix  his  attention  voluntarily  and  exclusively  on  objects 
of  reflection.  But  how  much  higher,  how  near  the  ancients  he  might  have 
stood,  if  he  had  done  so— if  his  cultivation  hod  not  been  so  extremely  one- 
sided, and  on  the  whole — to  confess  the  truth — so  indolently  carried  on ! 
I  have  just  been  looking  at  several  of  the  metres  ho  invented,  and  have 
made  a  singular  discovery.  In  the  beginning  of  each  piece,  as  you  know, 
he  marks  the  metre,  and,  till  now,  I  have  always  read  his  verses  as  he  has 
marked  them,  and  often  found  them  unpleasing,  or  discovered  strophes 
where  the  measure  was  not  sustained.  But  this  time  I  have  read  them 
without  reference  to  his  divisions,  according  to  the  rules  of  Greek  rhythm, 
with  which  he  was  quite  unacquainted,  and  find  that  they  then  possess 
the  most  beautiful  cadence  of  the  old  Greek  poetry.  0  that  he  had  but  poured 
into  these  beautiful  forms  a  corresponding  richness  of  moaning !  For  it 
can  not  be  denied  that,  excepting  the  lays  of  his  love,  his  odea  do  not 
speak  to  the  heart  at  all,  or  only  address  themselves  to  a  few  of  its  emo- 
tions, and  never  fill  and  raise  the  soul  as  a  single  verse  of  a  Greek  lyric 
poet  has  power  to  do.  The  character  of  the  women,  too,  is  a  remarkable 
feature  of  the  times  of  Klopstock's  youth.  The  cultivation  of  the  mind 
was  carried  incomparably  farther  with  them,  than  with  nearly  all  the 
young  women  of  our  days ;  and  this  we  should  scarcely  have  expected  to 
find  in  the  contemporaries  of  our  grandmothers.  It  was  not,  therefore,  the 
work  of  our  native  literature,  for  that -first  rose  into  being  along  with,  and 
under  the  influence  of  the  love  inspired  by  these  charming  maidens.  For 
some  time  after  the  Thirty  Years'  War  the  ladies  of  Germany,  particularly 
those  of  the  middle  classes,  were  excessively  coarse  and  uneducated,  as  is 
proved  beyond  a  doubt  by  a  curious  Book  of  Manners  which  I  have  bought 
this  winter.  This  wonderful  alteration  must  have  taken  place,  therefore, 
during  the  eighty  years  from  1660  to  1740,  though  we  are  quite  ignorant 

how  and  when  it  began 

Jacobi  is  certainly  right  when  he  says,  that  it  is  only  existence  in  motion 
which  excites  our  interest  in  others — ideas  as  they  rise  up ;  nothing  that 
merely  rests  in  their  memory  affects  our  feelings  toward  them.  Perhaps 
it  may  do  so  on  a  first  acquaintance,  but  it  soon  runs  dry,  and  then  such 
friendship  is  at  an  end.  We  can  never  grow  weary  of  that  sound  sense 
which  on  all  occasions,  great  or  small,  answers  to  every  appeal. 

CXLVIII. 

TO  V* 

BERLIN,  1«M  July,  1812. 

To  all  that  you  say  against  a  Church  union,*  which  must  end 

either  in  the  subjection  of  our  Church  to  the  domination  of  the  Catholic,  or 
the  destruction  of  that  which  is  regarded  by  the  latter  as  its  essential  ex- 
cellence, I  subscribe  with  all  my  heart ;  as  well  as  to  all  that  you  say  on 
the  folly  of  expecting  spiritual  benefit  from  the  ceremonies  of  the  latter. 
With  equal  warmth  do  I  sympathize  in  your  indignation  against  the  pseudo- 
Mystics  ;  not  less  against  those  who  are  a  prey  to  their  own  over-excited 
feelings,  than  against  those  who  are  enacting  a  revolting  and  scandalous 
farce. 

*  Referring  to  the  wi*h,  then  entertained  by  many  pious  persons,  for  such  a 
reform  in  the  Catholic  Church,  as  should  enable  the  Protestant  to  unite  with  it. 


236  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  must  confess  that  I  do  not  coincide  in  the  views 
you  have  expressed  in  your  essay,  respecting  that  which  you  also  call 
Mysticism,  and  the  philosophy  of  religion  which  you  recognize  as  Protest- 
antism.  That  you  may  not  mistake  me,  however,  and  suppose  that  I  lay 
claim  to  beliefs  and  feelings  which  I  do  not  possess — therefore  dare  not 
even  seem  to  possess — I  must  just  simply  repeat  to  you  what,  if  I  mistake 
not,  I  have  said  already  in  the  conversation  which  your  friendship  has 
deemed  it  worth  while  to  remember. 

Faith,  properly  so  called,  in  a  much  wider  sense  than  religious  faith,  it 
is  either  not  given  to  every  nature  to  possess,  or  the  possibility  of  its  taking 
root  and  flourishing,  may  be  annihilated  by  an  inharmonious  intellectual 
life.  The  soil  may  be  fertile,  but  the  climate  ungenial.  My  intellect 
early  took  a  skeptical  direction.  With  my  whole  attention  bent  upon  the 
real  and  the  historical,  eager  to  comprehend,  and  to  get  to  the  bottom  of 
every  thing,  I  let  my  thoughts  follow  the  natural  association  of  ideas, 
without  endeavoring  to  guide  them  into  any  particular  channel ;  and  in 
this  respect  had  neither,  properly  speaking,  a  truly  creative  imagination, 
nor  any  strong  feeling  of.  the  need  of  something  beyond  the  boundaries  of 
experience  to  satisfy  my  heart ;  or  perhaps  I  let  both  perish  for  want  of 
nourishment.  Altogether,  it  was  very  seldom  that  the  consciousness  of  a 
thought  vanished  from  my  mind  in  the  contemplation  of  its  import  and 
object.  To  this,  unquestionably  my  natural  turn  of  mind,  was  added  the 
influence  of  miserable  religious  instruction,  and  of  the  living  study  of  clas- 
sical antiquity.  Thus,  it  was  in  riper  years,  and  through  the  study  of  his- 
tory, that  I  came  back  for  the  first  time  to  the  sacred  books,  which  I  read 
in  a  purely  critical  spirit,  and  with  the  purpose  of  studying  their  contents  as 
the  groundwork  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  phenomena  in  the  history 
of  the  world.  This  was  not  a  mood  in  which  real  faith  could  spring  up, 
for  it  was  that  of  the  Protestantism  of  the  present  day.  I  needed  no 
Wolfenbiittel  Fragments  *  to  discover  the  discrepancies  of  the  Gospels,  and 
the  impossibility  of  even  drawing  the  outlines  of  a  tenable  history  of  the 
life  of  Jesus  by  such  criticism.  In  the  Messianic  allusions  to  the  Old 
Testament,  I  could  recognize  no  prophecies,  and  could  explain  all  the  pas- 
sages adduced  with  perfect  ease.  But  here,  as  in  every  historical  subject, 
when  I  contemplated  the  immeasurable  gulf  between  the  narrative  and  the 
facts  narrated,  this  disturbed  me  no  further.  He,  whose  earthly  life  and 
sorrows  were  depicted,  had  for  me  a  perfectly  real  existence,  and  his  whole 
history  had  the  same  reality,  even  if  it  were  not  related  with  literal  ex- 
actness in  any  single  point.  Hence  also  the  fundamental  fact  of  miracles 
which,  according  to  my  conviction,  must  be  conceded,  unless  we  adopt  the 
not  merely  incomprehensible,  but  absurd  hypothesis,  that  the  Holiest  was 
a  deceiver,  and  his  disciples  either  dupes  or  liars ;  and  that  deceivers  had 
preached  a  holy  religion,  in  which  self-renunciation  is  every  thing,  and  in 
which  there  is  nothing  tending  toward  the  erection  of  a  priestly  rule — no- 
thing that  can  be  acceptable  to  vicious  inclinations.  As  regards  a  miracle 
in  the  strictest  sense,  it  really  only  requires  an  unprejudiced  and  penetrat- 
ing study  of  nature,  to  see  that  those  related  are  as  far  as  possible  from 

*  The  anonymous  fragments  on  the  discrepancies  of  the  Gospel  narratives, 
edited  by  Lessing  while  head-librarian  at  Wolfenbiittel.  Leasing  was  Ion.;,' 
supposed  to  have  written  them  himself,  but  after  his  death  clear  proofs  were 
found  among  his  papers  that  they  were  from  the  pen  of  Reimarus. 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  237 

absurdity,  and  a  comparison  with  legends,  or  the  pretended  miracles  of 
other  religions,  to  perceive  by  what  a  different  spirit  they  are  animated. 

According  to  these  statements,  I  might,  perhaps,  fairly  claim  to  be  called 
a  genuine  Protestant  Christian  ;  to  be  recognized  by  a  Church,  which  does 
not  even  thrust  from  her  bosom  those  who  make  Christ  into  a  cunning 
political  aspirant — a  skillful  charlatan  and  juggler — men  who,  it  is  to  be 
hoped,  will  not  die  without  receiving  the  punishment  of  indignant  universal 
contempt,  and  whom  you,  my  respected  friend,  no  doubt  likewise  despise 
in  your  heart,  mild  as  your  words  are  with  respect  to  these  blasphemers. 
Nevertheless,  I  can  not  as  yet  make  this  claim  for  myself,  nor  would 
Luther  recognize  it,  for  I  am  far  from  having  so  firm  a  faith  in  these 
objects,  so  vivid  a  certainty  of  them,  as  of  those  of  historical  experience ; 
they  are  still  only  in  and  among  my  thoughts—not  external  to,  and  above 
me. 

In  the  sense  in  which  many,  and  in  which  you  in  your  paper,  use  tho 
term  Mystics,  you  can  not,  in  truth,  save  the  Reformers  themselves  from 
this  name.  For  are  the  ideas  of  incarnation,  redemption,  divine  grace, 
any  thing  else  than  mystical  ?  Mysticism,  as  I  conceive  (apart  from  the 
follies  that  usurp  the  name),  is  nothing  else  than  the  belief,  that  the  pious 
man,  only  capable  of  longing  and  striving  after  a  state  of  faith  and  Christian 
temper  of  mind,  attains  these  through  a  supernatural  assistance  ;  and, 
when  he  has  been  made  a  partaker  of  them,  may  receive  an  illumination 
of  the  heart  and  mind,  in  a  manner  inexplicable  by  logic  and  psychology, 
and  to  them  foolishness.  Who  can  deny  that  this  may  give  rise  to  the 
wildest  fanaticism  ?  But,  on  the  other  hand,  who  can  deny  that  people 
the  latchet  of  whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose,  have  held  this 
belief  with  unshakable  confidence,  and  that  the  reflection  of  their  faith 
shines  out  in  their  writings  and  deeds  ?  This  mysticism  is  certainly 
capable  of  taking  such  various  shapes,  that  one  in  whom  it  is  a  spon- 
taneous growth,  and  who  has  not  been  bom  in  the  Catholic  Church,  can 
not  possibly  accommodate  his  feelings  and  thoughts  to  her  unity.  And 
yet,  that  it  finds  more  nourishment  in  the  Catholic  Chutch  than  in  ours, 
is  also  undeniable.  Let  us  turn  away  from  the  misguided  men,  who 
counsel  us  to  restore  tho  piety,  of  which  they  have  not  a  conception  them- 
selves, by  ceremonies  and  sacrificial  rites.  But  let  us  not  refuse  to  recog- 
nize, that  the  Catholic  Church  speaks  to  the  heart  in  many  things  where 
ours  is  dumb ;  that  we  must  not  judge  of  her  doctrines  (her  tyrannical 
hierarchy  is  another  matter)  from  their  degeneration  into  senseless,  heart- 
less, decrepit  formalisms ;  that  a  genuine  mystic,  like  Fen£lon,  might 
develop  his  spiritual  life  with  the  greatest  energy  within  her  fold,  without 
running  the  risk  of  spiritual  pride,  and  enthusiasm  in  the  bad  sense,  to 
which  our  Protestant  mystics  are  exposed.  Confession  may  be  very  un- 
necessary for  him  who  acts  sincerely  by  himself;  but  so  is  the  sermon,  too, 
for  such  a  one ;  and  after  all,  is  not  the  latter  always  destitute  of  special 
application  for  the  larger  part  of  the  hearers,  while  the  former  is  quite 
personal  ?  Confession  may  be  addressed  to  very  unworthy  ministers,  but 
are  there  no  preachers  of  the  same  stamp  ?  Why  is  it  necessary  for  us  to 
represent  absolution  in  its  most  exaggerated  form  ?  Do  we  not  absolve 
ourselves  daily,  without  having  confessed  ourselves  very  strictly  ?  And  in 
what  a  communion  of  love  does  the  truly  pious  Catholic  stand,  through  the 
whole  series  of  blessed  spirits  and  saints  up  to  the  person  of  Christ,  who, 


238  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

connected  with  him  by  this  unbroken  line,  is  therefore  more  of  a  mediator 

to  him ! 

If,  therefore,  a  longing,  harassed,  pious  Protestant,  in  despair  at  the 
deadness  of  his  own  Church,  and  the  waxen  image  which  bears  her  name, 
should  cast  a  look  of  love  upon  the  Catholic  Church,  while  concealing  her 
weak  points  from  himself;  if  he  creates  an  illusion  for  himself  all  the 
more  readily  because  he  has  probably  never  seen  her  priestcraft,  or  not 
in  its  degeneracy — we  ought  not,  I  think,  to  take  offense  at  such  a  one. 

Certainly,  we  are  bound  to  say  to  one  who  goes  too  far  in  his  admira- 
tion Do  not  transfer  your  ideal  to  that  the  reality  of  which  you  are  able 
to  test !  See  how  the  spirit,  for  whose  sake  alone,  you  are  ready  to  cling 
with  love  to  a  figure  the  aspect  of  which  would  else  terrify  you,  never 
penetrated  its  substance,  and  show  us  where  it  dwells  in  it  now,  and  say 
whether  necessarily  in  this  form  !  See  how  that  very  tendency  toward 
the  Ideal,  which  has  produced  many  of  its  peculiarities,  when  it  has  van- 
ished, leaves  something  behind  much  worse  than  that  which  preceded  it, 
as  such  a  tendency  always  does  ;  how  hypocrisy  and  rant  have  grown  out 
of  asceticism,  priestly  tyranny  out  of  church  discipline,  the  wildest  license 
from  mortification  of  the  flesh  !  The  forms  are  still  there,  wherever  the 
Catholic  religion  exists,  but  if  the  spirit  have  fled  from  the  existing  forms, 
how  can  you  hope  to  awaken  it  again  through  the  outward  assumption  of 
these  very  forms  ? 

Is  it  quite  correct  that  the  decline  of  religion  has  proceeded  from  the 
Catholic  countries  ?  A  moral  turpitude,  which  is  hostile  to  religion,  has 
undoubtedly  always  prevailed  among  the  people  of  Romanic  descent,  but 
as  a  national  characteristic,  and  quite  apart,  by  the  side  of  strict  faith  in 
the  Church,  or  blind  obedience  fancying  itself  faith.  Thus  it  is  still  at 
the  present  day.  "  .  • 

With  us,  as  it  appears  to  me,  indifferentism  took  its  rise  from  indigna- 
tion at  the  revolting  Orthodox  party,  who  persecuted  the  Mystics,  Spener, 
Franke,  &c.,  in  a  truly  popish  spirit,  carrying  the  insolence  of  priestly 
claims  to  an  extent  that  no  Capuchin  could  exceed.*  I  quite  understand 
how  those  who  lived  under  their  rod  of  discipline,  if  they  did  not  become 
Mystics,  should  turn  aside  to  free-thinking  with  bitter  hatred.  The  real 
Protestant  free-thinking,  however,  which  has  usurped  the  territory  of  the 

*  Spener  and  Franke  were  the  principal  authors  of  a  revival  of  religion  which 
took  place  in  the  Lutheran  Church,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  centu- 
ry, very  similar  to  that  which  took  place  in  England,  in  the  eighteenth  century, 
owing  to  the  influence  of  the  Wesleys  and  Whitefield.  The  Lutheran  church 
had  become  as  dead  and  formal,  previous  to  this  awakening,  as  the  Church  of 
England  in  the  last  century,  but  there  was  this  great  difference  between  the 
two  reforms  :  in  the  dead  English  Church,  morality  was  preached  without  those 
doctrines  which  touch  the  heart-springs  and  give  the  languid  will  energy  to 
perform  the  duties  required;  in  the  dead  Lutheran  Church,  dogmas  were 
preached  to  the  neglect  of  morality  and  the  cultivation  of  devotional  feeling ; 
hence  the  one  reform  brought  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  forward,  so  prominent- 
ly as  sometimes  to  throw  the  inculcations  of  morality  into  the  background,  while 
the  other  neglected  positive  dogmas,  in  the  endeavor  to  kindle  a  living  flame 
of  devotion  in  the  heart,  and  to  purify  the  life.  The  Pietists  of  Germany  were 
persecuted  by  the  old  orthodox  party  nearly  as  much  as  the  Methodists'in  En- 
gland ;  but,  happily  for  the  Lutheran  Church,  their  opponents  did  not  succeed 
in  excluding  them  from  its  pale,  as  was  the  case  with  the  enemies  of  the  anal- 
ogous party  in  England.  Franke  was  also  the  founder  of  the  great  Orphan 
House  at  Halle,  still  flourishing  at  the  present  day. 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  239 

Church,  and  would  fain  continue  .to  bear  sway  under  the  name  of  the  van- 
quished party,  appears  to  me  to  have  been  imported  entirely  from  England. 
The  free-masonry  which  likewise,  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, spread  first  through  North  Germany,  and  thence  into  other  parts, 
may  have  greatly  promoted  it  in  the  first  instance.  Voltaire  and  the 
French  "  btllet-lettrei"  philosophy  rather  aided  the  former,  than  had  much 
independent  agency,  except  among  the  higher  classes.  In  the  eighteenth 
century,  however,  it  was  not  these,  but  our  middle  classes  who  determined 
the  national  turn  of  thought  in  Protestant  Germany. 

You  remind  the  panegyrists  of  the  Catholic  Church,  with  great  reason, 
that  the  most  beautiful  hymns  have  been  composed  by  Protestants.  In 
modem  times  certainly,  at  least  with  very  few  exceptions.  But  have  not 
all  really  exalted  and  elevating  poems  of  this  kind  been  composed  by  Mys- 
tics ?  Is  there  one  of  them  that  can  find  favor  among  rationalistic  theo- 
logians, if  it  be  not  backed  and  remodeled  in  all  directions  ?  Undoubted- 
ly it  is  a  revolting  absurdity  when  people  say  religion  is-  poetry,  for  the 
good  meaning  which  we  might  put  upon  the  expression,  is  its  imposed, 
not  its  natural  one.  But  the  root  of  poetry— feeling  and  intuition — is 
certainly  also  the  root  of  faith. 

I  often  ask  myself,  what  shall  we  come  to  ?  In  Catholic  countries  the 
clergy  in  dying  out ;  in  a  short  time  men  will  neither  be  able  nor  willing 
to  take  orders.  Among  ourselves  we  have  names,  and  forms,  and  a  uni- 
versal dull  consciousness  that  all  is  not  right ;  every  one  is  ill  at  ease ; 
we  feel  like  ghosts  in  a  living  body.  I  speak  only  of  the  Continent ;  for 
in  England,  I  grant,  Christianity  stands  firm  as  a  rock,  from  the  very  fact 
of  the  innumerable  sects  ever  newly  springing  up,  which  testify  to  the  fer- 
tility of  the  soil.  But  1  am  perfectly  tranquil  as  to  the  result.  We  shall 
become  truer  and  purer,  when  every  thing  has  been  eliminated,  which 
does  not  belong  to  the  heart  of  any  of  the  numerous  sects  that  will  then 
develop  themselves.  "  Offenses  must  come,  but  woe  be  to  him  by  whom 
they  come!"  I  would  not  overthrow  the  dead  Church,  but  if  she  fall,  it 
will  cause  me  no  uneasiness.  Let  us  trust  that  a  comforter  will  come,  a 
new  Light,  when  we  leant  expect  it.  All  the  sorrows  of  this  era  will  lea<? 
on  toward  the  truth,  if  we  are  only  willing.* 

CXLIX. 

TO  COUNT  ADAM  MOLTKE. 

BERLIN,  15**  A*g**t,  1818. 

Perthes  was  here  a  few  weeks  ago ;  when  you  see  him  he  will 

tell  you  how  comfortable  I  am  at  present.  How  long  it  will  continue  so, 
I  leave  fearlessly  to  fate.  Things  certainly  will  not  remain  quite  so  pleas- 
ant, not  only  because  external  circumstances  will  almost  inevitably  stand 
in  the  way,  but  also  because  my  outward  position  is  really  too  enviable. 
Much  is  wanting  which  can  not  be  compensated,  but  this  can  not  be  reck- 
oned as  belonging  to  my  outward  position ;  the  latter  could  not  possibly 
bo  more  favorable  in  any  part  of  Germany,  though  we  live-  in  the  midst 
of  a  sandy  desert,  and  far  away  from  beautiful  object*  of  any  description. 
You  shall  allow  yourself  to  be  persuaded  to  carry  out  the  plan  you  former- 

*  This  letter  should  be  read  in  connection  with  those  addressed  to  Madame 
Rentier,  written  from  Homo,  of  7th  March,  and  lit  May,  1818. 


240  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

ly  mentioned,  of  residing  for  a  time  in  Berlin.  You,  who  are  HO  fond  of 
interesting  society,  could  not  but  find  this  singular  colony  of  intellectual 
and  accomplished  men,  collected  from  all  parts  of  Germany,  exceedingly 
attractive,  though  you  would  not  be  equally  pleased  with  what  is,  strictly 
speaking,  native  to  the  place.  Before  you  receive  my  letter,  Perthes  will 
have  sent  you,  in  my  name,  the  second  volume  of  my  History.  You  will 
see  that  the  work  here  begins  to  take  the  form  of  a  regular  history,  though 
the  digressions,  which  you  wished  away  in  the  first  volume,  will  be  found 
here  in  equal  number.  In  the  third,  they  will  be  of  little  importance. 
A  deep  silence  still  reigns  in  Germany;  I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  that 
people  are  startled  at  the  new  phenomenon  ;  or  whether  they  neither  un- 
derstand the  style,  nor  enter  into  the  mode  of  thought  and  treatment.  I 
do  not  know  whether  I  shall  ever  have  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  pub- 
lic oil  my  side.  An  author  ought  not  to  make  advances  to  the  public,  but 
it  is  very  seldom  that  a  great  work  entirely  fails  in  gaining  it  over. 

I  shall  hardly  finish  the  third  volume  during  this  winter.  I  had  worked 
myself  quite  stupid;  complete  relaxation,  and  the  Pyrmont  waters  are  now, 
however,  refreshing  me  greatly.  But,  on  the  one  hand,  I  must  sketch  the 
outline  of  a  course  of  lectures  for  the  winter,  on  Roman  Antiquities,  as 
bringing  my  ideas  into  train  for  the  History ;  and,  on  the  other,  I  find 
change  of  subject  beneficial,  and  Greece  allures  me  now  with  charms  as 
strong  as  those  she  had  for  me  in  my  youth.  0  how  would  philology  bo 
cherished,  if  people  knew  the  magical  delight  of  living  and  moving  amid 
the  most  beautiful  scenes  of  the  past !  The  mere  reading  is  the  smallest 
part  of  it ;  the  great  thing  is  to  feel  familiar  with  Greece  and  Rome  during 
their  most  widely  different  periods !  I  wish  to  write  history  with  such 
vividness — so  to  replace  vague  by  well-defined  images — so  to  disentangle 
confused  representations,  that  the  name  of  a  Greek  of  the  age  of  Polybius 
and  Thucydides,  or  that  of  a  Roman  in  the  times  of  Cato  or  Tacitus,  should 
instantly  call  up  in  the  mind  the  fundamental  idea  of  their  character. 
May  I  succeed  in  my  object !  There  is  no  want  of  materials  ;  we  can  not 
excuse  ourselves  on  that  ground ;  if  we  fail,  the  fault  lies  wholly  in  our- 
selves. I  should  like  to  write,  in  the  same  way,  on  the  golden  age  of 
Greece,  then  on  the  rise  of  the  sciences  and  the  decline  of  poetry,  and  on 
the  immeasurable  gulf  between  the  age  of  Pericles  and  that  of  Demosthenes. 
I  should  further  like  to  write  a  work  on  ancient  literature  as  a  whole,  sim- 
ilar to  Schlegel's  u  Lectures  on  the  Drama,"  (which  you,  too,  of  course, 
think  glorious  ?)  on  the  lost  writings,  as  well  as  those  still  extant,  from 
Homer  to  the  Byzantines. 

But  the  Roman  history  shall  not  be  neglected.  What  is  the  most  likely 
to  keep  me  back,  is  the  difficulty  of  meeting  with  thoroughly  good  military 
maps,  without  which  there  is  much  that  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  describe. 
Fancy  and  divination  may  certainly  often  hit  the  mark  ;  but  they  can  not 
so  imperatively  demand  belief. 

,    What  are  you  working  at  ?     You  scarcely  allude  to  it,  and  Perthes  knew 
nothing  about  it. 

Farewell,  my  dear  Moltke.  Do  not  repay  me  evil  for  my  silence,  and. 
accept,  with  your  old  affection,  Milly's  and  my  own  best  love  to  yourself 
and  the  boys. 

Your  faithful  NIEBUHR. 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  241 

CL. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

BERLIN,  19<A  Augu»t,  1813. 

An  to  the  aim  of  Wilhelm  Meister,  you  will  probably  have  some- 
what changed  your  opinion  by  this  time,  a*  I  suppose  you  are  near  the  end 
of  the  book.  Goethe  has  certainly  written  it,  in  part  perhaps  designedly, 
in  part  unconsciously,  as  a  representation  of  the  stage.  The  disenchant- 
ment of  the  enthusiast,  and  his  picture  of  the  universal  worthlessness  of 
the  players,  even  of  those  among  them  who  are  real  artists,  are  very  likely 
a  satire  upon  himself,  as  no  one  ever  carried  the  passion  for  the  stage,  and 
the  attempt  to  cultivate  the  taste  of  the  players  further  than  Goethe.  I 
have  made  another  conjecture,  which  I  can  not  indeed  verify  in  a  few  linen, 
but  it  might  be  established  by  a  comparison  of  passages  differing  widely 
in  other  respects.  It  is  that  he  meant  to  bring  forward  the  following  view 
(at  all  events  in  the  work  aa  it  now  stands,  for  the  first  sketch  of  it  was 
made  at  least  as  early  as  1799,  and  was,  no  doubt,  quite  inartificial),  that 
each  will  succeed  best  in  his  own  style,  by  following  out  his  original  tastes, 
and  cultivating  them  to  perfection ;  that  though  there  are  perfectly  pure 
and  highly  exalted  natures,  others  coarse  and  superficial,  and  some  even 
false,  all  are  good  of  their  kind.  Further,  that  it  is  a  folly  to  regard  ac- 
cidents as  judgments,  and  the  circumstances  that  alter  the  direction  of 
our  life  as  providential ;  and  finally  (toward  which  much  in  the  "  Elective 
Affinities"  also  tends),  that  what  we  deem  our  wise  resolutions,  will  usually 
work  much  evil  to  ourselves  and  others,  if  they  break  any  link  in  the  nat- 
ural chain  of  our  destinies.  I  by  no  means  commend  all  these  views ;  that 
they  are  Goethe's,  and  contained  in  this  book,  I  am  ready  to  maintain. 
Many  parts  are,  no  doubt,  simply  poetical,  without  any  ulterior  aim,  and 
the  whole  would  be  most  likely  better  if  there  were  more  of  the  same  kind. 

I  am  now  busily  engaged  with  the  Greeks.  I  think  I  never  appreciated 
them  so  keenly  before.  Moreover,  some  very  crude  productions  on  the 
subject  hare  given  me  a  great  inclination  to  use  up  a  few  sheets,  in  sketch- 
ing a  survey  of  the  different  periods  of  the  intellectual  history  of  the  Greeks, 
from  their  golden  age,  to  that  in  which  they  were  in  no  way  superior  to 
ourselves. 

Oersted  *  leaves  to-morrow  for  the  Rhine  and  Paris.  I  am  really  very 
sorry  to  lose  him ;  I  scarcely  know  another  natural  philosopher  who  hair 
so  much  intellect,  and  freedom  from  prejudice  and  esprit  de  corps :  then, 
too,  he  keeps  within  bounds,  and  never  loses  himself  in  arbitrary  conject- 
ures. Besides,  his  character  is  very  estimable ;  and  he  parts  from  mr 
with  regret.  Thank  God  it  seems  as  if  the  dangers  which  threatened  you 
were  passing  away. 

CLI. 

BERLIN,  Btk  September,  1812. 

It  interferes  much  with  close  study  that  we  have  troops  always 

quartered  upon  us,  and  that  they  are  perpetually  changing. 

During  this  vacation,  I  have  been  reviewing  all  kinds  of  books,  not  with- 
out a  reference  to  the  circumstances  of  the  times.     But  I  have  another 
object,  namely,  to  earn  some  money  for  a  friend  who  wants  it.     I  find  re- 
*  The  celebrated  natural  philosopher,  and  author  of  Der  Oeist  in  der  Natur. 

L 


242  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

viewing  no  pleasant  task ;  I  should  like  to  get  hold  of  books  that  I  could 
really  take  pleasure  in,  and  recommend,  but  I  very  seldom  hit  upon  such ; 
most  of  those  which  come  before  me  are  a  tissue  of  shallowness  and  error, 
often,  too,  of  gross  ignorance,  in  which  I  really  can  not  find  any  thing  to 
praise. 

I  continue  to  take  the  waters,  and  thereby  lose  a  great  deal  of  time. 
The  time  for  my  lectures,  too,  is  approaching,  but  that  does  not  alarm  me, 
as  1  mean  to  deliver  them  extempore,  and  have  most  of  my  materials  al- 
ready stored  up  in  my  memory.  This  course  will  be  a  very  useful  one  for 
the  young  men. 

I  began  reading  Plato  a  short  time  ago.  Theages  is  still  my  favorite, 
of  the  dialogues  that  I  have  read  afresh ;  the  declaration  of  the  young 
man,  that  he  feels  himself  better  and  higher,  if  he  is  only  in  the  same 
house  with  Socrates,  and  the  more  so,  the  nearer  he  is  to  him,  and  the 
most  so,  when  he  can  look  into  his  eyes  and  read  his  soul,  is  worth  more 
to  me  than  the  most  acute  dialectics,  where  you  have  to  toil  through  ever 
so  many  long  dialogues,  and  gain  nothing  at  the  end.  But  such  an  evi- 
dence of  emotions  which  we  have  experienced,  and  still  experience  our- 
selves, when  we  think  of  any  of  the  few  great  men  of  our  own  day,  is  worth 
much.  I  have  also  been  reading  a  tragedy  of  Sophocles  again,  and  was 
glad  to  find  that  I  was  more  moved  by  it  than  I  had  ever  been  before. .  .  . 

CLII. 

BERLIN,  2d  October,  1812. 

For  the  last  week  past,  our  slumbering  anxieties  respecting  Denmark 
have  been  revived,  and  in  a  way  that  makes  it  difficult  to  calm  them  by 
unbelief.  You  say  nothing  on  this  subject,  perhaps  lest  we  should  be 
alarmed,  perhaps  for  the  same  reasons  which  kept  us  silent,  when  we 
knew  more  about  the  progress  of  the  war  than  the  papers  told  us.  But  it 
seems  almost  impossible  for  the  storm  to  blow  over,  and  whatever  may 
be  its  issue,  it  will  bring  misery  and  calamity  to  our"  poor  fatherland.  This 
apprehension  lies  heavy  on  my  heart,  but  of  course  I  can  not  tell  you  in 
writing  the  possibilities  I  fear.  Devastation  is  now  proceeding  with  fear- 
ful strides,  from  the  deserts  that  are  forming  in  Russia,  to  the  total  failure 
of  the  crops  in  Norway.  I  am  not  ashamed  to  confess  to  the  selfishness 
of  affection,  and  that  amid  all  these  horrors,  I  am  thinking  with  a  heavy 
heart  of  the  misfortune  which  the  paper  currency  will  bring  on  my  nearest 
and  dearest  friends 

I  have  seen  here  a  collection  of  antique  works  of  art,  which  is  quite 
unique.  It  was  made  by  Klaproth,  and  belongs  to  him,  but  he  is  of  such 
a  retiring  disposition  that  its  very  existence  is  news  to  every  one  to  whom 
I  mention  it.  The  collection  consists  of  antique  works  in  glass  ;  some 
are  mosaic,  some  transparent,  some  opaque  glass  of  the  most  exquisite 
colors.  Two  singularly-shaped  pieces  have  come  from  Guinea,  where  they 
have  been  used  as  sceptre  points  by  the  negro  princes.  There  can  not  be 
the  least  doubt  that  they  have  traveled  thither  from  Carthage.  Klaproth 
has  also  some  fragments  of  metal  mirrors,  where  the  proportions  are  pre- 
cisely those  of  HerschePs  telescope.  The  Greeks  were  no  artists  in  chem- 
istry, and  the  Romans  knew  absolutely  nothing  of  it ;  hence  it  is  only 
through  analysis  and  actual  observation  that  we  discover  how,  even  in 
these  things,  we  stand  below  the  ancients.  Stranger  still ;  many  chemical 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  243 

preparation*,  colors  for  instance,  were  still  handed  down  by  tradition,  and 
kept  as  a  secret  in  the  sixteenth  century,  that  are  now  lost,  and  seem  to 
have  been  invaluable.  Science  is  advancing  very  rapidly  now,  but  she  is 
grown  an  utter  stranger  to  art. 

CLIII, 

TO  PERTHES.* 

October,  1812. 

Our  dear  Nicolovius  lost  no  time  in  conveying  to  me  the  good  news  ha 
had  heard  from  you.  I  have  not  seen  him  again  since  then,  and  do  not 
know  whether  he  is  writing  to  you ;  if  he  has  not  time  to  do  so,  I  know  I 
may  say,  in  his  name  as  well  as  our  own,  how  much  we  are  pleased,  and 
wish  you  and  your  dear  wife  joy  from  the  bottom  of  our  hearts.  When 
the  little  boy  is  as  old  as  one  of  us  (you  or  I),  and  is  talking  with  his  gray- 
haired  parents  about  the  evil  times  when  he  was  born,  I  trust  he  will  be 
able  to  thank  Heaven  for  having  livd  from  his  youth  in  so  fresh  a  period 
of  regeneration,  and  revival  from  desolation ;  and  that  it  will  be  a  better 
founded  prosperity  than  that  which  followed  the  Seven  Yearn'  War.  You 
see  that  I  expect  good  days  for  you  and  your  wife  yet. 

Bo  works  of  art,  if  not  very  expensive,  still  find  a  sale  in  your  provin- 
ces ?  (I  consider  you  as  sovereign  of  the  publishing  trade  from  the  Ems 
to  the  Baltic.)  There  is  coining  out  here,  but  it  has  not  yet  appeared, 
and  the  price  is  not  fixed,  a  very  beautiful  set  of  "  Studies  from  the  old 
Italian  Masters,"  (i.e.  Giotto,  Gaddi,  and  Masaccio),  by  an  artist  named 
Kuhbeil,  who  is  as  poor  as  a  rat,  has  lived  upon  contemplation  and  labor 
in  Italy,  mended  his  own  shoes,  &c.  Some  of  them  are  from  the  pieces 
which  the  Riepenhausena  have  copied,  but,  according  to  the  testimony  of  eye- 
witnesses, incomparably  more  faithful.  There  are  really  sublime  things 
among  them.  Nicolovius  takes  a  great  interest  in  the  work.  Should  you 
be  able  to  assist  its  circulation  ?  By-the-by,  it  is  remarkable  that,  even 
in  France,  people  are  beginning  to  suspect  that  this  old  art  was  really  in 
spirit  the  highest,  and  that  while  Raphael,  who  may  bear  the  same  rela- 
tion to  these  old  masters  as  Sophocles  to  the  earliest  lyrio  poets,  rose,  to 
the  very  summit  of  art — with  him  likewise,  the  inspiration  of  genius  de- 
parted. When  you  see.  a  light  breaking  in  upon  questions  like  these,  upon 
which  you  have  made  up  your  own  mind  in  silence  for  years,  it  reconciles 
you  to  much  else  that  displeases  you  in  your  contemporaries.  It  has  given 
me  downright  delight  to  see  the  Leipsio  Catalogue  so  thin ;  only  two  pages  of 
novels  !  1  must  confess  that  it  looks  very  miserable  in  other  respects,  too. 

*  Perthes  was  one  of  the  largest  booksellers  and  publishers  in  Germany,  a 
man  of  uncommon  energy,  enterprise,  and  good  sense.  He  was  a  friend  of  many 
of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  his  day,  and  was  intimately  connected  with 
the  Holstein  circle,  amon?  whom  Niebuhr  passed  his  early  years,  from  whom 
lie  imbibed  much  of  their  peculiar  religious  tendency.  He  was  a  determined 
opponent  of  the  French  rale  in  Germany,  and  took  so  active  a  part  in  the  in- 
surrection which  freed  Hamburgh  from  the  French  yoke  for  a  short  time  in  1813, 
that,  on  the  return  of  Davoust,  he  was  proscribed.  His  friendship  with  Niebuhr 
began  when  both  were  young,  and  lasted  through  life,  though  its  continuance 
was  threatened  in  the  winter  of  1813-14,  because  Niebuhr  would  not  concede 
the  honor  to  the  conduct  of  Hamburgh  which  Perthes  thought  it  deierved,  and, 
in  the  "  Preussische  Correspondent,  compared  it,  in  a  depreciating  style,  with 
the  heroism  of  Prussia.  Nicolovius,  however,  prevented  a  breach,  and  from  this 
time  they  remained  in  habits  of  the  most  friendly  intercourse. 

' 


244  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHB. 

The  Catalogue  you  will  bring  out  will  not  be  much  calculated  to  bring 
our  literature  into  repute  among  foreigners. 

What  will  become  of  poor  Denmark  ? Are  not  you,  too,  startled 

at  the  Sicilian  constitution?  (The  "  Hamburgische  Correspondent"  has, 
no  doubt,  given  you  an  account  of  it.)  Don't  you  see  that  it  is  altogether 
the  work  of  the  aristocracy  ?  It  is  true  that  many  grievances  are  cleared 
away  at  a  stroke,  over  which  travelers  have  lamented,  for  the  last  forty 
years,  as  hindrances  to  prosperity  ;  and  the  island  may  become  wealthy  ; 
but  how  can  there  be  tranquillity  ?  Every  thing  will  go  on  seething  and 
fermenting.  England  sends  forth  in  all  directions,  probably  quite  unsus- 
pected by  the  ministers,  a  spirit  of  republicanism,  which  will  make  that 
country  as  much  disliked  by  all  sovereigns  and  governments,  as  it  is  already 
by  their  subjects  for  its  conduct  with  regard  to  their  commercial  and  man- 
ufacturing interests.  The  emancipation  of  the  Irish  Catholics  is  a  crisis 
in  the  English  Constitution  itself,  through  which  the  republican  portion 

of  their  institutions  receives  increased  power,  and  H is  certainly  quite 

wrong  in  asserting  that  the  English  will  end  with  an  absolute  monarchy. 
They  are  much  more  likely  to  try  a  republic,  unless  fate  has  pre-ordained 
it  otherwise. 

CLIV. 

TO   JACOBI. 

BERLIN,  November  list,  1811. 

HONORED  JACOBI — How  I  am  to  begin  the  first  letter  after  a  silence  of 
many  years — how  I  am  to  select  the  most  essential  particulars  from  among 
the  thousand  things  I  might  say  to  you — how  I  am  to  arrange  these  most 
essential  points,  on  which  I  would  fain  speak  unreservedly,  in  any  kind  of 
order,  is  an  enigma  which  I  can  find  no  means  of  solving 

That  you  have  sent  me  your  work,  which  I  received  a  few  days  ago 
from  our  dear  and  noble  Nicolovius  as  a  gift  from  you,  has  afforded  me  an 
encouragement,  for  which,  however,  I  should  not  have  waited  before  ap- 
proaching you  once  more.  Perhaps  you  have  already  received  the  first 
part  of  my  Roman  History  through  Lindner  ;  at  all  events  it  will  most 
probably  be  in  your  hands  before  this  letter  reaches  you.  May  you  accept 
it  with  as  much  kindness  and  indulgence  as  I  feel  gratitude  and  affection 
for  your  gift;  may  you  be  able  to  connect  it  with  long-past  years,  the 
broken  thread  of  which  has  for  me  been  re-united  by  this  token  of  remem- 
brance from  you  ! 

I  still  remember  most  vividly — as  it  is  impossible  that  you  should  do — 
how,  in  the  years  of  my  ardent  youth,  I  sat  at  your  feet,  rejoicing  in  the 
kindness  with  which  you  listened  to  my  dreams  of  the  possibility  that  I 
might  one  day  be  capable  of  restoring  the  history  of  antiquity,  and  en- 
couraged me  to  work  toward  their  realization.  I  must  confess,  that  you 
will  not  find  the  ideal,  which  then  stood  before  me,  fulfilled  in  the  attempt 
to  transform  these  dreams  into  waking  realities,  which  I  have  at  last  un- 
dertaken, after  many,  and  in  some  degree  wasted  years,  and  with  but  the 
remnants  of  my  original  powers.  5Tet  I  am  equally  convinced  that  you 
will  not  regard  as  insignificant  my  diligent  and  not  quite  fruitless  research- 
es, nor  look  on  some  of  their  results  as  mere  creations  of  the  brain,  though 
at  first  they  will  be  so  termed  by  many  till  they  have  grown  accustomed 
to  the  unusual  shapes.  And  if  you  do  find  that  you  may  say  of  the  dif- 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  245 

ference  between  the  early  ideal  and  the  later  reality,  that  the  amphora  has 
been  turned  into  a  pot,  yet  coarse  potter's  ware  can  not  be  dispensed 
with,  and  the  man  who  can  make  no  better  is  sufficiently  punished  by  his 
incapacity. 

To  know  you,  to  see  and  hear  you,  was  one  of  the  highest  enjoyments 
of  those  few  years  of  my  youth,  which  succeeded  a  period  of  frequent  de- 
pression, and  were  passed  in  the  intoxication  of  brilliant  day-dreams — in  a 
sort  of  heaven  upon  earth.  It  was  not  that  my  youthful  vanity  was  flat- 
tered by  your  kindness — it  was  a  pure  and  perfectly  innocent  sentiment. 
That  it  waa  so  is  proved,  perhaps,  most  incontestably  by  another  sentiment 
which  grew  up  beside  it,  and  at  last,  like  the  lean  kine  of  the  seer,  swal- 
lowed it  up,  and  brought  about  my  separation  from  you. 

I  have  indeed  now  no  right  to  make  confessions,  but  here  they  can  not 
be  avoided. 

I  was  born  with  an  inward  discord,  the  existence  of  which  I  can  trace 
back  to  my  earliest  childhood,  though  it  waa  afterward  much  aggravated 
by  an  education  ill  adapted  to  ray  nature,  or  rather,  by  a  mixture  of  such 
an  education  with  no  education  at  all.  I  did  not  conceal  this  from  you  in 
former  days.  Had  I  to  choose  my  own  endowments  for  another  life  on 
earth,  I  would  not  wish  to  possess  greater  facility  in  taking  up  impressions 
from  the  external  world,  in  retaining  and  combining  them  into  new  forms 
within  an  inward  world  of  imagination,  full  of  the  most  various  and  ani- 
mated movement,  nor  a  memory  more  accurate  or  more  at  command  (a 
faculty  inseparable  from  the  former),  than  nature  has  granted  me.  Much 
advantage  might  have  been  derived  from  these  gifts  in  childhood;  perhaps, 
in  some  pursuits,  they  might  have  insured  me  every  success ;  nay,  this 
result  would  have  arisen  spontaneously,  bad  I  not  been  subjected  to  a  kind 
of  education,  which  could  only  have  been  useful  to  a  mind  of  precisely  the 
opposite  description. 

Our  great  seclusion  from  the  world,  in  a  quiet  little  provincial  town,  the 
prohibition,  from  our  earliest  years,  to  pass  beyond  the  house  and  garden, 
accustomed  me  to  gather  the  materials  for  the  insatiable  requirements  of 
my  childish  fancy,  not  from  life  and  nature,  but  from  books,  engravings, 
and  conversation.  Thus,  my  imagination  laid  no  hold  on  the  realities 
around  me,  but  absorbed  into  her  dominions  all  that  I  read — and  I  read 
without  limit  and  without  aim — while  the  actual  world  was  impenetrable 
to  my  gaze ;  so  that  I  became  almost  incapable  of  apprehending  any  thing 
which  had  not  already  been  apprehended  by  another — of  forming  a  mental 
picture  of  any  thing  which  had  not  before  been  shaped  into  a  distinct  con- 
ception by  another.  It  is  true  that,  in  this  second-hand  world,  I  was  very 
learned,  and  could  even,  at  a  very  early  age,  pronounce  opinions  like  a 
grown-up  person ;  but  the  truth  in  me  and  around  me  was  vailed  from  my 
eyes — the  genuine  truth  of  objective  reason.  Even  when  I  grew  older,  and 
studied  antiquity  with  intense  interest,  the  chief  use  I  made  of  my  knowl- 
edge, for  a  long  time,  was  to  give  fresh  variety  and  brilliancy  to  my  world 
of  dreams.  From  the  delicacy  of  my  health,  and  my  mother's  anxiety 
about  it,  I  was  so  much  confined  to  the  house  that  I  was  like  a  caged  bird, 
and  .lost  all  natural  spirit  and  liveliness,  and  the  true  life  of  childhood,  the 
observations  and  ideas  of  which  must  form  the  basis  of  those  peculiar  to  a 
more  developed  age,  just  as  the  early  use  of  the  body  is  the  basis  of  its  after 
training.  No  one  ever  thought  of  asking  what  I  was  doing,  and  how  I  did 


246  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

it;  and  it  was  not  until  my  thirteenth  year,  that  I  received  any  regular 
instruction.  My  friends  were  satisfied  with  seeing  that  I  was  diligently 
employed,  and  that,  though  I  had  at  first  no  teaching,  I  was  equal  to  boys 
of  my  age  in  things  for  which  they  had  had  regular  masters,  and  soon  sur- 
passed them  when  I  had  the  same  advantages,  while,  moreover,  I  was  as 
well  acquainted  with  a  thousand  matters,  to  be  learned  from  books,  as  a 
grown-up  man.  Yet,  after  a  time,  I  began  to  grow  uneasy ;  I  became 
aware  that,  notwithstanding  my  empire  in  the  air,  my  life  in  the  actual 
world  was  poor  and  powerless ;  that  the  perception  of  realities  alone  pos- 
sesses truth  and  worth;  that  on  it  are  founded  all  imaginative  productions 
which  have,  any  value  at  all,  and  that  there  is  nothing  truly  worthy  of 
respect  but  that  depth  of  mind  which  makes  a  man  master  of  truth  in  its 
first  principle.  As  soon  as  I  had  to  enter  on  the  sciences,  properly  so 
called,  I  found  myself  in  a  difficulty,  and,  unfortunately,  I  took  once  more 
the  easiest  path,  and  left  on  one  side  whatever  cost  me  some  trouble  to 
acquire.  I  was  often  on  the  verge  of  a  mental  revolution,  but  it  never  actu- 
ually  took  place ;  now  and  then,  indeed,  I  planted  my  foot  on  the  firm 
ground,  and,  when  that  happened,  I  made  some  progress. 

When  I  first  became  acquainted  with  you,  I  was  happy,  and  I  was, 
perhaps,  on  the  way  to  do  what  is  more  difficult  than  to  gain  knowledge 
without  help  from  others,  to  restore  what  was  distorted  in  me  to  its  right 
place.  But  at  a  later  period,  when  I  left  my  quiet  and  healthful  position, 
for  a  superficial  world,  which  held  me  with  a  strong  grasp,  and  confused 
and  deadened  my  mind — where  I  was  dragged  along  a  path  which  I  had 
no  wish  to  tread,  and  which  led  me  further  and  further  from  that  for  which 
I  hopelessly  longed ;  where  I  was  forced  to  endure  applause  and  praise,  at 
a  time  when  my  want  of  knowledge  on  essential  points,  and  the  superfluous 
matter  with  which  I  had  loaded  my  memory  on  others,  my  unsettled,  dis- 
connected ideas  without  true  basis,  my  undisclipined  powers  without  ade- 
quately firm  habits  of  work,  particularly  of  self-improvement,  rendered  me 
a  horror  to  myself — I  was  as  unhappy  as  you  saw  me  to  be. 

However,  my  eyes  were  opened  to  much  that  had  hitherto  escaped  me, 
and  I  was  to  some  degree  forced  into  the  actual  external  world,  by  my 
travels  beyond  the  sea,  and  my  residence  among  a  nation  distinguished  by 
sober  thought  and  resolute  activity,  where  I  was  obliged  to  occupy  myself 
with  the  objects  of  practical  life,  and  saw  this  life  ennobled  by  the  perfec- 
tion to  which  it  was  carried,  and  the  invariable  adaptation  of  the  means  to 
the  end.  I  then  starved  out  the  imaginative  side  of  my  nature,  and  placed 
myself,  as  it  were,  under  a  course  of  mental  diet,  according  to  which  I 
lived  for  a  long  time  in  absolute  dependence  on  the  actual  world  around 
me.  But  this  did  not  bring  me  into  the  right  path  of  my  true  inward  activ- 
ity and  development.  I  felt  that  I  was  now,  on  the  other  hand,  poorer 
than  ever,  as  regarded  what  had  always  possessed  the  strongest  attraction 
for  me,  though  I  seemed  to  be  excluded  from  it  by  an  insurmountable  bar- 
rier. For  years,  I  was  immersed,  as  far  as  my  occupations  were  concerned, 
in  the  most  prosaic  work-a-day  life,  with  the  pain  and  torment  of  feeling 
that  I  grew  more  used  to  it  every  day,  of  feeling  that  I  was  shut  out  of 
Paradise,  but  that  the  bread  I  gained  by  tilling  the  earth  in  the  sweat  of 
my  brow,  was  not  at  all  distasteful  to  me,  nay  that,  perhaps,  if  Paradise 
were  re-opened  to  me,  I  should  still  feel  some  longing  for  the  spade. 

In  this  mood — amid  my  then  habitual  employments — at  a  time  when, 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  247 

as  it  seemed  to  me,  I  never  rose  above  mere  mechanical  work,  and  even  this 
was  but  seldom  of  a  literary  kind — I  was  ashamed  to  appear  before  those 
who  belonged  to  a  higher  sphere.  It  had  formerly  given  me  pain  that  you 
were  too  kind  toward  me — a  pain  arising  from  the  double  consciousness 
that  you  recognized  the  roots,  though  they  had  brought  forth  no  tree,  but 
only  tangled  underwood,  and  were  awaiting  with  friendly  indulgence  the 
growth  of  one  of  these  wild  shoots  into  a  tree ;  and  then  that  yon  attached 
overmuch  value  to  what  was  but  outside  appearance  in  me,  though  an 
appearance  with  which  I  honestly  wished  to  deceive  no  one ;  now,  how- 
ever, I  felt  before  you  and  others  as  Lais  before  her  mirror.  Why  1  felt 
this  most  strongly  of  all  toward  you,  might  be  said  to  any  one  except 
yourself,  not  to  you,  or  you  would  think  I  sought  to  regain  your  favor  by 
flattery.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  I  would  fain  win  it  back  by  soft  words — 
for  soft  words  are  the  language  of  love. 

Singular  circumstances  removed  me  from  Copenhagen  soon  after  you  had 
left  Holstein.  A  protecting  angel  watches  over  me.  Our  first  entrance 
into  this  city  was  simultaneous  with  the  dissolution  of  the  State  to  which 
I  had  gone  over,  and  now,  amidst  distress  and  grief,  I  went  through  scenes 
far  more  remarkable  than  any  in  my  whole  former  life.  My  position  was 
perpetually  fluctuating ;  I  was  forced  to  struggle,  to  act  with  foresight,  to 
be  cool  and  resolute.  It  was  a  great  tragedy,  and  no  longer  the  tedious 
drama  of  my  former  tame  middle-class  life.  I  learnt  to  stake  my  all  at 
every  step  On  a  pin's  head,  and  fortune  was  on  my  side.  The  wreck  on 
which  I  had  pumped  so  long  was  cast  on  shore,  and  behold  !  on  this  shore 
I  found  the  home  of  my  youthful  aspirations,  leisure  that  I  could  devote  to 
research  and  letters,  surrounded  by  highly  favorable  and  very  agreeable 
circumstances. 

Can  you,  and  will  you,  once  more  extend  your  hand  and  your  affections 
to  one  who  has  strayed  so  far  ?  Will  you  not,  at  least,  receive  him  again 
as  the  Prodigal  Son? 

I  certainly  can  not  say  all  I  should  like  to  say  on  the  subject  of  yonr 
work,  as  far  as  I  have  read  and  comprehended  it,  on  half  a  page,  &c. 

Farewell,  dearest  Jacobi !  May  I  see  you  once  more,  and  in  such  a 
manner  that  our  meeting  may  give  you  pleasure,  and  I  may  be  better  able 
than  in  former  days,  to  seize  every  moment  of  the  fleeting  time ! 

FROM  GOETHE  TO  NIEBUHR  ON  RECEIVING  THE  SECOND 
VOLUME  OF  HIS  HISTORY  OF  ROME. 

When  I  received  your  kind  letter  in  Carlsbad,  there  was  nothing  I  wished 
for  more,  than  that  your  second  volume  had  arrived  at  the  same  time  with 
your  letter ;  for  when  there,  I  am  at  liberty  to  devote  several  days  together 
to  one  subject,  and  to  what  subject  could  I  better  devote  them  than  to  your 
work  ?  Now  I  have  been  already  eight  weeks  in  Weimar,  and  spent  three 
in  Jena,  and  have  rarely  been  fortunate  enough  to  keep  my  attention  un- 
interruptedly fixed  on  one  topic  even  for  a  few  consecutive  hours.  At  the 
present  moment,  it  is  only  by  making  a  firm  resolution  and  a  determined 
effort,  that  I  can  accomplish  this  communication  with  you. 

My  interest  in  your  labors  is  undiminished ;  indeed,  it  is  always  on  the 
increase.  Suffer  me  here  to  speak  in  general  terms,  rather  than  in  details ! 
The  Past  can  be  made  present  to  the  inward  eye  and  imagination,  by  con 


248  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

temporaneous  written  monuments,  annals,  chronicles,  documents,  memoirs, 
or  whatever  else  they  may  be  called.  These  place  in  our  hands  an  imme- 
diate portion  of  that  time  itself,  which  gives  us  pleasure  just  as  it  is,  but 
which  we,  for  the  sake  of  others,  or  from  a  hundred  various  impulses  and 
aims,  seek  to  cast  into  a  new  form.  We  do  it,  we  remould  the  given 
materials,  and  how  ?  As  poets,  as  rhetoricians  !  This  has  been  done  from 
the  earliest  times,  and  these  methods  of  treatment  exert  great  influence ; 
they  take  possession  of  the  imagination  and  the  feelings,  they  give  food  to 
the  mind,  strengthen  the  character,  and  arouse  to  action.  It  is  a  second 
world,  which  has  swallowed  up  the  first.  Conceive,  then,  the  feelings  of 
men  when  the  second  world  is  destroyed,  and  the  first  does  not  come  forth 
perfect  to  view ! 

The  critical  science  which  strikes  in  pieces  the  accumulations  of  later 
ages,  and,  where  it  can  not  wholly  restore  the  original  edifice,  at  least  ar- 
ranges the  fragments,  and  affords  glimpses  of  their,  mutual  relations,  is  most 
welcome  to  all  who  would  fain  see  events  once  more  as  the  ancients  saw 
them.  But  ordinary  men  of  the  world  have  no  such  wish,  and  they  are 
right 

Allow  me  here  to  pass  over  a  chasm.  Had  we  lived  together ;  had  I  had 
the  good  fortune  to  have  been  acquainted  years  ago  with  your  investigations, 
I  would  have  advised  you  to  follow  the  example  of  the  noble  and  amiable 
St.  Croix,  and  to  entitle  your  work,  "A  Criticism  of  the  Authors  who  have 
handed  down  the  Roman  History  to  our  times."  But  to  me  the  book  is  the 
book,  and,  as  you  know,  titles  are  a  modern  invention.  Accept,  therefore, 
my  expression  of  the  pleasure  it  has  given  me,  to  find  that  your  opinions 
coincide  with  mine  on  all  essential  points  concerning  the  world  and  its 
races  ;  accept  rny  thanks  for  having  once  more  rendered  the  Roman  history 
a  source  of  enjoyment  to  me,  by  conscientiously  bringing  to  light  its  station- 
ary and  retrograde  periods.  For  what  man  of  sense  will  deny  that  he  has 
often  felt  the  presence  of  some  error  in  his  picture  of  those  times,  when  an 
Iliad  of  such  varied  scenes,  such  an  endless  succession  of  glorious  heroes,  the 
four  thousand  Fabii  included,  achieve  so  little  in  four  hundred  years,  that 
the  city,  the  State,  which  had  just  for  the  first  time,  after  infinite  toil,  got 
rid  of  the  Philistines  of  Veii,  is  destroyed  on  the  Alia  like  any  little  provin- 
cial town,  so  that  they  have  to  begin  again  from  the  beginning  ?  But  when 
the  matter  is  placed  clearly  and  plainly  before  us  from  your  point  of  view, 
this  reflects  no  discredit,  but  rather  honor  upon  that  people.  I  must  pass 
to  another  topic 

You  throw  the  whole  blame  of  the  retrograde  movement  on  the  aristoc- 
racy, you  espouse  the  side  of  the  plebeians  ;  and  this  is  right  and  allowable 
in  an  impartial  investigator,  at  a  period  when  both  have  ceased  to  exist. 
One  more  general  remark,  with  which  I  will  conclude.  Every  state  is  ar- 
istocratic in  its  commencement ;  it  can  only  extend  its  power  by  means  of 
the  masses,  which  are  kept  at  a  distance  and  kept  down,  till  they  obtain 
equal  rights  for  themselves ;  from  this  moment  monarchy  becomes  desirable, 
and  is  infallibly  introduced,  and  then  many  courses — some  of  progress,  some 
of  retrogression — are  open  to  the  community.  For  all  three  states  (state 
is  a  stupid  word,  for  nothing  stands  fixed,  and  all  is  changeful),  all  three 
relations  suffer  from  Change,  which  makes  a  sport  of  what  is  right  and 
great,  even  as  of  what  is  bad  and  mean,  that  all  may  be  fulfilled. 

By  what  I  have  written  'I  look  back  but  for  one  moment),  though  it  may 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  249 

Bound  somewhat  strange,  I  hope  to  convince  you  that  no  one  can  take  a 
deeper  interest  in  yonr  labors  than  I  do,  even  in  their  smallest  details. 
Your  two  volumes — and  the  third,  and  its  successors  when  they  appear — 
will  always  accompany  me  wherever  my  varying  year  may  lead,  and  neither 
you  nor  I  can  foresee  the  whole  extent  of  my  obligations  to  you ;  genuine 
activity  of  mind  is  alone  refreshing.  Mountain  and  valley  never  meet,  but 
wandering  men  may,  and  why  should  not  I  hope  to  fall  in  with  you  some- 
where ?  Let  me  add  to  this  letter,  as  I  should  like  to  do  to  every  one  I 
dend,  the  clau$ula  $alutaris,  may  you  see  in  it  cordiality  and  good  intentions, 
if  not  insight  and  adequate  comprehension  ! 

With  best  wishes,  GOETHE. 

JENA,  23d  November,  1812. 

CLV. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

BERLI*,  ll//i  December,  1812. 

I  willingly  recognize  Herder's  great  qualities,  and  they  reappeared  in  all 
their  rigor  as  he  lay  upon  his  death-bed.  During  the  latter  half  of  his  life 
they  had  been  obscured.  Thin  idea  has  been  expressed  on  one  occasion 
lately,  in  a  very  striking  manner,  but  we  must  look  deeper  for  its  cause. 
Herder  was  no  longer  the  same  man  when  he  ceased  to  be  religious.  (That 
was  the  case  before  he  published  his  book  on  the  "  Spirit  of  Hebrew  Poetry ;" 
but  the  most  beautiful  portions  of  this  work  had  been  written  at  an  earlier 
period).  A  discord  then  arose  in  his  mind  which  tortured  him  as  long  as 
Hamann  lived,  and  ended,  after  the  death  of  the  latter,  in  his  making  poetic- 
religious  quibbles ;  for  the  "  Discourse  on  Immortality,"  the  "  Essay  on  St. 
John,"  Sec.,  are  nothing  more.  He  still  desired  to  maintain  a  harmony 
with  his  earlier  tone  of  expression,  and  yet  ho  was  animated  by  a  different 
spirit.  He  was  proud,  and  loved  power.  See  how  he  treated  the  elder 
Spalding  even  in  early  life.  And  his  after  conduct  toward  Spalding,  the 
way  in  which  he  contrived  to  get  his  own  letters  back  from  hhn,  was  abso- 
lutely dishonest.  To  place  himself  even  on  a  level  with  Goethe,  without 
presumption,  he  ought  to  have  had  clearness  of  intellect ;  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, he  is  only  effective,  and  able  to  produce  a  really  deep  impression, 
where  he  speaks  vaguely  and  suggestively,  and  excites  emotion ;  as  a  phi- 
losopher he  is  commonplace.  In  his  later  writings,  there  is  much  that  is 
quite  intolerable,  and  the  more  so  because  you  here  and  there  recognize  in 
their  pages,  the  distorted  lineaments  of  his  youthful  beauty.  Nothing  but 
the  memory  of  his  early  greatness,  and  Goethe's  own  kindly  heart,  could 
have  made  the  latter  so  gentle  and  forbearing  toward  Herder,  HS  he  remained 
for  many  years.  Herder  hated  Kant  for  having  reviewed  his  "  Ideen."  He 
wanted  to  press  Goethe,  among  others,  into  the  service  of  his  philosophical 
crusade  against  Kant,  with  whose  writings  Goethe  was  probably  only  par- 
tially acquainted,  and  in  which  he  found  much  that  was  uncongenial  to  his 
nature,  though  he  recognized  in  them  the  greatness  of  their  author.  Tou 
say,  Goethe  would  not  have  printed  this,  had  Herder  er  his  wife  been  still 
living.  Certainly  not ;  but  it  would  have  been  because  his  whole  book  is 
written  in  such  a  mild  and  gentle  spirit,  and  because  he  would  not  have 
chosen  to  hurt  the  feelings  of  a  noble-minded  woman,  or  a  really  extraordi- 
nary man ;  which  Herder  certainly  was,  though  he  was  much  less  in  mature 


250  MEMOIR  OF  NEEBUHR. 

years  than,  J  will  not  say,  he  promised  to  be,  but  actually  was,  in  his 

youth 

Epidemic  typhus  is  raging  in  Konigsberg ;  six  physicians  have  died  of 
it  already.  The  hospitals  can  no  longer  contain  the  sick  and  wounded, 
and  it  is  necessary  to  quarter  them  in  private  houses.  Heaven  knows 
whether  they  will  be  able  to  manage  in  any  other  way  here,  if  the  army 
should  encamp  on  the  Vistula.  Else  we  have  been  remarkably  fortunate 
hitherto.  When  the  town  is  fully  garrisoned,  I  have  to  maintain  an  officer 
and  three  privates  ;  but  we  are  frequently  without  these  guests 

CLVL 

TO  PERTHES. 

December,  1812. 

We  are  reading  the  "Nibelungen  Lied"  with  Nicolovius,  who  is  at- 
tending Zeuner's  lectures  upon  it ;  his  delight  in  the  poem  gives  me  a  per- 
mission to  indulge  mine,  undisturbed  by  the  sneers  which  it  has  been  the 
fashion  to  bestow  on  it  among  the  beaux  esprits,  ever  since  the  golden  age 
of  1780.  We  are  building  castles  in  the  air  about  making  the  study  of 
the  old  German  language  an  essential  part  of  philology,  and  of  all  scholastic 
education ;  about  school  editions  of  Ulphilas,  King  Alfred,  Ottfried,  &c., 
school  dictionaries,  and  exercises  in  old  Prankish,  Anglo-Saxon,  and  Gothic; 
and  then,  of  course,  we  must  have  a  professorship  established  for  these 
languages  at  the  University,  to  which  I  should  like  to  see  the  inseparable 
brothers  Grimm  appointed.  Have  you  yet  got  the  Hildebrand  and  Hathu- 
brand  ?*  In  them  I  find  the  other  end  of  the  fallen-in  gallery,  the  oppo- 
site end  of  which  I  have  discovered  in  antiquity,  and  from  which  I  shall 
begin  to  clear  out  the  rubbish  in  my  third  volume. 

I  sympathize  in  the  pleasure  you  have  received  from  Goethe's  second 
volume,  dear  Perthes;  I  have  just  received  another  very  friendly  letter 
from  him,  which  attracts  me  toward  him  more  than  ever.  But  yet  I  can 
not  help  feeling  that  I  would  much  rather  see  him  a  downright  heathen 
poet,  than  in  this  priestly  vesture  (in  the  objectionable  passage)  which  he 
does  not  know  how  to  wear.  1  stand  to  my  opinion,  and  appeal  again  to 
the  similar  feeling  it  excited  in  N  *  *  *,  that  Goethe  confounds  sacraments 
with  ceremonies,  and  has  no  proper  idea  of  a  sacrament  at  all,  for  which 
certainly  no  other  reason  can  be  given  than  that  which  Claudius  assumes, 
and  has  given.  Now  it  is  positively  painful  to  me,  that  a  confused  use 
of  terms  should  be  favored  in  this  way,  and  that  the  empty  praters,  of 
whom  there  are  so  many,  should  be  encouraged  to  pretend  that  they  re- 
gard every  ceremony  to  which  they  happen  to  take  a  fancy,  as  a  sacra- 
ment, because  they  have  the  highest  authority  on  their  side.  You  are 
very  likely  already  aware  that  Neander  is  invited  to  come  to  our  university. 
As  to  Julian,  1  believe  that  he  was  animated  partly  by  a  just  hatred 
against  Constantino,  partly  by  indignation  at  the  meanness  of  the  priests ; 
and  partly,  that  his  highly  poetical  and  princely  mind  rendered  him  ad- 
verse to  the  new  religion.  He  looked  on  the  hierarchy  only  as  a  means  to 
his  end.  He  must  have  been  unacquainted  with  antiquity  to  be  able  to 
submit  himself  at  any  time  to  the  new  order  of  things 

An  epic  poem,  writtea  in  the  eighth  or  ninth  century,  of  uncertain  author- 
ship. 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  251 

CLV11. 

TO  MADAM  HENSLEtt. 

BERLIN,  9tk  January,  1813. 

According  to  all  appearances,  our  whole  position  is  now  very  critical; 
and  if  we  had  been  plunged  suddenly  from  the  unbroken  peace  in  which 
we  lived  years  ago,  into  our  present  circumstances,  we  should,  perhaps, 
have  found  it  difficult  to  maintain  our  cheerfulness  and  composure.  The 
gentle  education  of  fate  gradually  accustoms  the  unarmed  citizen,  as  well 
as  the  soldier,  to  danger,  and  begets  a  happy  fatalistic  levity,  a  trust  that 
the  evil  times  will  not  be  quite  unbearable,  and  perhaps  the  cloud  will 
pass  over  our  heads  without  breaking.  We  hear  nothing  like  rumors  of 
peace.  A  circumstance  that  will  increase  the  general  misery  is,  that  the 
murrain  among  the  cattle  is  now  prevailing  in  all  parts  of  Poland,  and  has 
shown  itself  in  West  Prussia  and  elsewhere  on  our  borders.  To  keep  it 
out,  by  laying  an  embargo,  is,  under  present  circumstances,  as  good  as 
impossible,  as  there  is  nothing  like  a  police  force  in  any  part  of  the  coun- 
try. In  Konigsberg  the  deaths  arc  over  a  hundred  a  week,  mostly  of 
typhus  fever ;  the  usual  average  is  thirty-five.  Dumas  was  in  Elbing  a 
short  time  since,  and  has  nearly  recovered  from  the  fever ;  but  I  hear  ho 
complains  that  his  memory  is  much  affected  by  it.  However,  he  will 
most  likely  resume  his  functions.  We  are  expecting  Grenier's  division 
here  next  week,  which  will  necessitate  the  quartering  of  a  great  number  of 
troops  upon  the  inhabitants,  probably  for  a  considerable  time,  even  if  an 
army  should  be  collected  on  the  banks  of  the  Oder. 

1  was  interrupted  while  writing  the  above,  by  the  intelligence,  that  so 
far  from  the  Russians  having  entered  Konigsberg  peacefully,  the  above- 
named  division  had  arrived  there  on  the  third,  and  when  our  informant  left, 
a  battle  was  being  fought  before  the  gates  of  the  city,  which  is  probably, 
by  this  time,  suffering  all  the  horrors  of  war. 

Milly  has  a  return  of  her  bad  cough,  which  has  been  much  less  trouble- 
some ;  it  makes  me  very  uneasy.  I  am  perfectly  well,  but  do  not  get 
much  work  done.  I  can  not  keep  my  thoughts  from  wandering  at  such 
a  time.  I  shall  not  be  able  to  finith  off  any  thing  at  present,  but  I  must 
endeavor  to  turn  the  time  to  some  account,  by  collecting  materials  and 
performing  preliminary  tasks. 

I  am  quite  of  your  opinion  that  an  active  life  of  short  duration,  is  far 
preferable  to  a  lengthened  one  passed  more  languidly 

CLVIIL 

BERLIN,  22d  'January,  1813. 

I  could  only  give  hints  about  the  destruction  of  the  great  army  when  I 
wrote  to  you,  not  describe  it  in  its  full  magnitude,  as  we  knew  it  already. 
Of  400,000  men,  exclusive  of  the  Austrians,  Saxons,  and  the  corps  of 
Macdonald  (which  was  composed  of  Prussians  and  Grandjean's  division), 
who  marched  into  Russia,  there  have  not  been  collected  at  the  Vistula, 
from  all  quarters,  10,000  men  sound  and  able  to  bear  arms. 

Our  position  is  critical,  and  was  for  some  days  perilous.  The  people 
are  in  a  most  excited  state  ;  I  can  not  say  that  this  first  showed  itself  since 
the  destruction  of  the  army,  for  it  appeared  several  times  very  plainly, 


252  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

KO  early  as  the  summer  ;  you  will  understand  that  I  could  not  refer  to  it  in 
my  letters.  On  the  Emperor's  birthday  there  was  quite  a  tumultuous  out- 
break. Of  course,  during  the  last  few  months,  it  has  been  impossible  for 
such  expressions  of  feeling  to  take  place ;  but  there  have  been  daily  affrays. 
The  people  could  not  be  made  to  refrain  from  ridiculing  and  insulting  the 
French,  although  the  city  was  so  strongly  garrisoned. 

We  have  received  a  promise  that  2000  of  our  own  troops  shall  march 
in  on  Tuesday.  If  so,  we  are  safe,  and  can  await  in  peace  the  issue  of 
affairs.  The  Russians  may  arrive  here  in  a  fortnight.  Their  behavior 
throughout  the  country  is  exemplary.  It  seems  as  if  their  great  deeds  and 
«reat  sacrifices  had  ennobled  the  whole  nation.  The  peasants  are  hasten- 
ing to  remove  their  more  valuable  property  from  the  country  into  the  city ; 
some,  perhaps,  for  fear  of  the  Cossacks  (who  often,  however,  pay  ready 
money),  but  most,  because  they  hear  that  the  French  are  laying  waste  all 
the  plains  with  fire. 

For  the  last  two  days,  the  fugitives  from  the  Vistula  have  been  coming 
in;  a  spectacle  that  I  can  not  describe.  This  is  by  far  the  most  memora- 
ble epoch  of  my  life ;  no  danger,  no  difficulties  it  may  involve,  could  make 
me  wish  it  erased.  These  things  ought  to  be  witnessed  close  at  hand. 
And  courage  comes,  one  knows  not  how. 

Since  the  return  of  the  Emperor  from  Moscow,  the  universal  cry  has  been, 
let  us  free  ourselves  !  The  Court  has  not  been  able  to  decide  upon  any 
sudden  step,  but  has  been  negotiating  with  Austria,  with  whom  we  are  to 
maintain  a  close  alliance.  Whether  this  will  be  possible,  when  the  Rus- 
sians are  in  the  country,  and  find  themselves  supported  by  public  opinion, 
the  event  will  show.  There  is  a  considerable  force  collected  in  Silesia : 
what  may  be  expected  of  a  Prussian  army  in  the  cause  of  France,  has  been 
shown  by  the  corps  of  General  York,  whose  example  is  decisive  on  that 
point.*  A  corps  under  General  Billow,  consisting  of  trained  soldiers  dis- 
banded in  winter,  is  stationed  on  the  marsh  near  the  Oder.  The  decision 
of  our  fate,  in  all  respects,  is  now  closely  impending.  I  have  so  completely 
dissolved  all  connection  with  the  government,  that  there  is,  perhaps,  only 
a  single  man  in  it  who  could  dream  of  intrusting  any  office  to  me.  I  do 
not  like  to  be  useless,  but  our  administration  is  not  such  as  I  could  work 
with.  On  the  contrary,  I  feel  more  inclined  to  connect  myself  with  the 
military  service.  I  have  made  the  only  step  in  my  power  toward  this,  by 
applying  for  an  appointment  on  the  general  staff.  I  will  write  to  you 
again  on  Tuesday ;  but  it  will  be  by  post,  so  you  will  have  to  draw  in- 
ferences from  hints.  Our  correspondence  will  be  unavoidably  interrupted 
by  the  entrance  of  the  Russians,  Heaven  grant  not  for  long.  It  is  worth 
while  to  live  through  such  a  period,  but  one  can  not  yet  breathe  quite 
freely. 

*  The  Prussian  contingent,  under  General  York,  bad  been  cut  off  from  the 
army  of  Macdonald,  by  General  Diebitscb,  on  which  York  concluded  a  separate 
convention  with  the  latter  for  the  safety  of  his  troops,  by  which  his  corps, 
amounting  to  15,000  men,  were  to  remain  neutral  for  two  months.  The  King 
at  first  disavowed  this  convention,  and  conferred  the  command  on  General  Kleist, 
but  York  refused  to  acknowledge  the  proclamation  to  this  effect,  which  appeared 
in  the  Gazette,  till  he  was  formally  saperseded  by  the  arrival  of  his  successor, 
and  meanwhile,  affairs  advanced  so  rapidly  as  to  change  the  whole  policy  of 
Prussia. 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  253 

CLIX. 

i"*>i  A '.';-  i  •  •      < 

29*A  January,  1813. 

It  was  a  false  report  that  the  French  troops  were  going  to  occupy 

the  fortresses  on  the  Oder,  and  that  wo  should  have  the  comfort  of  a  Prus- 
sian garrison.  We  have  still  an  extremely  strong  French  one ;  also  many 
sick  and  wounded  in  the  city ;  a  post-office  is  established  in  our  house. 

Dumas  was  expected  here  to-day.  The  French  say  that  he  will  not 
remain  here,  but  go  to  Mayence,  where  the  head-quarters  are  to  be  fixed 
for  the  present 

CLX. 

BERLIN,  13th  February,  1813. 

The  crowd  of  volunteers,  coming  to  enlist,  is  as  great  to-day  in 

front  of  the  Town  Hall,  as  it  is  before  a  baker's  shop  in  famine.  But  to 
give  you  an  idea  of  the  zeal,  with  which  every  body  here  is  pressing  for- 
ward to  inscribe  their  names  in  the  volunteer  rifle  detachment,  I  must  tell 
you  this.  It  is  only  three  days  since  the  formation  of  this  corps  was  an-- 
nounced,  and  to-day  the  post  *  is  going  out  with  nine  extra  carriages  full 
of  the  recruits,  besides  those  who  go  on  foot,  or  by  other  conveyances. 
This  is  naturally,  too,  only  a  very  small  part  of  those  who  have  enlisted, 
for  the  greater  part  have  business  to  settle  and  equipments  to  provide,  be- 
fore they  can  leave.  Among  the  volunteers  are  young  men  of  all  classes, 
students  from  the  university  and  public  schools ;  clerks  from  warehouses, 
apothecaries,  journeymen  from  all  the  trades,  middle-aged  officers  of  rank 
and  standing,  fathers  of  families,  &c.,  &c. 

CLX1. 

TO  PERTHES. 

February,  1813. 

It  has  juflt  occurred  to  me  that  I  have  never  thanked  you  for  your  copy 
of  Neander's  "Julian."  You  have  not  praised  it  too  highly  beforehand. 
The  subject  is  such  that  the  author  must  either  become  a  favorite  with  his 
reader,  or  make  himself  positively  disagreeable  to  him.  With  me  he  has 
become  a  great  favorite.  I  think  his  views  clear,  correct,  and  candid ;  the 
whole  book  is  written  in  a  deeply  truthful  spirit,  which  is  truly  refreshing 
to  me,  because  it  is  so  rare  in  these  days ;  •  and  I  rejoice  in  the  love  which 
the  upright  and  pious  historian  bears  to  the  noble-hearted  man,  who  was 
only  outwardly  in  error.  For  this,  however,  he  has  been  punished  by  the 
anathemas  of  the  stupid  zealots,  and,  as  if  this  thirteen  hundred  and  fifty 
years  of  purgatory  were  not  enough,  by  the  mingled  delight  and  contempt, 
with  which  he  was  regarded  by  the  "  philosopher  du  18me  siecle."  It  is 
to  be  hoped,  that  Neander  has  now  accomplished  his  salvation,  and  that 
he  will  become  as  great  a  favorite  with  really  pious  people,  as  he  must 
have  been  with  your  father-in-law. t  when  he  published  the  Hymn  to  the 
Sun,  with  annotations.  Nicolovius  hau  likewise  read  the  book,  and  ap- 
proves it  highly.  We  both  wish  to  have  Neander  here  as  theological  pro- 
fessor. Probably,  some  tune  will  elapse,  before  you  will  have  the  pleasure 

*  Tbe  diligences  in  Prussia  are  a  government  undertaking,  and  always  termed 
"  post,"  as  well  as  the  carriages,  answering  to  our  postchaiies,  which  are  termed 
"extra-post."  t  Claudius. 


254  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTJHR. 

•we  are  now  enjoying,  for  Goethe's  second  volume  has  reached  us.  While 
it  is  throughout  as  masterly  a  performance  as  the  first,  it  is  perhaps  less 
pleasing ;  for  his  loves  are  certainly  no  Gretchens ;  his  college  life  not  his 
childhood ;  and  literature  a  much  less  entertaining  subject  than  the  old 
imperial  city.  It  vexes  me,  too,  to  read  what  is  a  godsend  to  the  promoters 
of  abuses,  and  can  not  be  sincere  in  Goethe's  mouth,  namely,  his  defense 
of  the  Catholic  sacraments.  I  well  know  what  may  be  said  in  their  favor, 
but  that  Goethe  plainly  never  thought  of  saying,  and  his  representations 
must  be  offensive  to  both  parties.  His  account  of  the  development  of  his 
own  mind,  which  is  evidently  quite  trustworthy,  is  inexpressibly  striking, 
so  completely  irrespective  of  all  the  influences  of  ancient  literature,  and  yet 
so  entirely  after  the  manner  of  the  ancients,  by  nourishment  of  the  most 
various  kinds  drawn  directly  from  the  present  realities  of  life,  combined 
with  the  restless,  ever  brightly  burning  fire  in  his  own  bosom.  Goethe 
has  sent  me  a  very  friendly  message  by  a  traveler,  saying  he  wishes  much 
to  see  me,  which  I  shall  therefore  make  arrangements  to  bring  about  next 
year,  if  God  will. 

CLXII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

BERT.IN,  6th  March,  1813. 

It  is  a  pity  that  I  have  only  time  for  a  few  lines  to  you  to-day;  in  such 
haste  I  can  not  conclude  nor  fill  up  the  details  of  Milly's  account ;  *  so  you 
must  be  satisfied  with  fragments.  The  day  before  yesterday,  both  Berlin 
and  Frankfort  on  the  Oder  were  evacuated  by  the  French ;  they  are  slowly 
retreating  hence  in  the  direction  of  Wittenberg.  Our  festival,  the  day  be- 
fore yesterday,  was  overclouded  by  the  burning  of  the  suburbs  of  Spandau, 
and  they  have  likewise  laid  the  suburbs  of  Kiistrin  in  ashes.  We  shall 
soon  see  whether  they  mean  to  hold  Glogau  and  Stettin.  These  towns 
are,  like  Spandau,  easy  to  take ;  but  it  is  different  with  Kiistrin,  which 
can  only  be  dismantled.  Winzingerode's  corps  is  pressing  forward  through 
Lusatia.  The  light  troops  are  probably  already  in  Dresden.  The  electorate 
of  Saxony  may  become  the  scene  of  important  events  in  this  war.  The 
Cossacks  say  they  are  going  to  Paris ;  they  have  a  most  original  appear- 
ance ;  they  bivouac  with  their  horses  in  the  city ;  about  four  in  the  morn- 
ing they  knock  at  the  doors  and  ask  for  breakfast.  This  is  a  famous  time 
for  the  children,  for  they  set  them  on  their  horses  and  play  with  them. 
Some  Calmuck  and  Baschkir  troops  have  also  been  here,  but  few  of  them 
have  remained  in  the  town.  Even  the  Cossacks  point  to  the  latter,  as  to 
a  kind  of  extraordinary  animal. 

You  can  not  picture  to  yourself  the  joy  of  the  whole  city  on  their  en- 
trance, and  they  are  welcomed  in  the  same  way  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 
Russia  and  Prussia  are  like  brothers  together.  I  do  not  yet  know  what 
my  work  will  be.  To  sit  idle  here  is  what  I  can  not  endure.  My  health 
will  hardly  allow  me  to  serve  as  a  volunteer.  I  have  sent  an  urgent  en- 
treaty to  one  of  the  generals,  who  is  a  friend  of  mine,  to  take  me  as  his 
secretary  in  the  general  staff ;  but  he  is  trying  to  get  me  a  higher  appoint- 
ment. Milly,  my  anxious,  tender  Milly.  is  satisfied  whatever  be  my  fate. 
Farewell !  Our  hearts  are  with  you,  whatever  befall. 

*  Of  the  retreat  of  the  French,  the  entrance  of  the  Russians,  and  the  universal 
rejoicings. 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  255 

CLXI1I. 

BxRLiir,  Wd,  evening. 

I  come  from  an  employment  in  which  you  will  hardly  be  able 

to  fancy  me  engaged — namely,  exercising.  Even  before  the  departure  of 
the  French,  I  began  to  go  through  the  exercise  in  private,  but  a  man  can 
scarcely  acquire  it  without  companions;  Since  the  French  left,  a  party  of 
about  twenty  of  us  have  been  exercising  in  the  garden,  and  we  have  al- 
ready got  over  the  most  difficult  part  of  the  training.  When  my  lectures 
are  concluded,  which  they  will  be  at  the  beginning  of  next  week,  I  shall 
try  to  exercise  with  regular  recruits  during  the  morning,  and  as  often  as 
possible  practice  shooting  at  a  mark.  At  such  a  time,  it  is  worth  a  great 
deal  to  be  regularly  trained  to  arms,  and  it  may  become  a  matter  of  ab- 
solute necessity ;  for  we  are  daily  expecting  the  publication  of  a  law  on 
the  Landwehr.  It  is  not  yet  known  whether  it  is  the  intention  of  the 
government  merely  to  have  a  Landwehr  formed,  so  that  it  may  be  called 
out  eventually  and  joined  to  the  army,  in  case  the  enemy  should  recover 
ground  again,  or  whether  it  is  intended  to  fill  up  and  strengthen  the  reg- 
ular army  with  this  levy  as  soon  as  it  is  trained.  The  latter  course  ap- 
pears to  me  by  far  the  best ;  if  the  French  beat  us  in  the  revolutionary 
war  by  means  of  masses,  we  must  beat  them  now  by  the  combined  force 
of  masses,  and  a  regular  army,  which  they  did  not  then  possess.  It  seems 
settled  that,  as  a  preliminary  step,  the  fortieth  of  the  whole  population 
are  to  be  drawn  by  lot  for  the  militia.  Those  only  who  can  prove  physical 
incapacity  are  exempt,  together  with  clergymen  and  teachers ;  all  other 
men,  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five,  must  draw  lots.  From 
the  provisional  decree,  it  seems  probable  that  officials  in  actual  service 
will  be  allowed  to  find  substitutes.  But  as  I  am  not  really  an  acting 
official,  I  should  certainly  be  liable  to  serve ;  and  this  being  the  case,  it 
seems  to  be  the  more  right  and  becoming  course  to  come  forward  volun- 
tarily, that  is,  to  join  some  of  my  friends,  before  the  lottery  begins,  in  set- 
ting the  citizens  the  example  of  willing  self-devotion.  By  the  end  of  a 
month,  I  hope  to  be  as  well  drilled  as  any  recruit  who  is  considered  to 
have  finished  his  training.  The  heavy  musket  gave  me  so  much  trouble 
at  first,  that  I  almost  despaired  of  being  able  to  handle  it;  but  we  are 
able  to  recover  the  powers  again  that  we  have  only  lost  for  want  of  prac- 
tice. I  am  happy  to  say  that  my  hands  are  growing  horny ;  for  as  long 
as  they  had  a  delicate,  book-worm's  skin,  the  musket  cut  into  them  terribly. 

This  is  certainly  a  very  serious  step,  if  the  government  are  as  much  in 
earnest  as  they  ought  to  be,  and  since  all  military  ordinances  proceed  from 
General  Scharnhorst,  we  may  hope  that  all  is  really  being  done  that  ought 
to  be  done,  and  that  the  course  chosen  is  the  best.  But  unless  the  deliv- 
erance offered  to  us  by  the  manifest  and  wonderful  providence  of  God — 
after  he  has  chastened  us  sufficiently  for  our  deeply-rooted  sins — find  each 
of  us  ready  to  devote  his  life  to  its  attainment,  we  can  not  be  saved.  We 
must  not  expect  the  army  to  conquer  our  freedom  for  us ;  we  must  conquei 
it  for  ourselves,  under  the  guidance  of  our  older  and  more  practiced  breth- 
ren. I  mentioned  to  you,  a  short  time  since,  my  hopes  of  getting  a  sec- 
retaryship on  the  general  staff.  With  my  small  measure  of  physical 
power,  I  should  have  been  a  thousand  times  more  useful  in  that  office, 
than  as  a  private  soldier.  Since  all  correspondence,  even  in  our  own  coun- 
try, is  so  fettered,  I  can  not  quite  understand  what  should  hinder  my  friend 


256  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

from  granting  my  request,  unless  it  be  a  false  delicacy  about  placing  me 
in  such  a  position  to  himself.  Perhaps,  however,  it  may  seem  odd  to  the 
King,  whose  consent  is  indispensable  to  my  appointment.  The  friend  1 
have  referred  to,  would  like  me  to  enter  the  ministry,  but  that  is  more  im- 
possible than  ever.  Perhaps  something  unexpected  may  turn  up  yet.  Idle, 
or  busy  about  any  thing  but  our  liberation,  I  con  not  be  now.  Perhaps  I 
could  aid  it  by  editing  a  newspaper. 

Not  every  action,  professing  to  be  dictated  by  patriotism  and  enthusiasm 
for  freedom  is  pure ;  but  none  can  doubt  that  there  are  great  sacrifices 
made  from  the  highest  motives.  Thus,  for  instance,  a  M.  Von  St.  (an 
officer)  has  made  a  present  of  the  whole  revenue  of  his  estates  to  the  gov- 
ernment, about  3000  thalers ;  another  gives  five  good  working  horses,  all 
taken  from  his  farm,  to  be  trained  as  cavalry  horses,  300  measures  of  com, 
maintains  a  number  of  baggage-horses,  and  comes  forward  himself,  with 
two  of  his  servants,  all  mounted,  to  join  a  troop ;  a  Mr.  Von  B.  (formerly 
an  officer)  offers  himself,  with  seven  or  more  men,  all  mounted  and  armed 
at  his  expense,  to  serve  as  privates  in  a  cavalry  regiment ;  a  banker  here 
has  equipped  and  horsed,  one  after  another,  twenty  volunteers  ;  a  brass- 
founder  lias  enlisted  with  all  his  apprentices  and  journeymen,  and  shut  up 
his  shop.  In  Berlin  alone,  I  hear  that  11,000  volunteers  have  inscribed 
their  names.  It  is  so  universal  to  go  with  joy  that  no  one  can  make  a 
boast  of  it ;  to  betray  the  contrary  feeling  would  bring  disgrace.  When 
the  King  wanted  to  leave  Potsdam,  a  levy  of  horses  was  required  ;  though 
the  French  were  masters  of  the  country,  every  horse  was  offered  without 
exception.  In  the  same  way  the  so-called  cocked-hats  (trained  soldiers, 
some  of  whom  are  on  furlough,  and  the  rest  disbanded  in  ordinary  times), 
came  forward  every  where  voluntarily ;  they  were  collected  under  the  very 
eyes  of  the  French,  and  sent  off  to  Silesia.  They  only  asked  eagerly, 
whether  it  was  certain  they  were  to  be  led  against  the  French,  and  the 
officers  mdared  not  assure  them  of  it,  except  by  hints.  That  these  armings, 
and  the  raising  and  marching  of  the  volunteers,  should  take  place  while 
the  French  army  was  actually  occupying  the  country,  is  a  most  singular 
and  notable  circumstance.  When  the  cockade  was  assumed  here,  the 
French  unquestionably  expected  an  insurrection.  It  shows  the  extent  of 
their  fear,  that  they  never  ventured  to  arrest  any  one ;  for  uninterrupted 
communications  were  carried  on  with  the  Russian  troops,  and  this  was 
known  to  so  many,  that  the  French  had,  no  doubt,  full  intelligence  of  it. 
In  case  of  any  emergency,  I  kept  a  pair  of  pistols  and  a  musket  loaded  in 
my  room.  Such  times  form  an  admirable  education. 

I  have  been  with  some  of  my  friends  to  pay  my  respects  to  General 
York.  We  owe  every  thing  to  him;  for,  had  he  not  decided  as  he  did,  the 
Russians  could  not  have  advanced  till  they  had  received  large  reinforce- 
ments, and  by  that  time  our  own  country  would  have  been  laid  waste. 
York  is  certainly  an  excellent  General ;  he  inspires  absolute  confidence. 
The  gratitude,  with  which  he  had  been  received,  had  dispelled  his  almost 
melancholy  gravity,  and  he  was  very  affable.  He  said  he  should  not  have 
fully  justified  the  affection  expressed  toward  him  till  he  had  reached  the 
Rhine ;  but  he  knew  what  he  had  done,  and  how  different  would  be  the 
position  of  affairs,  if  he  had  not  chosen  the  Right  at  the  right  moment. 

You  will  feel  it  quite  natural  that  this  long  letter  only  speaks  of  that 
which  fills  our  souls  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  topics. 


PROFESSORSHIP  IN  BERLIN.  257 

What  Dutch  and  German  troops  are  still  with  the  French,  will  no  doubt 
gradually  come  over;  occurrences  of  this  kind  are  happening  daily.  Yes- 
terday, one  hundred  and  fifty  Westphalians,  who  had  deserted  from  Magde- 
burg, entered  our  gates  with  their  trumpeter  at  their  head,  escorted  by 
Cossacks.  I  have  seen  General  Dornberg.  He  has  very  pleasing  manners. 

CLXIV. 

TO  PERTHES. 

March,  1813. 

I  can  quite  understand,  dear  Perthes,  your  having  no  leisure  to  write 
to  me,  for  we  hear  that  the  universal  joy  at  our  liberation,  has  been  even 
more  tumultuously  expressed  in  Hamburgh  than  with  us,  and,  in  the  first 
transports  of  rejoicing,  one  can  hardly  write  a  letter.  But,  when  joy  has 
survived  transport — when,  blended  with  the  contemplation  of  those  great 
aims,  to  which  all  who  break  their  fetters  have  pledged  their  lives,  it  stim- 
ulates all  the  energies  of  your  soul — then  I  am  sure  you  will  remember 
your  friend  also,  and  anticipate  his  desire  to  hear  from  you. 

Our  journal  of  to-day  is  rich  in  news  :  hasten  to  read  it ;  it  will  tell  you 
every  thing.  Who  could  have  dreamt  that  such  days  were  in  store  for  us, 
as  we  have  lived  through  during  the  last  few  months— you,  within  the 
last  month  ?  Only  let  us  now  preach  to  every  one— we  have  no  need  to 
recall  it  to  ourselves — that  an  inactive  joy  were  as  despicable  as  it  were 
ruinous.  Neither  will  you,  I  am  sure,  yield  to  fear,  because  the  path  to 
the  mountain-summit  of  freedom  winds  up  by  the  edge  of  a  precipice.  We 
must  tread  it  cautiously,  with  our  eyes  open ;  not  gazing  too  frequently 
into  the  depths  beneath,  but  ever  looking  upward,  yet  not  unmindful  where 
we  plant  our  steps.  Our  deliverance  can  not  remain  an  incomplete  work ; 
it  can  not  go  back,  if  we,  in  any  measure,  do  that  to  which  we  are  sum- 
moned by  every  motive 

1  am  going  to  edit  a  weekly  political  newspaper  here ;  you  shall  have 
the  prospectus  of  it  very  shortly.  You  will  also  receive  a  few  thousand 
copies  of  Arndt's  classical  pamphlet  on  "  Landwehr  and  Landsturm."  I 
•hall  write  you  further  particulars  about  it  soon  ;  it  is  to  be  distributed 
gratis  from  house  to  house ;  your  senate  must  take  this  in  charge,  and 
have  a  new  impression  of  it  struck  off  for  distribution.  You  must  also 
get  it  translated  into  Dutch;  for  we  shall  soon  be  able  to  send  it  into  East 
Friesland  and  farther.  No  house  must  be  without  a  copy  of  this  paper. 
To  writing,  and  to  serving  as  a  common  soldier,  am  I  restricted  at  tuck  a 
time  !  Fate  has  so  ordained  it. 

The  excellent  "Word  of  Command"  is  said  to  be  by  our  King  himself; 
and  it  bears  the  impress  of  his  fine  and  unsullied  character.  The  personal 
qualities  of  our  King  are  a  consolation  for  much  besides ;  I  hope  that  for- 
eigners may  learn  to  appreciate  him  also.  You  are  taking  the  best  course 
in  allying  yourselves  with  Prussia.  Farewell,  dear  friend,  and  love  me. 

CLXV. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

BEHLIN,  9tk  Apnl,  1813. 
Milly  has  already  told  you  every  thing.     Her  calm  acquiescence  in  ray 


258  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

decision  is  touching.     You  know  how  anxious  she  always  is  on  my  account, 
but  here  the  strength  of  her  mind  is  evinced. 

The  expression  of  your  love  is  a  comfort  to  me ;  but  do  not  give  way 
to  sadness  ;  all  is  well,  and  will  be  well.  It  is  my  fixed  determination  to 
take  part  in  the  crusade;  and  if,  in  a  matter  of  such  moment,  it  is  a  re- 
lief when  the  decision  must  be  partly  left  to  fate,  I  have  this  consolation 
also  ;  for  it  is  necessary  to  obtain  the  King's  permission.  If,  in  my  case, 
he  annuls  the  unbecoming  distinction  made  in  favor  of  landowners  and 
officials,  I  shall  have  a  very  simple  duty  to  fulfill.  Do  not  fear  for  my 
strength ;  it  will  hold  out.  If  the  King  refuse  his  consent,  I  shall  take  it 
as  a  dispensation  of  Providence,  and  I  shall  have  satisfied  my  sense  of 
duty,  and  saved  my  honor  in  the  eyes  of  my  conscience.  I  certainly  be- 
lieve that  I  can  do  as  much  good  with  my  newspaper  as  with  my  musket, 
but  on  this  point  no  one  has  a  right  to  judge  for  himself;  our  course  is 
simply  to  take  up  arms,  without  caviling  as  to  the  usefulness  of  the  post 
assigned  us.  And  therefore  it  is  my  earnest  wish,  to  enter  as  a  musketeer 
into  one  of  our  excellent  regiments  of  the  line,  where  the  privates  are  really 
as  thoroughly  respectable  as  you  find'it  stated,  from  authentic  sources,  in 
my  journal.  I  shall  write  to  you  again,  as  soon  as  any  thing  further  is 
settled.  Dohna  goes  to-morrow  to  join  the  volunteer  corps  under  his  bro- 
ther-in-law. Be  of  good  courage,  as  we  are  ! 


CHAPTER  VIH. 

r-  -  •    i.  JC*>* 

NIEBUHR'S  RETURN  TO  POLITICAL  LIFE.— SECOND  JOURNEY 
TO  HOLLAND.    FROM  APRIL,  1813,  TO  MAY,  1814. 

TOWARD  the  end  of  April,  Niebuhr  received  a  royal  summons 
to  repair  without  delay  to  Dresden,  where  the  King  of  Prussia, 
and  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  had  already  arrived.  In  pursuance 
of  the  treaty  of  Breslau,  between  the  two  sovereigns,  a  central 
council  had  been  formed,  charged  with  the  provisional  administra- 
tion of  the  German  countries  reconquered  from  Napoleon — the 
execution  of  treaties  with  the  Princes  of  Germany  respecting  the 
troops,  subsidies,  and  supplies,  to  be  contributed  by  each — and  the 
appointment  of  government  officers  within  the  provinces  under  its 
jurisdiction.  Stein,  who  acted  as  the  representative  of  Russia, 
was  chairman  of  this  council ;  Bchoen  and  Niebuhr  were  associ- 
ated with  him,  as  the  representatives  of  Prussia.  Both  had  been 
selected  by  Stein  for  the  office. 

Immediately  on  his  arrival  in  Dresden,  Niebuhr  was  employed 
to  negotiate  with  Lord  Stewart  respecting  the  subsidies  to  be  ad- 
vanced by  England,  and  afterward,  to  draw  up  a  commercial 
treaty  between  England  and  Prussia. 

When  the  defeats  of  Liitzen  and  Bautzen  obliged  the  allied 
Sovereigns  to  retreat  to  Lusatia,  and  afterward  to  Silesia,  Nie- 
buhr followed  the  head-quarters,  and  witnessed  the  battle  of  Baut- 
zen from  the  distance  of  a  few  miles. 

The  treaty  concerning  the  subsidies  was  signed  on  the  14th  of 
June,  1813,  after  which  he  remained  about  two  months  longer  at 
head-quarters,  now  stationed  in  Reichenbach.  Hardenberg  offered 
him  a  temporary  mission  to  London,  but  he  believed  that  it  was 
more  advisable  for  the  interests  of  Prussia  that  the  treaty  on  which 
he  was  engaged  should  be  brought  to  a  conclusion  at  head-quar- 
ters, and,  on  his  representations,  Hardenberg  renounced  his  plan. 

In  the  middle  of  August,  he  followed  the  Sovereigns  to  Prague. 
Here  he  fell  ill,  and  had  several  relapses,  which  obliged  him  to 
remain  there  till  late  in  the  autumn . 

His  relations  with  Stein  had  been  any  thing  but  satisfactory, 
during  these  months.  The  hitter  was  in  a  delicate  position,  as 


260  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

the  representative  of  the  Russian  interests  ;  and,  appreciating  the 
necessity  of  supporting  the  Emperor  Alexander  in  his  undertak- 
ings, as  the  only  means  through  which  the  deliverance  of  Germany 
could  be  effected,  he  felt  it  right,  for  the  time  being,  to  keep  his 
Prussian  sympathies  somewhat  in  the  background,  lest  the  jeal- 
ousy of  the  Russians  should  be  aroused,  and  he  should  be  sup- 
planted in  the  Emperor's  confidence.  Schoen  and  Niebuhr  feared 
that  his  German  patriotism  was  cooling,  and  accused  him  of  un- 
duly favoring  the  interests  of  Russia.  This  gave  rise  to  repeated 
misunderstandings,  which  were  aggravated  by  the  irritability  and 
petulance  of  Stein,  who  was  suffering  greatly  from  gout,  at  the 
moment  \vhen  the  cares  of  half  Europe  were  resting  on  liim. 
Niebuhr,  who  was  by  no  means  of  a  patient  temper,  does  not 
seem  to  have  made  due  allowance  for  Stein's  situation,  and  the 
result  was  a  temporary  estrangement  between  the  two  friends, 
who,  however,  at  a  later  period,  renewed  their  intimacy,  which 
was  thenceforward  only  broken  by  death. 

In  consequence  of  these  circumstances,  Niebuhr  returned  to 
Berlin  in  November,  1813.  His  joy  at  the  deliverance  of  Ger- 
many was  clouded  by  his  sorrow  for  the  misfortunes  of  Denmark. 
He  and  his  wife  were  filled  with  anxious  apprehensions  respect- 
ing the  fate  of  their  friends  in  Holstein,  for  they  knew  that  among 
the  troops  which  occupied  that  province,  there  were  many  anima- 
ted with  a  very  different  spirit,  from  that  which  had  been  roused 
in  the  Prussian  warriors,  by  the  struggle  for  their  father-land. 

About  this  time,  Niebuhr,  by  official  request,  drew  up  a  pro- 
ject for  the  constitution  of  Holland,  which  was  to  be  submitted 
afterward  to  a  commission,  for  examination.  It  does  not  appear 
whether  it  was  finally  turned  to  any  account,  but  most  probably 
it  was  not,  as  some  passages,  written  at  the  time  of  the  Belgian 
revolt,  express  his  regret  that  his  counsels  had  not  been  adopted, 
when  he  proposed  a  completely  separate  administration  for  the 
two  countries.  It  may  seem,  at  first  sight,  inconsistent,  that  one 
who  had  so  often  expressed  his  contempt  for  "  constitution-mong- 
ers" should  have  attempted  to  draw  up  one  himself,  but  it  must 
not  be  overlooked,  that  he  did  so  for  a  nation  that  already  pos- 
sessed constitutional  forms. 

In  February,  1814,  Niebuhr  was  sent  to  Holland,  to  negotiate 
further  arrangements  for  subsidies  with  the  English  commission- 
ers. He  set  off  on  the  21st  of  February,  with  his  wife,  who  was 


RETURN  TO  POLITICAL  LIFE  261. 

in  very  bad  health.  The  weather  was  extremely  severe  during 
their  journey,  and  for  a  part  of  the  way  the  roads  were  almost 
impassable.  The  traveling,  and  the  living  in  rooms  imperfectly 
wanned  with  open  fires,  was  very  injurious  to  Madame  Niebuhr. 
Her  obstinate  cough  had  already  awakened  anxiety  in  her  friends, 
but  she  was  naturally  of  a  hopeful  disposition,  never  suspected  the 
impending  evil,  and  used  to  encourage  her  husband,  when  he 
sometimes  expressed  apprehensions,  by  saying,  that  she  had  often 
been  worse  before,  and  had  recovered. 

By  the  beginning  of  June,  the  business  had  proceeded  as  far  as 
it  could  be  carried  at  that  time :  his  wife  had  meanwhile  so  far 
recovered  that  they  were  able  to  take  a  journey  into  Brabant. 

On  his  return  to  Amsterdam,  Niebuhr  received  tidings  of  the 
renewed  occupation  of  Holstein,  but  this  did  not  prevent  him  from 
undertaking  his  proposed  journey  thither.  There  he  spent  his 
time  in  the  house  of  his  aged,  father,  who  had  now  become  both 
blind  and  lame.  His  friends  assembled  round  him,  and  the  time 
passed  happily  and  too  quickly  away,  for  it  was  impossible  not  to 
feel  sometimes  that  such  a  meeting  could  never  recur.  Niebuhr 
could  not  hope  to  see  his  father  again,  and  his  friends  saw  but  too 
clearly  that  Madame  Niebuhr  would  never  be  able  to  revisit 
them.  She  herself  was  still  full  of  hope,  and  ready  sympathy 
with  all  around  her,  and  this  seemed  to  blind  her  husband  to  her 
real  danger. 

On  his  return  to  Berlin,  Niebuhr  was  requested  to  give  the 
Crown  Prince  instruction  in  finance.  He  was  thus  brought  fre- 
quently into  contact  with  the  young  prince,  whom  he  inspired 
with  a  warm  and  lasting  attachment,  while  the  talents  and 
amiability  of  his  royal  pupil  won  his  affection  in  return. 

Toward  the  close  of  1814,  Niebuhr  wrote  a  pamphlet  entitled, 
"  The  Rights  of  Prussia  against  the  Court  of  Saxony,"  one  of  the 
most  spirited  and  able  productions  of  his  pen ;  the  object  of  which 
was  to  refute  the  libels  against  Prussia,  industriously  circulated 
throughout  Germany  by  the  partisans  of  France  and  Saxony.  It 
excited  great  attention,  and  had  a  rapid  sale.  The  Prussian  gov- 
ernment formally  expressed  their  thanks  to  him  for  it,  and  re- 
quested him  to  send  a  hundred  copies  to  Vienna,  and  to  get  it 
translated  into  English. 

Niebuhr's  domestic  happiness  was  clouded  over  with  mournful 
apprehensions.  His  wife's  symptoms  grew  more  and  more  alarm- 


262  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

ing,  and  he  could  not  conceal  from  himself,  that  she  became 
weaker  after  each  short  interval  of  improvement.  Besides  these 
personal  sorrows,  he  was  deeply  grieved  by  the  final  decision  of 
the  Congress  of  Vienna.  The  partition  of  Saxony  appeared  to 
him  very  disadvantageous  for  that  country  itself,  and  the  cession 
of  East  Friesland  to  Hanover  pained  him  exceedingly,  as  destroy- 
ing the  possibility  of  Prussia's  becoming  a  maritime  power.  He 
saw  in  all  the  terms  of  the  convention,  a  prevailing  desire  to 
weaken  Prussia,  and  by  placing  her  in  opposition  to  France,  to 
sow  the  seeds  of  her  dismemberment  at  some  future  period. 

Napoleon's  return  from  Elba  roused  him  from  his  melancholy 
contemplations.  Like  many  other  Prussians,  his  first  emotions  at 
the  intelligence  were  rather  of  joy  than  of  sorrow.  He  fancied 
that  it  would  produce  instant  union  between  the  Allied  Powers, 
and  that  the  influence  of  Prussia  would  be  increased  by  the  new 
struggle,  in  which  she  would  once  more  have  to  play  a  principal 
part. 

But  when  Napoleon's  power  established  itself  without  opposi- 
tion in  France,  he  shuddered  at  the  prospect  of  the  perilous  con- 
flict about  to  be  renewed,  and  the  consequences  of  a  protracted 
war  on  the  prosperity  of  the  country,  and  the  morality  and  edu- 
cation of  its  youth. 

While  oppressed  by  these  domestic  and  political  cares,  he  re- 
ceived tidings  of  the  death  of  his  father  in  April,  1815. 

Extracts  from  Niebuhr's  Letters  from  tJic  Spring  of  1813  to 
May,  1814. 

CLXVI. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

DRESDEN,  3d  May,  1813. 

From  my  letter  to  my  father,  which  you  will  have  read  at  Meldorf,  you 
will  have  seen  that  I  have  been  summoned  here.  I  received  the  order  on 
Monday  night  at  eleven  o'clock,  and  the  next  day  at  noon  we  were  in  the 
carriage.  Gb'schen  has  undertaken  the  editorship  of  the  journal  for  a  time. 
Milly  is  writing  to  you  about  our  journey.  We  feared  we  should  not  get 
accommodation  here  at  once,  as  the  Emperor  Alexander  and  our  king  were 
here  with  their  retinue ;  but  all  was  right.  We  found  room  in  the  first 
hotel  we  stopped  at,  and  the  day  before  yesterday  we  were  quartered  at  a 
private  house,  where  we  are  living  in  style. 

Negotiations  with  England  respecting  subsidies  are  my  immediate  em- 
ployment. I  have  to  act  with  Baron  von  Hardenberg  and  M.  von  Stein. 
I  had  not  seen  the  former  since  my  retirement  from  office,  but  his  behavior 
toward  me  is  just  what  it  used  to  be,  and  as  if  our  connection  had  never  been 


RETURN  TO  POLITICAL  LIFE.  263 

interrupted.  Stein  it  unequal  (perhaps  he  is  soured  by  his  misfortunes), 
and  hence  it  is  often  difficult  to  deal  with  him. 

Yesterday  and  to-day,  we  have  been  in  constant  anxious  expectation  of 
a  battle.  Our  latest  positive  intelligence  is  of  the  day  before  yesterday, 
and  then  a  battle  was  daily  expected.  A  cannonade  was  heard  in  this 
neighborhood  yesterday;  we  are  awaiting  with  beating  hearts  the  tidings 
which  must  soon  arrive,  unless  the  cannonade  was  a  delusion,  or  only  pro- 
ceeded from  an  unimportant  affair.  We  know  that  the  French  army  is  by 
no  means  so  small  as  it  was  foolishly  represented  to  be  ;  and  know  that  we 
have  an  extremely  hard  struggle  before  us.  The  excellence  of  our  army 
gives  us  confidence. 

As  I  am  busy  all  the  mornings  in  conferences  or  at  my  desk,  we  have 
seen  little  here  as  yet.  We  have  been  once  to  the  Gallery. 

The  intelligence  we  have  received  here  from  Denmark  makes  us  very  un- 
easy. God  grant,  that  the  apparently  insurmountable  difficulties  may  ad- 
mit of  a  solution. 

Goethe  had  left  this  place  before  our  arrival,  and  from  the  accounts  we 
hear  of  his  political  bitterness,  his  sinister  prophecies,  and  his  ill-humor,  I 
am  well  pleased  not  to  have  seen  him  now.  I  have  not  yet  made  acquaint- 
ance with  any  of  the  residents  here. 

It  vexes  one  to  be  living  in  an  occupied  country  which  takes  no  part  in 
the  war.  In  Berlin,  the  universal  activity  and  enthusiasm,  the  warlike 
preparations,  &c.,  constantly  inspired  cheerfulness  and  courage.  But  the 
people  are  German  in  their  hearts,  of  which  we  had  many  touching  proofs 
on  our  way  hither,  in  the  country  districts. 

God  be  with  us  all !     Give  my  love  to  my  father  and  all  our  relations. 

CLXVII. 

NEUMARKT,  IN  SILESIA,  25/A  May,  1813. 

I  presume  that  Behrens  has  forwarded  to  you  the  letter  which 

I  wrote  him  from  Liegnitz  on  the  16th.  I  shall  therefore  continue  ray 
account  from  the  time  when  we  resolved  to  return  to  Gorlitz,  where  the 
administrative  head-quarters  had  been  meanwhile  erected.  We  performed 
the  journey  from  Liegnitz  thither  very  quickly  ;  passing  through  a  beauti- 
ful district,  full  of  towns,  whose  buildings  and  environs  betrayed  their  for- 
mer prosperity,  which  has  now  been  almost  every  where  destroyed  by  the 
wars  of  1805-6.  But  since  poverty  has  universally  taken  the  place  of 
this  prosperity,  and  the  oloth  and  linen  manufactures  find  no  sale,  nothing 
but  a  steadfast  hope  of  better  times  can  keep  one  from  being  positively 
depressed  and  saddened  by  the  signs  of  former  opulence.  Through  the 
greater  part  of  this  country  the  scenery  is  magnificent,  and  Hilly  and  I 
have  both  said  to  each  other,  how  much  we  should  like  to  visit  this 
beautiful  Silesia  some  day  with  you  ;  but  this  time  I  was  much  too  anx- 
ious to  enjoy  it.  Gorlitz  was  greatly  altered  since  our  former  stay  there. 
Then,  too,  the  long  market-like  main  street  of  the  town  was  thronged  with 
an  endless  train  of  wagons,  but  they  were  filled  with  the  wounded,  who 
were  being  carried  to  the  hospitals.  Now,  there  was  nothing  of  this  kind, 
but  the  town  swarmed  with  the  troops  quartered  there,  and  the  streets 
and  squares  were  full  of  Russian  equipages,  round  which  the  horses  were 
stationed,  as  in  a  camp.  With  some  difficulty,  we  found  a  place  at  an 
hotel  where  we  could  put  up  our  carriage  and  horses,  and  hired  a  room  at 


264  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

the  house  of  our  former  hostess,  a  good-natured  citizen's  wife.  I  found 
that  nothing  was  lost  by  my  absence  ;  for  the  business  which  I  had  been 
summoned  to  transact— in  which,  however,  I  can  not  act  till  others  have 
prepared  the  way  for  me — stood  exactly  at  the  same  point  as  before  my 
departure  from  Dresden,  and  had  rather  gone  backward  than  forward.  ] 
can  not  now  relate  to  you  how  I  found  an  opportunity  the  day  after  my 
arrival  to  bring  it,  at  one  stroke,  almost  to  a  settlement,  and  by  what  un- 
accountable carelessness  this  opportunity  was  lost.  We  now  learnt  that 
the  armies  had  been  standing  opposite  to  each  other  for  some  days,  ready 
for  fighting,  and  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  the  French  would  soon  at- 
tack, as  they  were  suffering  from  want  of  provisions.  The  position  of  the 
allied  army  was  not  above  five  miles  at  most  from  Gorlitz.  and  our  situa- 
tion in  this  town  so  insecure,  that  we  could  not  think  too  soon  of  taking 
precautions  for  our  safety.  For,  although  a  bridge  of  boats  had  been 
thrown  across  the  Neisse  below  the  town,  in  case  of  a  retreat,  full  half  the 
army,  with  the  baggage,  artillery,  &c.,  would  still  have  to  take  the  road 
through  the  town,  and  over  the  bridge  which  connects  it  with  the  suburb. 
Upper  Lusatia  is  a  mountainous  and  very  beautiful  district,  and  its  towns 
lie  on  the  summits  or  slopes  of  hills ;  thus,  Gorlitz,  properly  speaking,  con- 
sists, like  Edinburgh,  of  only  one  long  and  very  broad  street,  stretching 
along  the  ridge  of  a  hill,  that  becomes  so  narrow  and  steep,  as  it  slopes 
down  toward  the  bridge,  as  to  require  great  care  at  all  times  to  stop  the 
horses  in  descending  it.  It  will  be  long  before  I  shall  be  able  to  think  of 
this  defile  without  a  shudder.  It  was  easy  to  foresee  that  we  should  re- 
main here  till  a  battle  had  taken  place,  and  then  hundreds  would  be  want- 
ing post-horses  at  once,  if  it  were  necessary  to  retreat.  We  were,  there- 
fore, obliged  to  secure  our  safety  by  purchasing  horses,  and  engaging  a 
coachman.  Thus  we  made  our  arrangements,  so  as  to  await  the  last 
moment  with  as  little  danger  as  the  position  of  the  town  allowed. 

On  Wednesday,  19th,  the  bloody  and  glorious  engagement  of  Konigs- 
wartha  took  place  on  the  right  wing  of  our  army.  On  the  following  day 
(20th)  at  noon,  while  the  corps  under  Barclay  de  Tolly,  which  had  gained 
this  advantage  in  conjunction  with  that  under  General  York,  was  still  dis- 
tant from  the  head-quarters,  the  main  army  of  the  French  made  an  at- 
tack upon  our  whole  line,  especially  on  the  right  wing.  This  attack  was  re- 
pulsed with  great  loss  to  them,  and  we  maintained  ourselves  every  where 
in  the  position  which  we  had  assumed  at  the  commencement  of  the  fight 
behind  Bautzen.  All  the  disadvantage  of  the  day  was  on  the  side  of  the 
enemy,  except  that  the  disposition  of  our  troops  allowed  him  to  take  pos- 
session of  some  ground,  which  our  out-posts  had  occupied  before  the  begin- 
ning of  the  affair.  We  had  taken  cannons  and  made  prisoners.  General 
Kleist  and  his  division  distinguished  themselves  above  all  others.  Toward 
evening,  Barclay  de  Tolly  came  up  with  the  army.  The  firing  ceased 
when  the  darkness  came  on  ;  but  the  renewal  of  the  battle  next  day  was 
inevitable:  it  re-commenced  on  the  21st  at  about  four  in  the  morning.* 

Neither  in  this  engagement  did  we  lose  a  single  cannon  ;   but,  on 

the  other  hand,  some  of  our  badly-wounded  were  left  on  the  field,  because 
the  miserable  avarice  of  the  Russian  soldiers  as  regards  every  sort  of  vehi- 
cle, had  caused  the  removal  of  all  the  carriages  and  horses  in  the  neigh- 

*  Here  follows  a  description  of  the  battle,  which,  however  is  sufficiently  known 
from  other  sources. 


RETURN  TO  POLITICAL  LIFE.  265 

borhood,  far  to  the  rear  of  the  army.  Our  loss  in  dead  and  wounded  was 
not  so  great  in  the  three  days  together,  from  the  19th  to  the  21st,  as  it 
was  in  the  battle  of  the  2d.  During  the  retreat  next  day,  a  brisk  cannon- 
ade was  kept  up,  but  without  effect.  In  Reichenbach,  a  skirmish  took 
place  with  the  rear-guard,  in  which  the  French  cavalry,  having  ventured 
too  far  in  advance,  lost  400  prisoners.  (The  left  wing  had  also  captured 
cannons  and  prisoners  on  the  21st.)  On  the  following  days,  likewise,  the 
firing  was  kept  up  on  both  sides,  but  there  was  no  actual  fighting.  The 
sad  truth  is,  however,  that  the  allied  army  has  continued  its  retreat  from 
Lusatia,  across  the  borders  of  Silesia.  Still  we  are  encouraged  by  remem- 
bering that  a  new  Russian  array  under  General  Sacken  has  already  passed 
through  Breslau,  and  is  advancing  by  forced  marches  to  meet  the  retreat- 
ing one ;  that  the  reserve  battalions  will  soon  arrive,  and  will  fully  repair 
our  losses,  so  that  in  a  few  days  the  allied  army  is  certain  to  be  more 
numerous  than  it  was  before  the  battle  of  Bautzen  ;  and  that  before  long 
we  may  expect  a  diversion  in  our  neighborhood  from  Austria,  although,  in- 
deed, a  general  like  Napoleon  will  not  suffer  himself  to  be  disturbed  in  his 
plans  by  the  more  remote  movements  of  the  larger  Austrian  army.  But 
if  he  be  forced  (as  we  hope  to  God  he  will  be)  to  come  to  a  stand  before 
our  iron  resistance,  our  country  will  still  suffer  terribly.  However,  in  tkat 
case,  he  must  almost  inevitably  see  his  army  broken  to  pieces.  In  this 
hope,  though  with  mournful  hearts,  we  have  traveled  to  Breslau,  where  I 
shall  finish  this  letter,  uncertain  whither  I  shall  next  be  summoned. 

On  Thursday,  the  firing  sounded  very  near  and  loud,  but  we  listened  to 
it  with  great  hope,  because  we  had  learnt  in  the  morning  the  victory  of 
the  day  before :  when,  on  Friday,  the  sound  drew  nearer,  and  became 
frightfully  distinct  and  violent  in  the  afternoon,  we  grew  very  anxious. 
Stein  then  advised  us  to  depart.  We  made  our  preparations ;  the  car- 
riage was  loaded ;  but  wo  did  not  like  to  leave  until  we  had  some  positive 
intelligence.  Till  past  eleven  at  night,  I  went  about  from  one  acquaint- 
ance to  another,  to  try  if  I  could  learn  any  thing,  but  all  the  accounts  I 
heard  were  vague  and  undecided.  Still  I  could  guess  from  them  that  a 
retreat  was  resolved  on.  Many  Russian  equipages  had  left  already  during 
the  afternoon ;  and  toward  night,  thick  rows  of  wagons  began  to  defile 
through  the  town.  We,  with  some  of  our  friends,  had  settled  that  if  any 
decisive  intelligence  arrived,  we  were  to  be  called  at  any  hour  of  the  night. 
About  midnight  we  laid  down  in  our  clothes.  It  had  not  struck  one,  when 
they  shouted  under  our  windows  that  every  one  was  leaving,  and  we  had 
no  wish  to  linger.  The  evening  before,  the  coachman  we  had  engaged, 
frightened  at  the  idea  of  wandering,  heaven  knows  how  far,  from  his  na- 
tive town,  had  taken  his  departure,  and  we  should  have  been  in  most  ter- 
rible perplexity  if  our  own  servant  had  not  known  how  to  drive.  One  of 
our  horses  was  sick ;  however,  we  started,  and  got  through  the  close  ranks 
of  the  wagons  in  the  dark  without  accident,  and  through  the  narrow  pass 
I  have  described  above,  where  we  were  obliged  to  drive  up  close  against 
tho  side  of  the  street  to  pass  Stadion's  equipage.  We  have  seen  war  in 
a.  horrible  form ;  we  have  passed  through  bands  of  pillagers,  and  crowds 
of  beasants  who  had  flocked  together  to  defend  themselves  from  being 
plundered.  Our  good  star  has  not  forsaken  us.  I  must,  conclude,  in  order 
u>  send  this  letter  by  post. 

M 


266  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

CLXVIII. 

REICHENBACH,  16th  June,  1813. 
We  have  at  last  received  two  letters  from  you,  which  have  been  sent 

about  from  place  to  place 

I  think  that,  while  we  were  still  in  Dresden,  I  mentioned  to  you,  that 
the  change  in  my  residence  and  society  was  any  thing  but  cheering.  At 
Berlin,  the  consciousness  of  the  excellent  spirit  which  animated  the  nation 
was  ever  present  to  us ;  and  yet  we  were  sufficiently  removed  from  the 
sight  of  all  that  is  saddening  in  the  actual  details  of  the  war.  We  lived 
with  all  the  energies  of  our  souls  and  hearts  in  action,  and  each  one  de- 
rived his  belief  in  the  immeasurable  energy  of  the  nation,  from  his  own 
inward  consciousness.  It  was  this  which  made  us  so  full  of  confidence. 
In  Dresden,  we  were  separated  from  the  nation,  and  its  most  excellent 
part,  the  army,  and  transported  into  a  circle  of  fashionable  people  who 
were  strangers  to  us,  at  least  there  were  only  a  few  of  our  public  men 
among  them.  Here  we  saw  as  exclusively  what  was  commonplace,  as  at 
home  what  was  beautiful  and  good.  The>  few  eminent  men  were,  how- 
ever, among  my  friends.  And  of  well-digested  plans,  of  creative  ideas, 
of  enthusiasm  or  love,  I  saw  no  trace. 

It  is  far  from  enough,  to  say  that  our  troops  have  fought  with  unexam- 
pled heroism ;  to  feel  as  high  a  respect  for  them  as  they  deserve,  it  must 
not  only  be  remembered,  that  they  were  placed  at  the  absolute  command 
of  foreign  generals,  who  have  not  maintained  their  previous  reputation, 
and  thus  have  become  the  victims  of  their  mistakes  and  unskillfulness  ; 
but  also  that  their  own  superior  officers  were  deficient  in  experience  and 
sagacity.  And  as  regards  the  inferior  officers,  the  best  of  them  were  often 
wanting  either  in  experience  or  cool  blood ;  they  have  lavished  away  their 
lives.  But  in  spite  of  all  this,  bur  comparatively  small  army,  at  all  times 
only  partially  supported  by  our  allies  (it  is  but  just  to  say,  however,  that 
whenever  Russian  divisions  have  come  to  an  actual  engagement,  they  have 
fought  extremely  well,  only  not  with  enthusiasm), -and  opposed  to  an  im- 
mensely superior  force,  has  achieved  things  which  would  have  been  held 
impossible,  because  each  man  has  fought,  as  if  all  depended  upon  himself 
alone.  Battalions,  nearly  the  whole  of  whose  officers  have  been  shot  off 
or  wounded,  have  fought  on  with  the  greatest  order.  In  addition  to  this, 
the  patience  of  our  troops,  their  quiet  resignation  when  they  have  seen 
the  fruits  of  their  exploits  surrendered  without  a  cause,  their  morality, 
their  discipline — not  a  single  instance  of  excess  is  named,  not  one  soldier 
has  pillaged  on  the  retreat — is  so  elevating,  that  one  can  not  but  feel  a 
true  reverence  for  such  an  army.  God  knows  what  will  be  the  fate  of 
Germany  and  ourselves.  If,  however,  what  might  be  the  means  of  a  most 
glorious  deliverance  should,  through  the  fault  of  others,  remain  ineffectual, 
the  freedom  of  Germany  will  close  with  a  glory  for  Prussia,  which  will 
throw  Frederick's  military  greatness  into  the  shade.  Would  the  army  be 
as  pure  if  we  had  him  with  us  now?  I  scarcely  think  so,  and  yet  it 
might  be  so,  and  then  we  could  defy  once  more  the  united  power  of  the 
whole  World. 

By  the  unanimous  verdict  of  the  army  itself,  Colonel  Von  Grollman  is 
one  of  the  first  officers  it  contains,  and  it  shows  the  spirit  which  animates 
our  officers,  that  lieutenant-generals  of  advanced  age,  have  declared  that 


RETURN  TO  POLITICAL  LIFE.  267 

they  would  willingly  obey  him,  if  the  king  would  intrust  him  with  the 
command.  He  and  I  have  long  known  each  other  by  name,  and  cherished 
a  mutual  respect  and  affection,  but  I  only  became  personally  acquainted 
with  him  three  days  ago,  and  I  have  never  before  seen  such  a  man.  York 
and  Kleist  are  most  noble-minded  men,  who  think  of  nothing  but  the  gen- 
eral welfare. 

On  the  2d  of  May,  the  French  only  took  a  single  unwounded  Prussian 
prisoner.  In  all  partial  engagements,  we,  and  the  Russians  also,  are  cer- 
tain of  victory. 

I  write  unconnectedly  to  you,  because  I  can  only  write  about  the  sur- 
face of  things,  and  that  is  of  immense  extent ;  if  I  dared  to  go  to  the  bot- 
tom, I  could  say  all  in  a  few  words. 

I  saw  the  king  at  Breslau ;  he  was  very  gracious,  and  said  it  gave  him 
much  pleasure  to  see  me  again  in  his  service.  But  I  shall  soon  have  ar- 
ranged the  business,  for  which  I  was  summoned,  because  there  was  no  one 
else  who  understood  the  matter  besides  myself;  and  will  there  be  any  thing 
further  thought  of  afterward  ?  I  do  not  wish  for  any  thing  on  my  own 
account ;  that  I  can  say  with  a  safe  conscience. 

Now  I  must  tell  you  a  little  about  ourselves.  I  returned  from  Schweid- 
nitz  the  day  after  I  had  written  to  you,  and  brought  the  intelligence  that 
a  truce  had  been  concluded  for  twelve  hours,  and  that  a  longer  one  was 
being  negotiated.*  Our  pain  on  hearing  this  I  will  not  describe  to  you. 
There  is  much  to  be  urged  both  for  and  against  an  armistice ;  but  only 
let  people  ask  themselves,  without  descending  to  all  the  details,  whether 
a  longer  armistice  with  tuck  an  enemy  can  be  a  good  thing.  It  alleviates 
our  apprehensions  respecting  it,  that  all  we  do  is  in  conjunction  with 
Austria,  and  in  accordance  with  our  good  understanding  with  that  power ; 
and  besides,  that  our  preparation  for  war  will  be  carried  on  with  all  possi- 
ble zeal  and  activity.  It  is  a  guarantee  that  out  government  are  in  earn- 
est, that  the  day  before  yesterday,  they  signed  a  treaty  of  alliance  with 
England,  stipulating  for  subsidies,  which  are  to  furnish  the  means  of  paying 
the  expenses  of  the  war.  The  consciousness  that  I  have  helped  to  further 
this  work  gives  me  great  joy. 

We  came  hither  on  the  6th  June  from  Frankenstein.  This  little  town 
has  been  quite  swarming  with  human  beings  for  the  last  ten  days.  We 
arrived  here  some  hours  before  the  great  body,  and  hence  were  able  to  ob- 
tain a  very  good  room  in  an  hotel,  which  we  much  prefer  to  being  quartered 
in  a  private  house.  These  ten  days  have  been  spent  in  bringing  about  the 
treaty,  in  which  verbal  negotiations  did  more  than  written  papers.  It  if 
beginning  to  grow  a  little  quieter  here  now;  the  people  are  dispersing  in 
various  directions.  The  Emperor  Alexander  has  set  off  for  Bohemia  to- 
day, to  have  a  meeting  with  his  sister.  Many  think  that  he  will  have  an 
interview  with  the  Emperor  of  Austria ;  that  is  hardly  probable 

CLXIX. 

TO  THE  PRINCESS  LOUISA. 

RKICHEN-BACH,  July  Mk. 

Your  Royal  Highness  will  be  better  acquainted  than  I  am  with  the  mel- 
ancholy situation  of  our  country — discontented,  disappointed,  and  aban- 
*  The  armistice  of  Pleswitx,  concladed  for  fix  weeks  from  Juu«  4tb. 


268  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

cloned  to  ruin,  as  it  seems,  by  shallow  egotists,  who  doubtless,  in  their 
hearts,  have  despised,  from  the  first,  the  tokens  of  inspiration  and  heroic 
virtue  given  by  our  country,  and  who  will  probably  end  by  making  these 
very  virtues  a  ground  of  accusation  against  it,  and  a  reason  of  state  for 
sacrificing  and  annihilating  a  nation,  because  it  can  not  remain  immovable 
and  without  feeling  like  a  slave,  up  to  the  moment  when  it  may  please  the 
cabinet  to  let  it  loose  against  those  who  stand  in  the  way  of  some  tem- 
porary advantage.  We  were  very  credulous,  so  far  as  we  placed  our 
trust  in  men ;  yet  who  can  repent  the  wishes  that  he  has  cherished  ? — 
wishes  which  might  serve  as  a  guide  to  the  government,  would  they  receive 
counsel. 

It  is  possible  that  our  nation  may  sink  into  a  condition  far  beneath  its 
state  previous  to  the  war ;  but  no  nation  has  ever  done  or  deserved  more 
to  reconquer  freedom  and  happiness.  We  can  not  but  feel,  that  it  pos- 
sesses within  itself  means  of  victory  which  far  surpassed  even  the  possible 
dreams  of  enthusiasts :  and,  if  we  are  vanquished,  that  triumph  might 
have  been  secured  by  our  own  resources  alone,  had  our  rulers  understood 
how  to  make  use  of  them;  nay,  perhaps,  it  would  have  been  enough  to 
insure  success,  had  we  got  rid  of  the  men,  at  whose  disposal  they  have 
been  placed  through  mistaken  trust  and  complaisance.  No  one  ought  to 
feel  more  than  Stein,  the  deep  sadness  which  is  inspired  by  the  view  of  our 
misfortunes  ;  he,  however,  strives  apparently  to  escape  from  it,  by  giving 
way  to  fits  of  ill-temper  and  even  passion,  with  all  who  suffer  from  it  as 
he  ought  to  suffer.  In  fact,  hardly  a  shadow  is  left  of  the  old  ties  which 
once  bound  me  to  him ;  we  can  not  carry  on  a  connected  conversation  ; 
we  must  avoid  the  topics  which  most  deserve  our  attention,  if  I  do  not 
wish  to  draw  on  myself  attacks,  which  are  always  unreasonable,  and  would 
be  unendurable  to  any  one  who  had  not  formerly  loved  him.  What  makes 
my  relation  toward  him  most  embarrassing  is,  that  my  path  would  be  much 
clearer  if  I  allowed  matters  to  come  to  a  complete  breach.  If  one  does 
but  make  a  remark,  he  instantly  contradicts  it,  and  always  in  a  very  un- 
suitable manner,  as  though  it  were  an  absolute  absurdity. 

I  could  never  have  believed,  that  a  time  would  come  when  I  should  go 
to  see  him,  and  be  glad  not  to  find  him  at  home.  Yet  I  have  still  so 
much  tenderness  for  him  left,  that  I  am  always  touched,  when  I  find  him 
calm  and  open  to  a  conversation  in  the  least  resembling  those  of  the  good 
old  times,  and  I  shall  bear  with  him  to  the  end  because  fate  has  inflicted 
wounds  upon  his  heart  which  he  seeks  to  hide  even  from  himself ;  and  it 
is  precisely  this  discord  in  his  inner  nature  which  renders  him  unendurable 
to  others.  For  the  rest,  he  has  changed  his  opinion  of  many  men  and 
things ;  at  Dresden,  he  wrote  me  an  insulting  note,  because  I  ventured  to 
doubt  the  honesty  of  an  individual,  of  whom  he  now  speaks  with  the  great- 
est contempt.  I  should  not  have  written  all  this  to  your  Royal  Highness, 
had  I  been  obliged  to  intrust  this  letter  to  the  post,  which  is  very  insecure. 
For  the  only  branch  of  government  carried  on  with  zeal  by  our  present 
Minister*  is  the  strict  watch  kept  on  all  persons  who  are  induced  to  despise 
him,  for  abandoning  us  to  the  consequences  of  his  own  incapacity  and 
indolence,  and  the  crimes  of  the  miserable  creatures  with  whom  he  has 
surrounded  himself. 

*  Hardenberg. 


RETURN  TO  POLITICAL  LIFE.  269 

CLXX. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

PRAOTK,  7/A  October,  1813. 

We  were  more  than  two  months  at  Reichenbach.     The  little 

town  was  crowded  with  human  beings.  The  executive,  embassadors,  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  array,  and  a  swarm  of  officers  (mostly  Russians)  filled  it 
to  overflowing'  The  marketplace  was  always  heaped  with  baggage-wagons, 
beside  which  the  Cossacks  bivouacked.  There  was  a  continual  bustle  and 
noise,  and  yet,  being  a  time  of  truce,  none  of  the  exciting  activity  of  war. 

I  return  to  .the  account  of  our  stay  at  Reichenbach.  The  armis- 
tice and  congress  of  Prague  had  a  disheartening  and  paralyzing  effect  upon 
the  minds  of  all.  I  was  happily  of  the  number  of  those  who  (with  the 
exception  of  a  few  moments,  when  appearances  were  so  unfavorable  that 
they  irresistibly  led  us  astray.)  persevered  in  believing,  that  the  pressure 
of  circumstances  would  bring  about  a  result,  which  many  of  those  at  the 
head  of  affairs  would  rather  not  have  seen  ;  and  therefore  I  was  not  in  bad 
spirits.  But  it  is  a  miserable  condition  when  you  are  impelled  by  every 
motive  to  concentrate  all  your  faculties  on  the  consideration  of  a  single 
point,  and  yet  can  perceive  nothing  distinctly.  It  is  certain  that  the 
Russian  cabinet,  and  a  party  in  their  army,  were  inclined  to  peace  ;*  but 
the  Emperor  Alexander  was  most  inflexible,  and  we  owe  him  many  thanks 
for  it.  Among  ourselves,  the  peace  party  was  extremely  small,  and  all  its 
activity  was  confined  to  pitiful  intrigues ;  the  nation,  as  well  as  the  army, 
cried  loudly  for  perseverance ;  the  Austrians  had  advanced  far  enough,  and 
constantly  became  more  deeply  implicated  with  us ;  though  this  much  is 
certain,  that  their  ultimatum  would  have  proved  to  be  none  at  all,  if  the 
Emperor  Napoleon  would  have  made  the  smallest  concession. 

It  was  exactly  on  this  blind,  arrogant  obstinacy  that  I  built  my  hopes, 
and  on  Fate,  which  is  determined  to  be  avenged  on  him.  Nevertheless, 
when  the  congress  assembled,  and  so  many  things  came  to  light,  I  had  no 
lack  of  anxieties  and  fears.  We  had  a  numerous  circle  of  society.  General 
Stewart,  the  English  envoy  at  our  court,  with  whom  I  had  more  particu- 
larly to  negotiate  the  treaty  of  alliance  and  subsidies,  has  become  my 

friend  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word Prince  Radziwill  visited  us  from 

time  to  time.  Through  him  I  became  acquainted  with  the  young  Prince 
Czartorinsky ;  and  found  him  to  be  a  most  Intellectual  and  highly-culti- 
vated man,  filled  with  sorre  w  fur  the  fate  of  his  country.  A  Saxon,  Colonel 
Von  Carlowitz,  who  came  to  us  with  General  Thieleman,  had  already 
pleased  me  much  in  Dresden,  and  I  now  found  his  society  very  agreeable, 
particularly  as  he  was  the  only  person  with  whom  I  could  converse  on 
matters  unconnected  with  the  present  moment,  since  he  possessed  a  great 
amount  of  historical  information.  Solly  was  about  half  the  time  there. 
An  English  Colonel  Campbell  and  I  struck  up  a  warm  friendship.  I  was 
on  a  very  friendly  footing  with  several  other  Englishmen.  Ompteda,  the 
Hanoverian  embassador  (cousin  to  the  Countess  Miinster)  pleased  us  much 
by  his  warm-hearted  honesty.  The  Russian  embassador,  Alopaeus,  is  a 
polished  and  sagacious  man  of  the  world.  Arndt  we  saw  but  seldom ;  but 

*  See  Stein's  Leben,  Book  vi.,  sec.  4.  The  Court,  including  the  Empress 
Mother  and  several  of  the  generals,  wanted  to  force  Alexander  into  making 
peace. 


270  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

he  is  an  honest  soul,  and  full  of  life  and  warmth A  great  number 

of  officers  visited  us.  While  there  I  became  more  intimate  with  our  ex- 
cellent Colonel  Grollman,  and  he  exceeded  my  expectations,  which  were 
not  slight.  He  would  be  the  general  for  Germany.  I  think  he  is  also 
attached  to  me.  I  love  him  so  that  my  heart  beats  whenever  I  think  of 
him M.  Von  Stein  I  saw  almost  daily. 

They  thought  of  sending  me  to  England;  but  under  circumstances  in 
which  I  could  do  little  good.  I  succeeded  in  convincing  Baron  Hardenberg 
that  the  idea  was  ill-advised,  and  the  expense  unnecessary.  He  after- 
ward offered  to  send  me  formally  as  envoy  extraordinary,  and  I  expressed 
rriy  readiness  to  accept  such  a  mission,  but  submitted  it  to  his  consid- 
eration, whether  the  advantage  would  be  great  enough  to  be  worth  the 
expense.  (My  position  there  would  in  other  respects  be  more  agreeable 
than  that  of  any  other  embassador,  because  I  am  personally  acquainted 
with  so  many  men  of  note.)  On  my  representations,  I  at  length  received 
the  reply  that  Baron  Hardenberg  thought  the  mission  superfluous  for  the 
present.  When  the  conclusion  of  the  armistice  was  announced,  and  the 
head-quarters  were  removed  to  Bohemia,  we  followed  also.  I  staid  two 
days  in  Landeck,  to  arrange  business  with  Hardenberg  and  Stewart.  On 
the  21st  we  came  on  to  this  place.* 

If  you  admired  the  spirit  with  which  our  nation  took  up  arms,  your 
admiration  must  be  heightened  now,  when  you  see  this  spirit  living  on 
with  undhninished  vigor,  amid  distress,  innumerable  difficulties,  and  many 
disheartening  circumstances.  Our  troops  fought  like  lions.  The  newly- 
formed  battalions  of  militia,  many  of  which  had  scarcely  any  officers  who 
had  seen  service,  fought  like  veteran  regiments,  only  with  too  much  fury. 

A  nation  containing  less  than  5,000,000,  impoverished,  torn  by 

internal  convulsions  for  the  last  seven  years,  has  sent  forth  more  than 
250,000  men  into  the  field,  with  comparatively  slight  assistance  from  for- 
eign powers ;  and  when  has  an  army  ever  fought  with  more  heroic  valor 
for  their  own  and  the  general  freedom  ? 

This  is  acknowledged  very  warmly  here ;  the  brotherly  affection  and 
kindness  which  the  inhabitants  have  shown  to  the  wounded,  is  probably 
without  a  parallel.  It  is  above  all  praise-  The  friendship  between  Prussia 
and  Austria  has  been  restored  on  a  stable  foundation,  and  we  may  securely 
trust  that  the  government,  as  well  as  the  nation,  are  sincerely  desirous  of 
promoting  our  interests.  Austria  entered  into  the  war  with  reluctance,  but 
will  unite  faithfully  and  perseveringly  with  us,  in  carrying  it  to  a  happy 
conclusion. 

CLXXI. 

TO  PERTHES. 
FRANKFOET  ON  THE  ODER,  December,  1813. 

You  will,  no  doubt,   easily  obtain   a   promise,  guaranteeing  the 

independence  of  your  towns ;  I  think  that  is  among  the  settled  points.  I 
should  have  been  much  surprised  if  you  had  obtained  more,  for  it  appears 
that  the  decision  of  the  positive  changes  to  be  made,  is  to  be  left  to  some 
more  distant  time. 

*  Here  follows  an  account  of  an  illness  which  he  had  in  Prague,  and  a  summary 
of  the  event*  of  the  war. 


RETURN  TO  POLITICAL  LIFE.  271 

Your  picture  of  the  misfortunes  of  Hamburgh  is  terrible,  and  yet  I  be- 
lieve it  is  not  exaggerated  in  a  single  feature.  Only  do  not  imagine  that 
Hamburgh  stands  alone  in  its  misery;  the  condition  of  Stettin,  Dantzic, 
for  example,  not  to  speak  of  the  Spanish  towns,  is  still  worse.  And  who 
can  help  it  ?  And  what  claim  can  a  single  city  make,  to  receive  assist- 
ance from  all  the  rest — from  those  who  have  suffered  quite  as  much,  and 
at  the  same  time  (you  will  neither  deny  it  nor  misconstrue  me)  have  done 
infinitely  more?  With  us  here  in  Prussia,  likewise,  nine-tenths  of  the 
landowners,  both  in  town  and  country,  are  ruined,  and  yet  they  must  still 
go  on  paying  contribution!) — it  can  not  be  otherwise — till  they  are  cut 
down  to  the  bone.  Many,  many  thousands  of  our  youth,  of  our  men,  are 
shedding  their  blood,  are  pining  away  their  lives  in  hospitals,  or  in  want 
and  wretchedness ;  what  have  the  Hanse  Towns  done  ?  I  do  not  reproach 
them  for  tho  passive  surrender  of  the  city,  but  certainly  see  in  it  nothing 
heroic,  nothing  that  lays  other  states  under  a  moral  obligation  to  make 

sacrifice*  in  their  behalf. 

It  is  a  terrible  thing  that  a  city  should  be  ruined  for  two  generations : 
but  how  long  did  Magdeburg  lie  in  ruins  and  ashes  ?  Is  it  often  that  we 
can  give  help  where  we  would  ?  Must  we  not  rather  be  resigned  to  cir- 
cumstances ?  You  have  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  independence :  the 
helplessness  of  a  city,  which  stands  alone  as  a  state,  is  inseparable  from 
them.  In  a  great  state,  all  may  unite  to  raise  up-  a  single  ruined  city. 
It  has,  as  such,  no  national  debt.  For  a  single  city  to  have  a  large  na- 
tional debt,  is  to  have  a  monster  devouring  its  vitals.  Even  Holland,  al- 
though it  is  little  more  than  an  assemblage  of  towns,  can  survive  a  bank- 
ruptcy :  and  perhaps  it  will  be  a  benefit  to  the  nation.  The  experiment 
had  been  made  once  already,  since  the  war  of  1672,  by  the  permanent  re- 
duction of  one  and  a  half  per  cent,  in  the  dividends.  With  you  the  case 
is  certainly  somewhat  different ;  but  you  must  not  fold  your  hands  and  say 
that  it  is  once  for  all  impossible  that  any  of  you  should  live  to  see  the 

restoration  of  your  old  prosperity 

My  poor,  poor  Holstein !  0  that  you  could  hasten  back,  and  protect  my 
relations !  There  seems  to  be  a  deliberate  intention  to  turn  that  land  into 
a  desert,  because  every  heart  in  it  is  with  Germany.  My  blood  boils  at 
this  atrocity — which  raises  the  indignation  of  our  real  allies  and  the  English 
— at  this  arbitrary  move  to  the  north,  from  which  none  but  the  French  can 
reap  any  advantage.  That  the  Cossacks  should  commit  ravages,  is  a  mat- 
ter of  course ;  but.  do  you  really  expect  it  of  the  Hanseatic  soldiers,  that 
they,  like  all  other  newly-fornwd  troops,  would  choose  to  ';  indemnify" 
themselves  in  this  manner  ?  The  real  Prussians  among  Lutzow's  regi- 
ments will  not  wish  to  indemnify  themselves  by  outrage  and  cruelty.  A 
Prussian  never  plunders,  even  in  an  enemy's  country ;  Holstein  is  not  an 
enemy  to  any  German.  Are  these  your  Hanseatic  citizens,  toward  whom 
your  heart  overflows  with  affection !  If  they  are  really  such  as  you  say, 
if  sorrow  works  thus  upon  them,  so  differently  from  its  effect  upon  the 
Prussians,  let  them  go  to  the  devil !  The  French  custom-house  officers, 
and  all  Davoust's  crew  were  also  a  set  of  hungry  wretches,  and  wanted  to 
indemnify  themselves.  I  can  make  sacrifices  too,  but  it  does  exasperate 
me,  to  see  all  that  I  love  best  given  up  to  bands  of  marauders  without  any 
object.  God  would  give  me  strength,  if  necessary,  to  bombard  a  town  that 
contained  my  dearest  friends,  but  to  see  an  innocent  country  abandoned  to 


272  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

pillage,  to  see  people,  who  are  among  the  noblest  of  their  times,  reduced 
to  misery,  by  an  unprincipled  policy  and  rapacity — I  cry  to  Heaven  for 
vengeance  on  it ! 

CLXXII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

BERLIN,  21s£  December,  1813. 

With  what  anguished  hearts  we  have  looked  forward  to  your  letter,  you 
will  have  seen  from  the  one  I  wrote  you  on  Saturday.  The  most  fearful 
images  rose  up  and  scared  away  our  sleep,  and  on  waking  they  returned 
with  all  their  painful  reality.  They  mingled  themselves  with  our  dreams  ; 
and  in  the  absence  of  intelligence,  one  even  transforms  the  shapes  of  fancy 
into  data,  which  heighten  one's  vague  terror.  Had  you  been  visited  by 
Prussian  troops  of  the  line,  we  should  have  been  free  from  apprehensions 
for  your  personal  safety ;  but  those  who  came  to  Holstein  from  us,  were 
only  free  corps,  raw  recruits  and  strangers,  or  the  dregs  of  the  capital,  and 
the  rest  were  all  foreigners,  and  for  the  most  part  such  as  had  reckoned 
upon  booty.  And  now,  letters  were  received  here  from  the  army,  giving 
an  account  of  the  devastation  of  the  country ;  and  these  were  succeeded 
by  the  bulletin  which  left  no  doubt  that  Tettenborn  had  gone  to  Husum, 
and  little,  of  his  having  taken  the  route  through  Meldorf. 

God  be  praised,  that  our  apprehensions  on  your  account  are,  to  a  certain 
extent,  allayed,  by  learning  that  the  actual  horrors  of  war  are  no  longer 
probable  in  the  towns ;  but  we  are  still  looking  forward  with  undiminished 
terror  to  the  probable  fate  of  Husum  and  Meldorf. 

We  are  assured  here,  that  the  conclusion  of  the  peace  with  Denmark 
may  be  regarded  as  certain,  and  I  have  long  felt  satisfied  that  it  would  be 
brought  to  pass.  This  could  be  foreseen  ;  and,  therefore,  I  was  filled  with 
corrowful  indignation  by  the  conviction  that  Holstein  would  be  made  to 
suffer,  solely  as  a  means  of  compelling  the  cession  of  Norway,  and  would 
be  doubly  punished  in  order  to  revenge  the  limitation  of  the  claims  brought 
about  by  the  intervention. 

Thus,  though  our  fears  for  you  may  be  calmed,  by  finding  that  you  have 
weathered  the  storm  without  sustaining  much  outward  injury,  I  shall  still 
mourn  over  the  poor  country,  whose  prosperity  has  been  fruitlessly  destroyed, 
like  some  unhappy  victim  whose  fate  it  has  been  to  experience  only  those 
sorrows  which  humiliate  and  enfeeble,  and  has  had  no  opportunity  to  make 
those  sacrifices  by  which  individuals  and  nations  are  purified  and  exalted. 

Of  all  the  letters  you  have  written  since  the  beginning  of  July,  we  have 
only  received  one,  dated  the  beginning  of  October ;  not  even  the  one  sent 
through  Count  Bombelles.  None  of  the  letters  which  Count  Dohna  sent 
to  the  head-quarters,  with  his  own  dispatches,  have  reached  me.  Owing 
to  this  uncertainty,  I  hardly  know  what  to  tell  you  of  the  months  that 
have  passed  since  our  correspondence  was  interrupted,  without  repeating 
what  you  already  know. 

When  you  last  saw  Berlin,  an  avalanche  was  impending  over  us,  whose 
crushing  fall  we  were  expecting  from  month  to  month.  While  it  hung 
over  us,  it  deprived  us  of  air  and  sun ;  we  could  do  nothing  but  resign 
ourselves  to  what  appeared,  to  human  eyes,  our  unalterable  fate,  as  men  in 
similar  periods  of  the  world  had  been  forced  to  do,  and  confine  ourselves  to 
the  little  sphere  we  could  still  call  our  own,  till  imperious  Destiny  should 


RETURN  TO  POLITICAL  LIFE.  273 

strp  in.  It  was  certainly,  indeed,  at  that  time  permitted  to  us  to  forget 
the  outer  world  of  the  present,  and  to  bury  ourselves  in  pleasant  studies, 
and  by  this  distraction  of  our  thoughts,  to  live  an  happily  as  was  possible 
under  such  circumstances.  How  all  is  changed  around  us  now  I  Never 
have  good  will  and  good  ideas  ripened  so  universally  into  good  deeds  as 
with  our  people.  lie  who  had  beforehand  declared  what  ought  to  be  done 
when  the  time  of  trial  should  come,  did  it  now  himself  (with  very  few  ex- 
ceptions), and  to  the  fullest  extent.  The  behavior  of  the  women,  too,  is 
admirable.  There  are  hundreds,  who  not  only  renounce  every  pleasure, 
but  even  a  close  attention  to  their  households,  in  order  to  superintend  the 
hospitals,  to  cook,  to  tend  the  sick,  to  mend  their  linen,  to  procure  money 
and  other  necessaries,  to  look  after  the  hired  nurses,  and  keep  them  up  to 
their  duty.  Many  have  already  fallen  victims  to  typhus  fever.  The  men 
can  scarcely  interfere  with  the  regular  course  of  these  occupations,  which 
have  assumed  quite  an  organized  character.  -J'r 

All  that  is  the  spontanous  expression  of  the  national  mind,  is  elevating. 
The  recruits  leave  their  homes  with  shouts  of  rejoicing ;  practice  the  exer- 
cise together  out  of  the  hours  for  training,  that  they  may  be  able  to  join 
the  army  so  much  the  sooner.  And  this  is  not  done  that  they  may  lead 
a  merry  life  of  excess ;  the  soldier  hungers  wheu  his  host  can  give  him  no- 
thing, rather  than  use  violence ;  he  gives  his  cloak  to  his  captive  when  he 
ia  shivering  himself.  One  can  not  speak  of  these  things  without  emotion, 
without  saying  to  one's  self  that  these  people  are  better  than  we  should  be 
in  their  place.  Our  guard*  are  as  modest  in  their  requirements  as  a  regi- 
ment of  militia,  and  yet  they  are  the  finest  and  bravest  troops  in  the  world. 
The  officers  are  patterns  to  their  soldiers.  And  all  the  people  of  North 
Germany  might  be  like  these,  if  they  could  be-  united,  and  brought  to  a 
common  recognition  of  each  other's  excellence  by  seeing  it  ia  action.  The 
core  is  sound  here ;  what  is  wrong  on  the  outside  will  be  remedied  in  time 
from  within.  The  King  respects  the  nation.  I  am  delighted  with  the 
Crown  Prince.  His  noble  poetical  nature  is  gradually  beginning  to  be 
recognized  by  some.  He  has  extraordinary  depth  of  feeling ;  and  he  pre- 
serves his  individuality  of  character,  sometimes  without  effort,  sometimes 
consciously,  among  people  who  do  not  understand  him,  and  are  always 
blaming  him.  There  is  something  very  uncommon  about  him;  the  King 
calls  his  strongest  feelings  into  play.  He  gives  promise  of  great  days  for 
Prussia  and  for  Germany— of  the  fulfillment  of  ail  that  is  yet  wanting. 

CLXXIII. 

BERLIN,  2.V/i  January,  1814. 

The  conditions  of  the  treaty  of  peace  suggest  more  thoughts  than 

can  be  committed  to  paper.  The  cession  of  Swedish  Pomerania  will  have 
scarcely  been  expected  by  any :  the  submissi  veness  of  Denmark  was  to  be 
anticipated.  The  very  first  movement  against  Holstein  grieved  me  so 
much,  because  I  foresaw  how  the  matter  would  end ;  how  the  energies  of 
the  country  would  be  exhausted  without  any  prospect  of  corresponding 
good  results.  The  Allies  could  only  permit  the  Danish  war  as  an  episode, 
and  every  thing  betrays  a  determination  to  avoid  any  crisis  by  which  mat- 
ters would  be  brought  to  a  settlement,  as  if  they  intentionally  husbanded 
materials  for  future  wars. 

With  what  different  feelings  from  those  which  titled  our  minds  during 

M* 


274  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

the  summer,  is  our  attention  now  directed  to  the  theatre  of  war?  We 
may  now  dare  to  cherish  brilliant  hopes ;  and  even  if,  here  and  there,  the 
tide  of  OUT  good  fortune  should  turn,  we  need  fear  nothing  that  can  affect 
the  decision  of  our  fate.  I  belong  to  the  small  number  of  those  who  do 
not  seriously  build  castles  in  the  air  about  the  advance  of  the  allied  armies 
to  Paris  :  I  can  not  yet  feel  sure  that  Napoleon  is  sufficiently  weakened 
for  me  to  desire  it ;  for  if  it  is  to  be  accomplished  merely  as  a  feat  of  arms, 
and  were  not  absolutely  decisive,  it  would  be  most  undesirable.  The  peace 
is  universally  believed  to  be  very  near ;  but  it  can  scarcely  be  so,  if  the 
restoration  of  the  frontiers,  as  they  existed  before  the  revolution,  be  insisted 
on.  We  seem  to  be  dreaming  when  we  now  take  up  the  maps  we  used 
one-and-twenty  years  ago.  I  wish  that  those  in  whose  hands  the  decision 
lies,  may  remember  that  it  is  no  dream,  but  that  they  really  have  the 
power  in  their  own  hands,  as  much  as  our  enemies  had  sixteen  months  ago. 
In  France,  the  nation  is  so  weary  that  the  Allies  are  received  as  friends. 
In  Savoy,  where  the  custom-house  officers  have  fled,  when  the  people  re- 
covered their  independence,  they  shouted  viva  !  not  to  their  old  Sovereign, 
but  to  our  King. 

We  are  reading  Madame  de  Stael's  work  on  Germany :  we  have  only 
just  got  the  first  two  volumes.  These  are  very  unequal  in  value ;  the 
second,  which  treats  of  the  German  drama,  and  contains  translations  of 
several  long  passages,  &c.,  is  very  unsatisfactory  ;  and  makes  most  of  the 
chapters  in  the  first,  seem  all  the  more  excellent  by  comparison.  The 
chapters  on  Goethe,  North  Germany,  and  Vienna,  are  extremely  good,  and 
even  the  great  mistakes  and  omissions  in  some  of  her  accounts  prove  that 
the  book  can  not  have  been  written  by  Schlegel  under  her  name.  He  can 
not  even  have  seen  it  before  it  was  printed.  She  speaks  of  Goethe  with 
profound  respect,  and  portrays  him  with  the  most  delicate  accuracy,  which 
does  wonderful  honor  to  her  sagacity.  It  is  evident  that  she  has  guessed 
him,  for  all  her  translations  show  that  she  does  not  half  understand  the 
words  of  his  poems.  Her  attempt  to  render  them  into  prose  (she  even 
tries  at  the  Bride  of  Corinth)  is  an  utter  failure. 

St.  followed  the  head-quarters  as  far  as  Freyburg,  and  has  now  arrived 
here.  I  hear  from  him  that,  a  month  ago,  they  talked  in  the  most  decided 
manner  of  sending  me  as  a  commissioner  to  Holland  ;  he  had  been  assured 
that  the  dispatches  were  to  be  sent  off  to  me  without  delay,  and  therefore 
supposed  me  to  be  in  Amsterdam.  I  have  not  heard  even  a  word  on  the 
subject.  Probably,  as  soon  as  I  have  made  arrangements  for  working  reg- 
ularly again  at  my  newspaper,  I  shall  be  called  away  on  a  sudden.  Since 
my  return,  I  have  only  written  single  articles  in  it ;  Arnim  has  been  the 
editor  up  to  this  time,  but  it  is  now  going  into  other  hands. 

Milly  is  busy  to-day  making  bandages  for  the  hospital,  and  it  affects  hei 
weak  eyes  so  much  that  she  can  not  write.  She  sends  her  best  love,  and 
will  write  to  you  soon. 

CLXXIV. 

AMSTERDAM,  10th  March,  1814. 

Our  present  visit  to  Amsterdam  is  very  unlike  our  former  resi- 
dence here  six  years  ago,  when  the  greater  part  of  my  time  passed  in  leis- 
ure and  deep  repose,  which  were  extremely  beneficial  to  me.  I  am  now  as 
full  of  business  and  engagements,  as  I  ever  was  in  my  life ;  but  I  hope  to 


SECOND  VISIT  TO  HOLLAND.  275 

have  the  satisfaction  of  rendering  important  services,  which  will  give  me  a 
right  to  return,  when  the  world  is  once  more  quiet,  to  that  literary  leisure 
in  which,  in  ordinary  times,  I  fulfill  the  peculiar  vocation  of  my  life.  My 
position  here  is  as  agreeable  as  possible.  Hy  English  fellow-commissioner, 
a  Chevalier  Bergman,  is  a  very  polished  and  clever  man,  who  thoroughly 
understands  the  subject ;  we  are  already  very  good  friends,  and  treat  each 
other  like  fellow-countrymen.  Hence  my  society  naturally  consists,  for  the 
most  part,  of  Englishmen,  who  treat  me  with  great  confidence  and  cor- 
diality. Their  mode  of  life  is  certainly  something  new  to  me.  The  day 
before  yesterday,  I  came  home  about  midnight,  from  a  dinner-party  where 
we  had  sat  at  table  till  eleven  o'clock. 

On  our  way  hither,  we  had  the  sorrow  of  learning  all  that  had  passed  in 
Champagne  from  the  10th  to  the  26th.*  Our  first  intelligence  was  drawn 
from  the  French  statements  respecting  England,  published  in  the  Dutch 
newspapers ;  our  next  from  the  account  of  an  Austrian,  according  to  which 
our  armies  sustained  little  less  than  total  defeat,  and  their  retreat  was  to 
be  continued  across  the  frontiers,  and  the  Rhine ;  but  it  was  much  to  be 
feared,  that  only  a  small  part  of  the  army  would  come  out  of  the  struggle 
in  good  condition.  This  depressed  me  terribly.  It  is  certain,  too,  that  it 
would  have  come  to  this,  but  for  the  heroic  constancy  of  Bluchers  troop*. 
Thank  God,  the  former  position  of  the  conflicting  powers  seems  now  to  be 
restored.  We  do  not  know  a  syllable  respecting  our  friends  in  the  army, 
and  the  battles  have  been  so  murderous,  that  some  mournful  tidings  must 
be  awaiting  us.  Neither  can  we  shut  our  eyes  to  the  fact,  that  the  diffi- 
culties are  greater  now,  than  they  would  have  been  a  month  ago,  if  Blucher 
had  not  been  left  in  the  lurch.  It  has  not  been  Wrede's  fault ;  may  God 
reward  him  for  it !  The  Russians,  too,  have  always  done  their  duty  bravely 
and  honestly.  Now,  when  the  Dutch  nation  is  called  on  to  display  other 
virtues  than  those  of  the  passive  and  limited  kind,  which  won  my  admira- 
tion six  years  ago,  it  certainly  does  not  appear  in  a  favorable  point  of 
view,  especially  to  us  who  have  acquired,  from  what  we  have  witnessed,  a 
standard  of  virtue,  such  as  was  unknown  at  that  time.  Heroism  is  utterly 
absent ;  no  one  will  even  serve  in  the  army,  who  is  not  compelled  by  pov- 
erty to  sell  his  life  for  the  sake  of  the  bounty.  It  is  universally  permitted 
to  send  substitutes  even  for  the  militia,  which  is  not  the  case  with  us.  The 
minds  of  all  are  simply  bent  upon  the  restoration  of  commerce  and  trade, 
and  they  rely  partly  on  the  enlisted  soldiers,  t  partly  on  foreign  troops,  for 
the  completion  of  their  deliverance,  and  the  establishment  of  their  inde- 
pendence. On  the  Lower  Rhine,  they  have  a  very  droll  caricature,  in 
which  Dutchmen  are  represented  as  sitting,  with  their  tea-cups  and  pipes, 
in  a  carriage,  drawn  by  Prussians,  Russians,  and  English,  with  the  words, 
"Zoo  gaat  het  wel."t  .Unfortunately  it  is  but  too  correct.  Thus,  too, 

*  The  successive  defeats  of  Blucher' s  and  the  Grand  Allied  army  at  Cham 
paubont,  Monttniral,  Vaochamps,  Nangis,  and  Monterean. 

t  The  term  "  enlisted  "  (geworbcn)  has  a  significance  in  German  which  it  has 
cot  in  English,  owing  to  the  circumstance,  that  in  Germany  all  are  obliged  to 
serve  in  the  army  as  they  are  drawn,  no  substitutes  being  permitted,  so  that  the 
average  character  of  the  troops  is  equal  to  the  average  character  of  the  nation  :• 
soldiers  who  enter  the  army  simply  for  the  pay,  like  so  many  day-laborers,  are 
looked  down  upon  in  Germany,  where  the  term  geviorben  always  implies  a 
touch  of  contempt. 

I  So  goes  it  well. 


276  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHB. 

it  is  really  saddening  to  see  their  perfect  indifference  about  the  constitution, 
which  is  to  be  settled  by  an  Assembly  of  Notables,  who  meet  a  fortnight 
hence.  There  is  not  even  the  least  curiosity  as  to  the  tenor  of  the  funda- 
mental laws,  which  are  not  known  by  the  public  as  yet,  and  therefore  1 
am  completely  ignorant  of  the  spirit  in  which  they  are  conceived.  If  they 
confer  a  tolerable  amount  of  freedom,  it  will  be  a  liberal  present  on  the 
part  of  the  sovereign,  to  which  he  has  not  been  in  the  least  compelled  by 
the  public  voice. 

CLXXV. 

AMSTERDAM,  9tk  April,  1814. 

May  we  meet  you  all  again  with  joy  !  The  when  of  this  wished- 

for  time  we  are,  indeed,  far  from  being  -able  to  fix.  It  is  possible,  that  I 
may  be  able  to  leave,  as  soon  as  the  war  is  ended,  at  least  within  a  short 
time  after ;  on  the  other  hand,  we  may  have  to  stay  here  for  a  considerable 
period  longer ;  it  is,  indeed,  possible,  too,  that  my  destination  may  be 
changed.  But,  in  fact,  when  will  the  war  be  quite  at  an  end  ?  The  con- 
quest of  Paris  is  a  very  great  achievement ;  the  proclamation  of  Louis 
XVIII.  is  also  full  of  significance ;  and  it  is  possible  that  a  large  part  of 
France,  where  no  restraining  military  force  is  present,  may  soon  declare 
for  the  termination  of  the  revolution  by  a  return  to  the  old  dynasty.  The 
reasons  are  nearly  equal  for  and  against  the  probability  of  submission  on 
the  part  of  the  troops,  and  especially  of  the  generals.  If  the  snowball  be- 
gin to  roll  anywhere,  it  may  quickly  become  an  av'alanche.  But  probably 
this  is  impossible  till  there  has  been  a  victory  over  Bonaparte,  and  his 
army  is  scattered.  Whether  he  has  only  from  forty  to  fifty  thousand  men, 
or  more,  is  not  of  much  consequence  :  it  is  certain  that  he  can  not  possibly 
be  strong  enough  to  attack  the  allied  armies  with  success.  But  will  he  do 
it,  notwithstanding,  in  desperation  ?  Or  will  he  make  forced  marches  to 
his  armies  in  the  south,  unite  them,  and  attempt  to  revenge  himself  on 
the  provinces  which  have  really  declared  against  him  with  enthusiasm? 
In  former  times,  when  his  military  eye  was  so  piercing,  that  one  could 
never  doubt  of  his  taking,  on  the  whole,  the  right  course,  I  should  not  hes- 
itate in  assuming  that  he  would  adopt  the  latter  decision.  I  still  expect 
that  he  will  do  so,  because  the  alternative  of  choice,  which  has  led  him 
into  the  greatest  faults  ever  since  the  Russian  campaign,  both  on  the  Elbe 
and  now  on  the  Marne,  is  really  no  longer  open  to  him.  His  march  from 
Arcis  to  St.  Dizier,  on  the  22d  of'last  month,  is  a  mistake  only  compara- 
ble to  that  of  General  Mack.  The  oscillating  movements  to  which  he  was 
compelled,  the  necessity  of  regulating  his  proceedings  by  those  of  the  en- 
emy, had  evidently  paralyzed  all  the  powers  of  his  mind,  so  that  he  com- 
mitted  the  most  obvious  blunders.  Now  he  has  no  longer  a  choice,  and  ii 
he  attempt  to  advance  toward  Paris,  it  will  be  plain  that  God  has  again 
smitten  him  with  blindness.  But  if  any  stand  by  him  to  the  last,  there 
will  be  a  fearful  combat  to  sustain  with  the  infuriated  tiger,  when  nothing 
but  death  is  before  his  eyes 

Is  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbons  desirable  ?  As  the  only  possible 
.means  of  terminating  that  political  system  of  France,  which  has  desolated 
the  whole  of  Europe,  I  think  it  is.  Some  sort  of  constitution  must,  at  any 
rate,  be  established.  And  besides,  where  a  party  shows  such  energy  as 
was  displayed  at  Bordeaux,  for  instance,  and  formerly  in  La  Vendee,  it 


SECOND  VISIT  TO  HOLLAND.  277 

becomes  the  party  of  freedom.  Forms  are  nothing;  the  spirit  is  every 
thing 

CLXXVI. 

AMSTERDAM,  Wlh  April,  1614. 

After  this  account  of  what  more  immediately  concerns  ourselves, 

I  can  speak  to  you  of  nothing  but  the  extraordinary  crisis,  whose  speedy 
termination  has  certainly  taken  every  one  by  surprise.  No  one  could  have 
expected  that  Bonaparte  would  have  displayed  such  pusillanimity ;  that 
he  would  have  been  as  abject  in  adversity,  as  he  was  arrogant  so  long  as 
tkere  remained  a  gteam  of  prosperity.  As  little  could  any  one  have  antici- 
pated,-that  the  soldiers  would  follow  the  example  of  defection,  set  them  by 
an  Assembly,  which  they  had  always  regarded  with  contempt.  Whether  it 
was  desirable  that  things  should  be  brought  so  very  rapidly  to  a  crisis,  or 
whether  a  slower  and  more  thorough  process  of  fermentation  would  not 
have  been  more  wholesome,  experience  will  most  likely  teach  us  in  a  short 
time.  Many  impure  elements  might  have  been  eliminated,  if  the  decision 
had  taken  place  in  the  southern  departments.  As  it  is,  all  the  person!  who 
were  connected  with  the  administration  under  Bonaparte,  remain  in  office, 
and  we  must  not,  because  he  has  fallen,  impute  to  him  alone  all  the  count- 
less crimes  of  the  past  government.  Bourrienne  is  high  in  office;  so  is 
Beugnot.  That  Talleyrand  should  stand  at  the  head  of  affairs,  no  one  can 
blame ;  for  extraordinary  talents,  and  an  understanding  which  throws  all 
the  rest  of  his  fellow-countrymen  into  the  shade,  give  him  a  claim  to  this 
rank.  The  new  constitution  is  a  very  sensible  production ;  though  the  care 
which  the  Senators  have  taken  for  themselves,  is  about  the  greatest  piece  of 
effrontery  I  have  ever  seen.  It  will  probably  afford  the  French*  all  the 
freedom  of  which  they  are  capable  at  present ;  and,  therefore,  I  only  pass 
censure  with  hesitation,  even  where  some  essential  things  »eem  to  have  been 
omitted.  All  depends  now  upon  whether  it  is  carried  out  in  earnest.  If 
so,  we  may  congratulate  Europe  on  the  establishment  of  civil  liberty  on  a 
practicable  and  durable  basis,  in  the  centre  of  the  Continent,  midway  be- 
tween the  senseless-  anarchy  of  the  Spanish  constitution,  and  the  absolute 
monarchy,  which  has  been  introduced  here  in  Holland,  under  forms  which, 
at  first  sight,  convey  the  impression  that  constitutional  freedom  really  exists. 

I  am  not  quite  easy,  however,  about  the  conditions  of  the  peace ;  not  quite 
satisfied  that  France  will  be  every  where  reduced  to  the  boundaries  of  1789, 
boundaries  which  I  should  rejoice  to  sea  further  narrowed  by  the  restoration 
of  Alsace  and  Lorraine.  It  has  been  suggested,  that  more  may  be  done 
than  to  guarantee  the  old  boundaries,  and  this  is  always  ringing  in  my  ears ; 
then  other  questions  come  up  about  the  distribution  of  the  conquered  coun- 
tries ;  for  ourselves,  I  desire  above  all  things  a  compact  empire  in  North 
Germany,  as  far  as  it  is  practicable.  I  saw  last  summer,  what  a  world- 
wide difference  there  is  between  Silesia  and  Bohemia;  a  difference  which 
certainly  did  not  exist  to  such  an  extent,  before  the  former  became  Prussian 
territory.  And  the  inhabitants  of  Westphalia  and  the  Lower  Rhine  are 
much  more  similar  to  ourselves  than  those  of  Silesia.  A  remarkable  age  is 
still  before  us ;  the  world  will  not  sink  back  into  its  old  insipidity  and  slug* 
gishness  again  for  the  rest  of  our  lifetime,  and  the  foundation  may  be  laid 
f>r  better  times. 

It  would  be  a  severe  sacrifice  to  me,  to  remain  long  here — long  away 


278  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

from  Berlin.  We  are  not  at  all  pleased  with  the  state  of  feeling  here 
There  was  a  short  fit  of  noble  enthusiasm  in  the  middle  of  November  ;  some 
individuals  displayed  a  fine  spirit ;  but  when  the  few  days  of  excitement 
were  over,  the  attention  of  all  was  absorbed  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  advant- 
ages gained.  The  call  of  honor  found  deaf  ears,  or,  rather,  it  appeared  to 
them  a  folly.  They  are  now  pursuing  their  wonted  avocations,  and  exhibit 
the  same  besotted  avarice,  and  love  of  ostentation  as  ever  ;  but  in  times  of 
universal  servitude  it  was  less  repulsive. 

CLXXVII. 

30th  April,  1814. 

A  young  officer,  a  special  favorite  of  mine,  sent  me  a  noble  letter 

after  the  battle  of  Laons.  Whether  he,  or  any  other  of  my  friends  in  the 
army,  have  survived  the  late  bloody  engagements,  I  am  utterly  ignorant. 
He  is  one  of  nine  sons  of  an  old  superannuated  general ;  five  of  them  have 
been  officers  already,  two  are  still  boys,  and  also  destined  for  the  army.  Of 
the  seven  elder  sons,  one  fell  so  early  as  1807,  at  Colberg ;  a  second  last 
autumn  at  Culm  ;  the  third,  who  had  been  wounded  before  in  Courland,  died 
of  his  wounds  at  Dresden ;  the  fourth,  my  young  friend,  received  a  shot  in 
the  temples  at  Liitzen.  which  has  much  impaired  his  sight  and  hearing  on 
that  side ;  the  fifth  had  his  arm  shot  off  at  Leipsic.  Only  one  was  still 
unwounded,  when  the  seventh  joined  the  army,  last  new-year's  day.  My 
favorite  was  already  in  the  army  in  1807  ;  he  left  it  after  the  peace,  learnt 
Latin,  went  to  college,  became  an  able  jurist,  and  was  afterward  companion 
to  a  rich  young  man,  for  our  nobility  have  ceased  to  think  such  a  career  de- 
grading. Our  young  noblemen  study  as  hard  as  others  at  the  gymnasia 
and  universities,  particularly  since  1807.  May  God  preserve  to  us  all  the 
good  we  have  gained  from  our  misfortunes  !  When  the  war  broke  out,  he 
became-  an  officer  again,  and  is  an  excellent  one.  He  tells  me  that,  owing 
to  the  great  privations  our  troops  had  to  suffer,  their  hatred  of  the  French  at 
last  prevailed  over  the  humanity  which  the  officers  preached  to  them,  and 
which  they  had  long  practiced.  They  were  exasperated  by  the  cruelty  of 
the  French,  who  attacked  single  individuals,  murdered  the  wounded,  &c. 
Our  troops  had  long  known  that  the  French  would  give  no  provisions  even 
when  they  could,  and  had  long  suffered  in  patience  ;  but  when  the  Russians 
pillaged,  the  hidden  stores  came  to  light,  which  had  served  the  French  army 
in  their  eternal  marches  and  countermarches,  while  our  people  were  put  off 
with  words,  and  went  hungry.  Thus  they  began  to  help  themselves,  and 
from  taking,  came  to  plundering,  of  which,  up  to  that  time  there  had  not 
been  a  single  instance  among  our  men,  during  the  whole  war.  He  tells  me, 
he  could  not  sleep  for  grief.  Even  then,  there  was  still  a  world-wide  dif- 
ference between  the  Prussians  and  the  rest  of  the  allied  troops  ;  for  it  must 
be  confessed,  that  France  has  suffered  a  terrible  retribution.  After  the 
victory  of  Laons,  the  field  preachers  took  for  their  text,  "  What  will  it  profit 
a  man  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul?"  and  ex- 
horted the  men  to  return  to  the  patience  and  honesty  they  had  shown  till 
lately.  The  brave  fellows  wept  bitterly,  and  promised  with  a  loud  voice  to 
do  so.  On  this,  General  York  stepped  forward,  reminded  them  of  the 
sacredness  of  their  vow ;  said  he  well  knew  what  sufferings  and  privations 
they  had  to  bear,  but  he  too,  was  not  on  a  bed  of  roses ;  he  had  to  lie  awake 
with  care  while  they  slept ;  he  had  always  loved  them  as  children,  they  had 


SECOND  VISIT  TO  HOLLAND.  279 

such  good  children  ;  but  for  some  time  past  they  had  given  him  much 
sorrow.  In  this  battle  they  had  proved  themselves  again  as  brave  aa  ever ; 
they  ought  to  be  as  good  as  they  were  brave.  After  this  he  ordered  one  man 
t«  step  forward  from  each  company,  spoke  to  them  singly,  and  took  their 
hand  upon  it,  that  they  would  suffer  any  thing  rather  than  be  guilty  of  any 
excesses.  The  narrative  of  my  young  friend  is  as  touching,  as  these  anec- 
dotes are  beautiful,  and  certainly  unparalleled  since  the  days  of  Gustavus 
Adolphus.  I  have  given  Stolberg's  son,  who  has  been  sent  to  our  army,  a 
letter  of  recommendation  to  this  officer.  If  the  present  spirit  lasts,  every 
father  would  do  well  to  send  his  son  to  the  army  in  case  of  a  new  war. . . . 
1  can  not  persuade  myself,  that  they  have  reached  the  goal  in  France, 
and  that  the  Bourbons  will  now  sit  quietly  on  the  throne,  which  is  what 
people  call  governing.  If  they  are  to  fulfill  their  promises,  and  the  hopes 
which  the  agriculturists  and  citizens  entertain  of  repairing  their  losses,  they 
must  lower  their  receipts  to  a  third  of  those' which  Bonaparte  extorted, 
during  the  latter  years  of  his  reign,  from  a  population,  half  as  large  again 
as  that  of  old  France,  and  then  they  will  not  be  able  to  satisfy  the  demands 
of  all  those  who  have  been  paid,  not  only  out  of  these  collective  revenues, 
but  at  the  cost  of  half  Europe.  The  interests  of  Bonaparte  and  of  the 
soldiers  were  essentially  the  same ;  only  that  for  the  latter,  the  extremely 
unpleasant  chance  of  being  shot  dead,  or  maimed  for  life,  was  superadded. 
But  this  could  not  be  helped  ;  and  even  if  his  soldiers  murmured,  they  knew 
very  well  that  it  could  not  be  otherwise  without  renouncing  all  that  they 
liked  best — reveling  at  other  people's  expense,  extortion,  stealing,  and  grow- 
ing rich,  tyranny,  ostentation,  and  idleness.  If,  therefore,  you  have  any 
wish  that  France  should  receive  a  little  more  chastisement,  and  that  the 
Bourbons  should  not  be  immoderately  favored  by  undeserved  and  unexpected 
good  fortune,  there  is  a  very  tolerable  prospect  of  the  fulfillment  of  your 
desires. 

CLXXVIII. 

AMSTERDAM,  \7tk  May,  1814. 

Milly  fancied  herself  almost  well  again  when  she  began  to  write, 

but  unhappily  the  cold  wintry  weather  has  disagreed  with  her,  and  a  walk 

that  she  took  has  brought  on  a  relapse She  sees  absolutely  no  one 

here,  beyond  those  who  come  to  me  on  business,  and  the  number  of  such 
is  not  large  ;  neither  am  I  much  tempted  to  extend  the  circle  of  my  ac- 
quaintance. I  am  not  at  all  comfortable  here  at  present ;  the  people  -have 
too  little  sympathy  with  us  Germans  in  what  lies  nearest  to  our  heart*, 
and  the  manner  in  which  this  nation  has  stood  the  hour  of  trial  necessa- 
rily influences  our  feelings  toward  them.  You  can  have  no  idea  of  the 
universal  want  of  energy.  Long  subjection  has  stimulated  selfishness  to 
the  utmost  extent.  With  many,  their  chief  fear  is  lest  England  should 
insist  upon  the  abolition  of  the  slave-trade  by  all  other  states ;  she  herself 
having  discontinued  it  for  the  last  seven  years.  "  You  see,"  said  a  planter 
to  me,  "  it  is  the  same  with  our  negroes  in  Guiana,  as  it  is  with  sugar- 
boilers,  glass-workers,  &c. — they  never  grow  old  at  their  work.  They  can 
not  stand  it  long.  And,  besides,  we  only  keep  two  women  to  five  men. 
My  God  !  at  this  rate,  all  the  most  beautiful  countries,  where  so  many 
hogsheads  of  sugar  might  be  produced,  would  be  left  a  desert ;  and  even 
the  old  plantations  would  go  to  ruin  !  And  if  Spain  can  no  longer  import 


280  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

negroes,  what  will  become  of  the  mines,  which  can  only  be  worked  by 
them  ?  Is  the  gold  to  stay  in  the  earth  ?" 

CLXXIX. 

AMSTERDAM,  28tk  May,  1814. 

The  French  writers  are  no  longer  brilliant,  but  as  superficial  as 

ever.  Formerly,  they  were  sometimes  profound  through  their  very  inge- 
nuity •  now,  their  ignorance  and  shallowness  stand  unvailed  before  the 
reader.  It  is  very  remarkable,  too,  that  a  few  of  these  writings,  in  speak- 
ing of  the  French  Revolution,  exhibit  an  ignorance  and  forgetfulness,  equal 
to  that  which  we  are  accustomed  to  see  in  French  historians,  when  treat- 
ing of  distant  countries  or  ages.  I  am  not  alluding  here  to  points  with 
respect  to  which  we  can  conceive  an  intentional  falsification.  This  proves 
how  completely  every  one  has  banished  the  past  from  his  memory,  instead 
of  making  it  the  subject  of  reflection.  It  has  passed  over  them  like  a  fear- 
ful storm,  of  which  we  only  retain  a  general  impression,  because  it  is  too 
painful  to  realize  it  afresh.  Literature  is  quite  extinct  here.  If  we  com- 
pare the  intellectual  condition  of  North  Germany  with  that  of  other  coun- 
tries, not  merely  with  that  of  the  French  at  present,  we  must  feel  strongly 
how  right  Arndt  is,  in  saying  that  we  are  a  different  and  a  better  people. 
Our  literature,  too,  may  be  somewhat  in  danger  at  the  present  time.  If 
we  do  not  look  about  us  now,  and  collect  our  thoughts  before  we  write 
much,  it  may  decline  among  us  also.  Our  peculiar  heritage,  learning,  had 
been  languishing  for  some  time,  and  has  now  received  a  heavy  blow 

CLXXX. 

BRUSSELS,  2Qtk  June,  1814.* 

The  public  works  which  Bonaparte  has  carried  out  are  certainly 

astonishing :  they  prove  what  can  be  accomplished  by  the  despotism  of 
one  restless  man  who  spares  no  means  to  eifect  his  end.  His  principal 
works  in  Holland  are  the  impregnable  fortifications  on  the  Holder,  which 
were  finished  in  a  year  and  a  half ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  not 
only  were  the  peasantry  for  many  miles  round  obliged  to  send  their  beasts 
for  statute  labor,  but  that  the  Spanish  prisoners  also  worked  at  them  by 
thousands.  A  great  part  of  the  stones  used  in  the  construction  of  the 
causeway  to  Utrecht,  have  been  taken  from  houses  which  were  given  up 
by  their  possessors,  because  they  could  no  longer  pay  the  land-tax,  and  for 
which  the  State  could  not  find  purchasers  at  any  price.  Amsterdam  is 
externally  the  least  changed  of  the  Dutch  cities.  The  houses  on  the  great 
canals  are  kept  as  beautifully  as  they  were  formerly  :  except  in  the  very 
remote  quarters,  you  see  nothing  of  the  decay  and  desolation  which  you 
would  expect  after  a  bankruptcy.  The  appearance  of  Haarlem  is  fright- 
ful ;  it  is  said  that  three  hundred  houses  have  been  destroyed  there.  The 
country  houses  have  suffered  the  most,  however.  The  causeway  has  been 
carried  in  a  straight  line  wherever  it  was  possible,  and  therefore  mostly 
through  bare  fields :  while  the  old  high  road  wound  along  the  banks  of  the 
Vecht  among  the  smiling  country-seats  and  park-like  gardens.  The  mtist 
beautiful  piece  of  this  charming  road  has,  however,  been  preserved  ;  it  is 

*  The  former  part  of  this  letter  contains  an  account  of  Madame  Niebuhr's 
state  of  health,  which  seems  by  this  time  to  have  exhibited  signs  of  consump- 
tion ;  and  of  the  beginning  of  a  little  excursion  which  they  made  into  Brabant. 


SECOND  VISIT  TO  HOLLAND.  281 

about  two  miles  from  Utrecht,  where  the  road  runs  between  two  parks, 
whose  great  forest-trees  look  almost  like  a  wood,  through  which  you  catch 
glimpses  of  pretty  dwellings.  Utrecht,  which  was  still  a  place  of  some 
trade  when  we  were  here  before,  because  King  Louis  held  his  court  there, 
is  now  evidently  sunk  into  much  deeper  poverty  ;  its  streets  swarm  with 
beggars.  We  staid  there  &  night.  The  road  from  thence  to  Goreum, 
close  to  which  little  town  you  cross  the  Rhine,  lies  through  a  very  fine 
alluvial  plain ;  you  see  many  of  those  little  manors,  which  are  as  nurn^r- 
ous  in  the  province  of  Utrecht  as  they  are  rare  in  that  of  Holland,  But 
the  dwellings  of  the  peasants  exhibit  few  signs  of  prosperity.  I  approached 
Goreum  with  curiosity,  because  our  expectations  had  been  strongly  ex- 
cited last  January  and  February  by  the  capture  of  this  place.  For  a  con- 
siderable distance,  the  ruins  of  peasants'  cottages,  and  the  buildings  of  the 
suburbs,  gave  evidence  of  the  siege.  But  the  fortress  itself  by  no  means 
corresponded  to  the  expectations  which  its  importance  had  raised.  Here, 
too,  we  had  a  proof  that  Bonaparte  scarcely  ever  thought  of  preserving  im- 
portant works  already  in  existence,  but  only  of  creating  something  new. 
Nothing  can  be  more  ruinous  than  the  walls  ;  a  double  row  of  palisades 
had  been  erected  as  a  defense  against  an  assault ;  there  were  no  outworks, 
nothing  that  could  stand  a  regular  siege.  Every  thing  seems  to  depend 
upon  the  inundations,  which,  however,  are  no  protection  in  winter  against 
a  bold  enemy,  and  thus  the  unaccountable  surrender  is  explained.  The 
city  has  long  been  one  of  the  poorest  in  Holland ;  if  the  times  had  been 
good,  it  could  hardly  have  recovered  from  the  floods  of  1809  ;  and  no 
repairs  seem  to  have  been  made  yet,  since  the  bombardment  last  winter. 
Many  of  the  windows  are  quite  boarded  up ;  broken  panes  are  left  un- 
mended ;  we  took  our  dinner  in  a  room  that  was  in  this  condition.  Our 
companions  at  the  table-d'hote  were  a  merchant  from  Elberfeldt,  and  a 
party  of  Dutch  officers,  some  of  whom  had  served  under  the  French,  and 
still  bragged  of  their  campaigns  and  their  quarters  in  Germany.  This 
Dutch  army  is  a  most  melancholy  affair,  destitute  of  moral  dignity,  sev- 
ered from  the  nation  (so  much  so  that  in  Amsterdam  you  never  see  officers 
in  society,  and  to  enter  the  service  is  regarded  as  the  last  resort  for  one 
who  is  good  for  nothing  else)  :  without  even  self-respect ;  and  yet  the  peo- 
ple never  dream  that  such  an  army  is  no  protection  to  them— that  they 
must  bestir  themselves,  and  train  themselves  to  the  use  of  arms 

CLXXXI. 

TO  PERTHES. 

AMSTERDAM,  June,  1814. 

I  have  perceived  here,  for  months  past,  how  the  French  poison 

corrupts  a  nation  ;  what  a  miserable  figure  it  cuts  when  its  fetters  are  re- 
moved after  years  of  slavery.  In  Brabant,  I  have  seen  still  more  vividly, 
how  the  union  with  France  has  so  accustomed  the  people  to  a  yoke  which 
they  hated,  that  they  now  long  to  be  under  it  again— can  no  longer  exist 
otherwise  :  and  I  hear  it  is  the  same  in  the  Catholic  countries  on  the  Rhine. 
Truly  these  times  have  proved  the  worth  of  our  Protestantism.  I  can  not 
write  more  to  you  to-day.  God  give  you  his  blessing,  and  preserve  your 
noble  powers ! 

With  old  and  faithful  love,  your  N. 


282  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

CLXXXII. 

BERLIS,  October  1814. 

If  I  understand  you  rightly,  I  think  you  are  laboring  under  a  miscon- 
ception as  to  the  Congratulatory  Address  and  its  subject.*  As  no  one  among 
the  general  public  could  have  declared  on  oath  who  is  its  author,  so  none 
but  He  who  reads  all  hearts  can  tell  what  the  religion  of  this  writer  may  be, 
and  whether  you,  or  any  one  else  is  entitled  to  envy  him  his  religion  or  not. 
At  least  those  Independents  of  the  seventeenth  century,  wrote  just  in  the 
same  manner  about  introducing  the  precepts  of  men  into  the  worship  of  God 
— nay  they  wrote,  spoke,  and  acted  under  the  influence  of  the  most  fanat- 
ical hatred  ;  and  for  my  own  part  I  would  quite  as  soon  wish  for  the  relig- 
ion of  Milton,  or  even  of  Vane,  as  for  that  of  Jansenius.  If  you  believe  that 
we  should  gain  any  thing  by  adopting  the  Catholic  form  of  worship,  we  will 
not  contest  the  point ;  though  I  thought  we  had  agreed,  in  conversation, 
that  a  more  efficacious  form  of  worship  could  never  be  called  into  existence, 
until  the  church  herself  had  sprung  up  afresh  from  the  ashes,  and  had  ac- 
quired numbers  and  consistency,  by  her  own  internal  development.  To  me 
and  others,  this  writer  appears  to  aim  at  the  same  point.  Were  he  known, 
I  should  like  to  put  him  to  the  question,  whether  he  is  speaking  of  a  church 
founded  on  faith  and  conviction,  or  whether  by  a  church  he  only  means  an 
ecclesiastical  State ;  but  as  this  is  impossible  I  can  say  nothing,  and  must 

believe  the  best 

It  is  not  the  Pope,  but  the  imposition  of  a  creed,  which  the  true  lover 
of  freedom  fears  ;  for  no  one  individual  can  undertake  to  hold  the  same 
creed  unchanged  throughout  his  life,  and  no  two  can  believe  exactly  alike, 
unless  they  choke  themselves  with  words.  And  where  do  we  now  see  the 
stirrings  of  aspiration  and  faith  ?  In  Protestant  or  Catholic  Germany  ? .  .  . 

CLXXXIII. 

TO    MADAME   HENSLER. 

BERLIN,  1st  November,  1814. 

We  arrived  here  at  twelve  last  night.     We  called  on  Nicolovius 

and  the  Goschens  as  early  as  we  could  this  morning,  and  I  went  to  Ancil- 
lon  to  learn  what  was  meant  by  the  announcement  that  I  was  to  give  les- 
sons to  the  Crown  Prince.  I  found  that  these  lessons  could  only  occupy 
two  hours  a  week,  as  mathematics,  military  science,  &c.,  would  fill  up  the 
remainder  of  his  mornings.  I  am  required  to  teach  finance ;  but  I  havo 
reserved  to  myself  the  liberty  to  connect  other  subjects  with  that.  Savigny 
is  also  to  give  lessons  to  the  prince  for  two  hours  a  week ; — a  general  sur- 
vey of  jurisprudence 

The  aspect  of  Berlin  is  quite  changed  since  last  winter.  The  great  ma- 
jority of  those  you  see  in  the  streets  and  squares  are  men ;  you  meet  sol- 
diers in  all  directions,  and  it  is  quite  curious  to  see  the  multitude  of  orders 
and  decorations.  All  who  took  part  in  the  war  wear  medals  ;  and  many 
are  now  going  about  with  military  decorations,  whose  dress  shows  that  they 
have  returned  to  the  miserable  life  of  a  day-laborer.  » 

*  There  were  some  at  this  time,  who  wished  to  introduce  into  the  German 
Protestant  Church,  a  liturgy  more  similar  to  that  of  the  Church  of  England. 
Perthes  was  in  favor  of  it ;  Niebuhr  thought  it  unadvisable,  if  not  springing 
spontaneously  from  the  hearts  of  the  people. 


RESIDENCE  IN  BERLIN  IN  1814.  283 

It  seems  no  longer  doubtful,  that  the  unhappy  consequences  of  neglect* 
ing  the  favorable  opportunity  which  presented  itself  in  April,  will  make 
themselves  felt  in  our  relations  with  France.  It  is  not  known  whether 
Talleyrand  has  really  left ;  but  the  communications  with  him  have  cer- 
tainly been  broken  off.  As  a  warlike  spirit  is  universal  in  France,  I  can 
not  conceive  bow  it  is,  that  while  all  allow  that  a  new  war  with  France 
is  inevitable  sooner  or  later,  scarcely  any  one  sees  that  it  is  just  as  likely 
to  break  out  now  as  rt  any  other  time.  People  fancy  that  the  French  have 
laid  down  their  arms,  and  that  in  quite  a  mistake 

CLXXXIV 

BERLIN,  nik  December  1814. 

The  mysterious  course  of  public  affairs  still  seems  to  threaten 

danger.  Nothing  more  is  really  known  since  my  last  letter.  That  scarcely 
anybody  feels  anxiety,  proves  nothing  at  all.  It  is  certain  that  France  is 
arming,  and  is  raising  a  large  force  ;  and  the  grounds  on  which  people 
conclude  that  the  Bourbons  would  not  venture  upon  a  war,  are  only  valid, 
in  case  we  may  assume  that  they  will  not  allow  themselves  to  be  forced 
into  it.  The  Duke  de  Berri  is  quite  on  the  aide  of  the  army,  and  I  believe 
that  he  leads  his  father;  for  in  this  way,  Dupont's  dismissal,  and  Soult's 
appointment  may  be  accounted  for.  I  do  not  like  our  position  ;  still,  when 
one  sees  in  what  good  spirits  our  protectors  and  heroes  are,  one  is  ashamed 
to  be  gloomy.  The  army  is  my  constant  consolation  and  delight — all  the 
members  of  it  whom  I  meet,  are  ready  to  open  their  hearts  to  me.'  In 
other  respects,  the  aspect  of  Europe  is  not  encouraging.  In  England,  the 
want  of  genius  becomes  daily  more  visible.  I  have  had  an  idea  of  trying 
to  work  upon  public  opinion  there,  in  favor  of  ray  beloved  Prussia  (in  nine- 
teen-twentieths  of  the  people  it  is  with  us  already) ;  but  it  is  a  delicate 
thing  to  do,  when  one  in  so  imperfectly  acquainted  with  the  relations  of 
the  two  cabinet*.  My  vexation  on  this  subject  is  not  my  only  uneasiness 
with  regard  to  England.  Now  and  then,  indeed,  a  bright  gleam  appears ; 
as,  for  instance,  the  intended  introduction  of  the  trial  by  jury  into  Scot- 
land,  to  the  same  extent  that  it  exists  in  England,  from  which  we  may 
hope  that  in  all  repects,  Scotland  will  gradually  be  brought  to  the  enjoy- 
ment  of  the  same  freedom  as  England,  which  she  is  far  from  possessing 
as  yet. 

I  have  already,  several  times,  wanted  to  sit  down  and  tell  you,  how 
much  pleasure  I  receive  from  my  lessons  to  the  Crown  Prince ;  but  inter- 
ruptions, or  work  have  prevented  my  doing  so.  I  rejoice  when  the  day 
comes  to  go  to  him.  He  is  attentive,  inquiring,  full  of  interest— all  the 
noble  gifts  with  which  nature  has  so  richly  endowed  him,  unfold  themselves 
to  me  in  the  course  of  these  lessons.  We-  often  wander  from  our  reading 
into  conversation,  but  not  into  idle  talk,  and  it  is  no  waste  of  time.  His 
gayety  of  disposition  does  not  render  him  less  earnest ;  and  his  feelings  are 
as  deep,  as  his  fancy  is  playful.  He  seeks  instruction  and  counsel  from 
others,  without  surrendering  himself  to  the  authority  of  any.  I  have  never 
seen  a  youth  with  a  finer  nature.  He  knows,  too,  how  much  I  am  attached 
to  him  ;  that  I  see  in  his  looks ;  and  the  cause  of  my  affection,  that  it  is 
not  his  external  position  which  attracts  me.  It  is  one  of  his  dearest  cas- 
tles in  the  air  (how  it  is  to  be  accomplished  he  does  not  know),  to  be  th« 


284  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

ruler  of  Greece,  in  order  to  wander  among  the  ruins,  dream,  and  excavate. 
When  I  hear  him  it  revives  my  old  castles  in  the  air.  "  If  we  should  be 
at  Athens  some  day,"  I  said  to  him,  "  make  me  your  professor  of  Greek 
history,  your  keeper  of  the  monuments,  and  director  of  the  excavations!" 
"  No,  not  keeper ;  you  shall  not  have  that  title ;  I  mean  to  make  the  ex- 
cavations myself,  but  you  shall  be  present." 

In  my  next,  I  will  give  you  some  answer  to  the  problems  which  Hume 
has  not  solved  for  you.  I  willingly  recognize  Hume's  great  qualities,  and 
his  decided  superiority  to  Gibbon ;  but,  in  the  earlier  times,  he  overlooks 
many  more  things  of  the  kind  you  have  noticed ;  and  in  later  periods,  he 
does  not  enter  into  the  mental  wants  of  the  men  whom  he  accounts  foola 
and  rebels.  But  this  is  equally  the  case  with  Gibbon. 

CLXXXV. 

BERLIN,  ZQtk  December,  1814. 

Our  anxiety  as  to  the  state  of  feeling  in  the  countries  between 

the  Rhine  and  the  Maas,  seem  to  be  groundless.  The  manufacturers  there 
have  found  a  compensation  for  the  loss  of  the  French  market — the  source 
of  their  prosperity  since  the  re-union — more  quickly  than  could  have  been  ex- 
pected ;  the  free  trade  by  sea  opens  Italy  to  them,  and  they  have  more  orders 
than  they  can  execute.  They  are  not  likely,  therefore,  to  want  for  worldly 
prosperity  ;  but  these  districts,  parts  of  which  are,  moreover,  pure  Walloon, 
need  a  spiritual  regeneration.  God  grant  that  if  these  become  ours,  we 
may  do  as  much  for  the  souls  of  their  inhabitants,  as  King  Frederick  did 
for  the  material  welfare  of  Silesia  !  In  Saxony,  too,  we  should  undoubtedly 
make  very  rapid  progress  in  winning  the  hearts  of  the  people,  if  we  came 
forward  to  them  with  thorough  cordiality.  Oh,  how  I  should  like  to  receive 
some  commission,  by  which  I  might  leave  a  good  work  of  this  kind,  and  a 

memory  behind  me  ! All  Italy  is  in  a  ferment,  and  Murat,  no  doubt, 

is  on  the  watch  for  an  outbreak.  He  would  be  a  sad  deliverer  !  But,  in 
one  way  or  other,  that  country  will  certainly  be  formed  into  a  single  realm, 
in  the  course  of  one  or  a  few  generations.  The  dreams  of  early  youth  are 
strange.  Something  of  this  kind  took  supreme  possession  of  my  mind  in 
the  visions  of  my  early  life,  and  the  separation  of  Sicily,  as  the  first  spot 
where  a  free  constitution  could  take  root,  came  before  me  in  those  dreams. 
When  once  the  Congress  is  over,  we  shall  again  be  able  to  read  the  future. 
Up  to  this  time  many  things  are  still  left  undecided.  But  I  firmly  believe 
that  Italy  will  yet  fetch  her  works  of  art  back  from  Paris,  and  that  France 
will  one  day  be  dismembered 

CLXXXVI. 

BERLIN,  HthJanuary,  1815. 

My  pamphlet*  comes  out  to-day,  and  I  am  sending  a  packet  of  copies 
off  to  you.  Now  that  this  little  work  is  finished  I  hope  it  will  please  you. 
I  must  observe  that  it  was  composed  as  for  an  oration  before  an  assembly, 
and  flowed  straight  from  my  heart,  and  hence  it  must  be  read  like  a  speech. 
Any  one  who  should  read  it  to  himself,  or  aloud,  without  modulating  his 
voice,  in  a  uniform  tone,  like  a  treatise  that  is  merely  concerned  with  ideas, 
would  probably  be  as  much  puzzled  with  it,  as  the  ordinary  reader  is  with 

*  ".Preussen's  Becht  gegen  den  sachsischen  Hof."  The  Right  of  Prussia 
against  the  Court  of  Saxony. 


RESIDENCE  IN  BERLIN  IN  1815.  2*5 

Greek  orations  (I  do  not  mean  to  institute  a  comparison  here),  particularly 
those  in  Thucydides,  before  he  has  learnt  to  read  with  the  ear.  Bo  not 
misunderstand  me.  I  am  well  aware,  that  1  by  no  means  belong  to  the 
great  masters  of  oratory  in  writing;  but  I  also  know,  what  most  of  our 
authors  do  not  in  the  least  know  and  consider,  that  the  old  prose  writers 
wrote  as  if  they  were  speaking  to  an  audience ;  while  among  us,  prose  is 
invariably  written  for  the  eye  alone,  at  least  only  for  the  ear  in  case  of  an 
easy  narrative.  This  is  why  my  style  is  found  so  strange  and  unusual,  and 
hence  punctuation  is  so  difficult  to  me.  for  I  ought  to  have  many  more  signs 
in  order  to  indicate  my  exact  intention.  In  fact,  with  all  that  the  writer 
composes  as  if  he  were  speaking,  the  character  of  the  movement,  and  the 
time,  ought  to  be  marked,  as  in  music,  for  the  ordinary  reader.  Among 
the  many  good  hopes  which  I  cherish  for  the  future,  one  is,  that  we  may 
some  day  attain  a  good  prose,  in  which  that  which  I  at  least  feel,  may  be 
perfectly  expressed.  If  I  had  found  some  guidance,  and  had  not  wearied 
myself  with  some  things  while  neglecting  others,  I  might  have  reached  it 
myself.  As  it  is,  that  is  out  of  the  question.  I  break  off  to  take  a  copy 
of  my  tract  to  old  Blucher. 

Not  to  leave  your  historical  questions  quite  unanswered  a  second 

time,  I  reply  to  your  first,  that  in  the  middle  ages,  England  stood  in  the 
same  relation  to  the  manufacturing  districts  of  the  Netherlands — where 
agriculture  did  not  begin  to  flourish  till  after  the  decline  of  their  textile  pro- 
ductions in  the  fifteenth  century — which  the  countries  on  the  Baltic  now 
occupy  toward  England.  It  fed  their  great  cities  with  its  corn  :  and  then, 
too,  the  export  of  raw  wool  was  an  extremely  profitable  trade.  The  coun- 
try also  possessed  ships  and  fisheries.  At  the  same  time,  the  nation  was 
very  frugal,  and  all,  with  the  exception  of  persons  connected  with  the  court, 
clothed  themselves  in  home-made  stuffs ;  and  hence  it  is  no  wonder  that 
so  much  gold  was  coined  there  at  such  an  early  period. 

I  do  not  feel  myself  quite  clear  about  the  position  of  Lorenzo  de  Medici. 
I  know  the  offices  he  filled,  but  that  does  not  suffice  to -account  for  his 
power.  He  is  no  favorite  of  mine. 

I  shall  soon  set  about  the  continuation  of  my  great  work,  and  have  made 
all  sorts  of  discoveries.  Farewell. 

CLXXXVII. 

BERLIS,  \Bth  February,  1815. 

I  am  very  gloomy,  and  you  will  easily  enter  into  my  feelings.  Ever 
since  Monday,  it  has  been  known  that  the  Congress  at  Vienna  had  come 
to  an  agreement  respecting  the  partition  of  territory,  and  the  day  before 
yesterday,  their  decisions  were  published  here,  so  far  as  they  relate  to 
Prussia.  My  feeling  is  one  of  mingled  sorrow  and  indignation  at  our 
enemies.  I  strongly  fear  that  we  shall  give  up  East  Friesland,  and  other 
'territory  besides,  to  Hanover  ;  so  that  that  state,  which  has  not  made 
the  slightest  effort  against  France,  will  be  enlarged  by  one-half.  We  are 
robbed  of  old  subjects,  and  shall  be  left  in  a  worse  position  than  we  were 
in  1805. 

To  England  herself,  this  extension  of  Hanover,  and  her  permanent  im- 
plication in  the  affairs  of  the  Continent  through  Belgium,  is  most  disad- 
vantageous. I  waver  between  the  impulse  to  give  vent  to  my  dissatisfac- 
tion, and  the  voice  within  that  tells  me  to  cease  dwelling  upon  painful 


286  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

subjects,  and  to  return  with  all  my  thoughts  to  my  studies ;  especially  as 
my  health  is  suffering  from  the  constant  renewal  of  mortification,  while  I 
can  not  really  accomplish  any  thing,  in  the  sphere  of  actions  and  decisions, 
by  speaking  or  writing.  France  has  managed  every  thing  very  cleverly 
for  herself.  How  soon  will  she  succeed  in  regaining  the  left  bank  of  the 
Rhine  ?  If  we  had  defied  her,  the  cowards  would  soon  have  given  way, 
and  even  if  it  had  come  to  a  war,  it  would  indeed  have  been  a  struggle  for 
life  or  death,  but  we  should  have  conquered  in  the  end 

CLXXXVII1. 

BERLIN,  March,  1815. 

You,  too,  will  find  that  although  the  number  of  rny  acquaintance 

has  much  increased,  there  is  far  less  of  youthful  life,  activity,  and  variety 
in  our  social  intercourse,  than  there  was  five  years  ago.  We  live  in  a  much 
more  retired  way,  on  account  of  the  rise  of  prices,  and  the  disbursements 
which  we  regard  as  a  matter  of  duty,  and  see  much  less  company  at  home  ; 
and  then,  too,  every  body  is  grown  older.  This  winter  has  every  where 
destroyed  cheerfulness,  just  as  the  war  had  already  suspended  people's  in- 
terest in  their  own  business.  When  times  were  at  the  worst,  men  turned 
once  for  all  from  the  fruitless  contemplation  of  the  public  misery,  and 
thought  of  themselves  and  their  own  affairs ;  during  the  struggle,  these 
were  forgotten,  and  their  whole  souls  were  occupied  with  the  public  fate — 
and  with  hope.  The  general  excitement  now  existing  must  be  calmed 
down,  before  people  can  be  quite  themselves  again. 

Milly  will  have  told  you  of  her  resolution  to  try  magnetism.  She  is 
better  since  its  use,  and  free  from  cough  in  the  evenings,  when  she  used  to 
be  particularly  troubled  with  it ;  she  sleeps  better,  &c.  God  grant  that 
this  may  be  a  real  progress  :  it  had  need  be  so,  for  she  is  terribly  reduced. 
She  has  not  had  the  least  touch  of  magnetic  sleep  as  yet 

The  return  of  Napoleon  has  drawn  forth  the  most  vehement  expressions 
of  delight  from  many  here ;  this  may  surprise  you,  but  you  will  be  able  to 
understand  it  on  reflection.  The  King  of  Saxony  and  Maria  Louisa  knew 
of  his  departure  from  Elba,  two  days  earlier  than  the  allied  sovereigns. 

CLXXXIX. 

BERLirr,  1st  April. 

You  want  above  all  things  full  particulars  of  Milly's  state.  In  the  firut 
place,  I  beg  you,  in  Milly's  name  as  well  as  my  own,  to  lay  aside  a.11  your 
fears  as  to  the  irritating  effect  of  magnetism  ;  on  the  contrary,  she  is,  in 
fact,  in  a  much  less  irritable  state  now,  than  before  she  began  to  try  it. 
Besides  you  must  not  confound  the  effects  of  Puisegur's  magnetism  with  the 
wand,  with  those  of  a  soothing  manipulation.  She  almost  always  feol^ 
decidedly  better  than  usual  after  the  manipulation,  and.  imperfectly  as  ] 
can  practice  it,  she  feels  quite  soothed  after  I  have  magnetized  her,  as  well 
as  I  can.  before  going  to  bed,  inclined  to  sleep,  and  as  soon  as  she  lies 
down  she  falls  into  a  quiet,  unbroken  slumber  :  whereas  before  she  often 
laid  awake  till  morning.* 

If  we  had  believed  that  Bonaparte  would  be  received  so  completely 
without  opposition,  most  undoubtedly,  no  one  here  would  have  rejoiced  at 

*  Here  follows  a  further  description  of  her  symptoms  in  detail,  which  were 
•uch  as  must  be  any  thing  but  consoling  to  an  unprejudiced  person. 


RESIDENCE  EN  BERLIN  IN  1815.  287 

his  landing.  What  the  right-minded  among  us  hoped  for,  was,  that  we 
should  seize  this  opportunity  to  save  East  Friesland,  the  loss  of  which  I, 
even  more  than  most  others,  feel  to  be  a  terrible  grievance.  But  even  this 
seems  to  have  been  left  undone,  and  therefore  his  return  is  an  unmitigated 
calamity,  and  no  one  can  see  what  the  end  will  be.  I  look  forward  to  this 
new  war  with  a  heavy  heart.  However,  we  must  keep  up  our  spirits  aa 
well  as  we  can.  Our  youth  and  our  rural  population  go  to  meet  the  enemy 
with  great  alacrity.  Some  of  the  principal  towns,  where  people  have  specu- 
lated largely  in  paper-money,  are  in  a  dreadfully  depressed  state.  In  a 
few  weeks,  hostilities  will  be  in  full  operation ;  in  all  probability  a  second 
advance  on  Paris  will  be  attempted ;  I  doubt  whether  the  attempt  will  not 
be  made  rashly  and  prematurely ;  meanwhile,  whatever  betide,  to  lose 
heart  would  be  the  very  worst  thing  we  could  do.  It  in,  indeed,  lament- 
able that  a  still  larger  portion  of  our  youth  should  be  cut  off,  and  the  rest 
most  likely  be  left  to  a  great  extent  uneducated  ;  it  seems  inevitable  that 
a  great  decline  of  science  should  take  placf  in  consequence ;  and  moreover, 
it  is  not  favorable  to  the  hope  of  civil  freedom,  that  the  whole  nation 
should  be  converted  into  practiced  warriors.  But  we  must  take  every  period 
an  it  is,  and  seek  to  make  of  it  what  its  peculiar  characteristics  allow. 

The  Crown  Prince  has  lately  given  me  a  keepsake ;  it  is  a  cut  glass, 
which  belonged  to  Frederick  William  I.,  whom  I  have  held  up  to  his  respect, 
but  whose  harshness  revolts  him. 

Our  young  friend  Chr.  Stolberg  will,  of  course,  return  to  his  regiment. 
He  is  a  thoroughly  good  youth. 

cxc. 

BERLIN,  Zd  May,  1815. 

So  far  Milly  had  written  last  Saturday.  Since  then,  Frederica's  letter, 
with  its  sad  news,  has  reached  us.  How  unexpected  it  was,  you  can 
hardly  imagine  ;  for  I  scarcely  doubted  that  the  quiet  life  of  my  dear  old 
father  might  be  prolonged  for  years  to  come,  so  that  we  might  look  forward 
to  seeing  him  again  next  year,  if  Milly's  health  permitted  the  journey.  I 
can  not  help  reproaching  myself  for  this  want  of  all  foreboding  of  his  death ; 
for  I  think  that  if  I  had  thought  of  him  aa  often  as  I  ought,  some  presenti- 
ment of  his  approaching  release  must  have  visited  me ;  and  on  the  very 
day  of  his  death  I  do  not  remember  to  have  once  thought  of  him.  Oh  that 
I  had  been  with  him  in  these  last  days !  What  would  I  give  that  it  had 
been  possible !  If  he  had  been  less  unexacting  in  all  the  relationships  of 
life,  less  thoroughly  unselfish,  less  easily  satisfied,  he  would  often  have  felt 
hurt  that,  partly  owing  to  my  faults  and  impatience,  partly  to  his  misun- 
derstanding me  in  early  life,  I  gave  him  so  few  active  proofs  of  love  and 
tenderness.  That  this  was  not  a  source  of  pain  to  him,  that  his  son  waa 
a  joy  to  him  notwithstanding,  does  not  excuse  me.  When  the  time  is  gone 
by,  in  which  it  is  possible  to  atone  for  acts  of  neglect,  they  begin  to  press 
heavily  on  the  heart.  And  I  owed  it  to  my  noble-minded  father,  to  return 
and  to  reward  his  honest  love,  though  in  many  cases  it  mistook  the  way 
to  its  end.  If  omissions  of  this  kind  can  in  any  way  be  atoned  for  on  the 
other  side  of  the  grave,  it  shall  at  least  be  my  endeavor  to  atone  for  them 
there. 

My  sister  has  not  yet  written,  and  Frederica  gives  us  so  few  particulars, 
that  we  hardly  know  any  thing  about  his  last  days.  From  his  bodily 


288  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

state  I  fear — and  should  be  so  glad  to  think  otherwise — that  his  death 
must  have  been  attended  with  great  pain.  His  soul  was  no  doubt  at  peace, 
and  departed  without  reluctance  or  fear. 

It  is  a  great  comfort  to  me  that  we  are  much  alone,  and  have  few  inter- 
ruptions at  present.  To  me,  my  father's  death  is  like  cutting  off  a  part  of 
my  existence,  little  as  it  can  influence  the  facts  of  my  life  at  my  age,  and 
so  separated  as  we  were  from  each  other. 

Oh  that  Milly's  health  were  more  encouraging!  I  would  so  gladly  say 
any  thing  to  cheer  you  about  her,  but  I  dare  not  tell  you  what  is  not  true. 
I  can  not  perceive  that  she  is  improving.  She  varies  very  much,  and  there 
are  days  when  she  feels  easy  and  well.  We  make  no  further  progress  with 
magnetism.  I  wish  so  earnestly  that  she  would  take  Heim's  medicines, 
but  she  will  not  hear  of  it.  That  all  her  present  illness  is  the  result  of 
that  unhappy  expedition  up  the  Wertha  Hills,  becomes  clearer  and  clearer 
to  me.  May  God  help  us.  I  trust  it  will  be  practicable  for  you  to  come 
to  us. 

How  can  I  conclude  this  letter  without  thanking  you  once  more,  and 
praying  for  a  blessing  on  you,  for  all  the  love  that  you  have  shown  to  my 
father;  for  all  the  comfort  and  pleasure  your  society  afforded  him  after  his 
fall,  and  for  the  love  and  tenderness  that  he  received  from  you  during  our 
visit.  It  would  make  you  still  dearer  to  me,  if  any  thing  could  do  so. 

May  Heaven  reward  Gloyer,  too,  for  all  that  he  has  done  for  one  that 
was  a  stranger  to  him  ! 

Farewell !  Gretchen  has  most  likely  already  gone  back  to  her  friends ; 
if  not,  give  our  best  love  to  her. 


CHAPTER  IX.  j^s 

NIEBUHR'S  RESroENCE  IN   BERLIN  UP  TO  JULY,  1816. 

IN  the  spring  of  1815,  Madame  Niebuhr's  state  of  health  al- 
tered for  the  worse,  with  a  rapidity  which  revealed  the  full  ex- 
tent of  her  danger.  Madame  Hensler,  on  hearing  of  it,  hastened  to 
Berlin,  and  shared  in  Niebuhr's  cares  and  fatigues.  Her  sister  lin- 
gered till  the  21st  of  June,  when  she  died  in  the  arms  of  her  hus- 
band. He  had  never  spoken  to  her  of  her  approaching  death,  much 
as  he  longed  to  receive  her  parting  wishes,  because  the  physician 
forbade  all  excitement.  Once  only,  a  few  days  before  her  death, 
as  he  was  holding  her  in  his  arms,  he  asked  her  if  there  was  no 
pleasure  that  he  could  give  her — nothing  that  he  could  do  for  her 
sake ;  she  replied,  with  a  look  of  unutterable  love,  "  You  shall 
finish  your  History  whether  I  live  or  die."  This  request  was 
ever  present  to  his  mind,  and  he  regarded  its  fulfillment  as  a 
sacred  duty,  though  years  elapsed  before  he  was  able  to  resume 
his  work. 

Madame  Niebuhr's  death  was  an  unspeakable  bereavement  to 
her  husband.  Their  early  marriage — the  perfect  harmony  of  their 
sentiments  and  tastea— the  perils  and  anxieties  they  had  shared 
during  the  war — the  passionate  interest  with  which  they  both  re- 
garded political  events — even  their  childlessness,  had  bound  them 
so  closely  together,  that  they  had  scarcely  a  thought  or  a  wish 
apart  from  each  other.  It  is  a  proof  of  the  high  character  of  her 
'mind,  that  she  was  fully  capable  of  appreciating  her  husband's 
intellect,  and  of  entering  into  all  the  topics  which  interested  him. 
He  was  in  the  habit  of  conversing  with  her  on  the  subjects  of 
his  researches,  and  consulting  her  even  on  his  political  relations. 
Such  a  union  can  exist  only  once  in  a  life-time,  because  a  common 
history  furnishes  a  deep  ground  of  sympathy,  such  as  nothing  else 
can  replace.  Thus  Niebuhr  felt,  throughout  the  remainder  of  his 
life,  the  inadequacy  of  any  other  companionship  to  supply  the 
place  of  that  which  he  had  lost,  tenderly  as  he  was  attached  to 
his  second  wife.  The  depth  of  his  Affliction  was  proportioned  to 
the  happiness  he  had  eujoyed  ;  still  he  recognized  the  duty  of 

N 


290  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

striving  to  endure  his  pain  with  fortitude,  and  devoting  his  life 
and  powers  to  the  service  of  others. 

A  few  weeks  after  his  wife's  death,  the  government  proposed  to 
send  him  as  embassador  to  Rome,  in  order  to  negotiate  a  Con- 
cordat with  the  Pope.  Under  other  circumstances,  this  proposal 
would  have  given  him  the  greatest  gratification,  as  affording  him 
the  opportunity  of  carrying  out  his  long-cherished  wish  of  visiting 
the  scenes  of  his  History  ;  but  now  he  shrank  from  the  utter  isola- 
tion from  his  friends  which  it  would  involve.  He  however  ac- 
cepted it,  as  a  matter  of  duty.  According  to  the  plan  first  pro- 
posed, he  was  to  leave  Berlin  the  same  autumn,  but  his  departure 
was  unavoidably  postponed  ;  first,  on  account  of  the  preliminaries 
which  had  to  be  arranged  before  he  could  take  his  instructions 
with  him,  and  then,  because  Hardenberg  wished  to  make  him  a 
member  of  a  Commission  to  draw  up  the  Constitution.  The  ap- 
pointment of  this  Commission  was,  however,  afterward  given  up, 
or  at  least  indefinitely  postponed. 

Madame  Hensler  had  remained  with  Niebuhr  for  some  time 
after  his  wife's  death.  He  accompanied  her  on  her  return,  in  or- 
der to  take  leave  of  his  friends  before  their  long  separation.  He 
strongly  wished  that  she  should  accompany  him  to  Rome.  Much 
as  Madame  Hensler  loved  him,  she  at  first  felt  reluctant  to  part 
with  her  home  and  friends,  but  at  length  acceded,  and  promised 
to  come  to  him,  in  the  spring,  with  her  adopted  daughter,  Mar- 
garet Hensler,  a  niece  of  her  husband. 

Meanwhile,  Niebuhr  passed  his  solitary  winter  in  a  state  of  ex- 
treme depression,  and  his  health  suffered  so  much,  that  he  some 
times  suspected  he  had  caught  his  wife's  disorder.  Yet  he  seems 
to  have  accomplished  an  extraordinary  amount  of  work.  He,  in- 
deed, found  it  impossible  to  return  to  his  Roman  History ;  it  re: 
vived  too  many  painful  recollections ;  and  while  he  could  force 
himself  to  industry,  he  could  not  command  the  productive  energy, 
which  seldom  exists  in  the  absence  of  happiness  and  vigor.  But 
he  studied  the  canon  law,  as  a  preparation  for  his  mission — pre- 
pared, in  conjunction  with  Heindorf  and  Buttmann,  an  edition  of 
the  Pronto,  discovered  by  the  Abbe  Mai — continued  his  lessons  to 
the  Crown  Prince — wrote  a  preface  to  M.  Von  Vincke's  Essay  on 
the  Internal  Administration  of  Great  Britain — an  Essay  on  Frou- 
to,  containing  a  description  of  Marcus  Antoninus  and  his  age,  and 
another  on  the  Geography  of  Herodotus — drew  up  a  memorial  on 


RESIDENCE  IN  BERLIN  IN  1815.  291 

the  freedom  of  the  press,  at  the  request  of  Hardenberg — and  wrote 
an  answer  to  a  pamphlet  on  Secret  Associations,  by  Professor 
Schmalz,  the  Rector  of  the  University.  This  pamphlet  was  en- 
titled "  Correction  of  a  Passage  in  Venturini's  Chronicle  for  the 
year  1808."  It  was,  however,  in  fact,  an  attack  on  the  Tugend- 
bund,  in  which,  moreover,  Schmalz  attributed  unworthy  motives 
to  the  sacrifices  that  Prussia  had  made  in  order  to  throw  off  the 
French  yoke,  and  tried  to  prove  that  secret  societies,  of  a  treason- 
able character,  were  still  in  existence  and  activity.  •  Schleier- 
macher,  Friedrich  Forster,  Koppe,  and  Krug,  as  well  as  Niebuhr, 
entered  the  lists  against  him,  and  the  controversy  was  waged  Avitli 
great  vehemence,  till  a  royal  edict  appeared  in  1816,  forbidding 
the  further  discussion  of  the  subject  under  heavy  penalties.  Be- 
sides these  various  occupations,  we  find  Niebuhr  also  endeavoring 
to  restore 'the  tone  of  his  mind,  and  invigorate  his  health  by  riding 
lessons,  walks,  and  visits  to  his  friends,  but  with  little  success. 

After  the  arrival  of  Madame  Hensler  and  her  niece  in  April, 
1816,  his  health  improved,  and  his  grief  assumed  more  the  char- 
acter of  a  quiet  melancholy.  About  this  time  he  wrote  the  life  of 
his  father — a  model  of  biography,  lively,  truthful,  and  affectionate. 
His  departure  for  Rome,  which  had  been  fixedjbr  April,  was  again 
postponed  till  July,  because  his  instructions  were  not  ready.'  Mean- 
while, the  presence  of  Madame  Hensler  and  her  niece  gradually 
cheered  him ;  the  former  was  as  closely  acquainted  with  his  in- 
ward and  outward  life  as  his  Amelia  had  been  ;  Margaret  Hens- 
ler  soothed  him  with  her  gentle  attentions,  and  gave  him  peculiar 
pleasure  with  her  sweet  singing.  After  some  time  he  engaged 
himself  to  her,  and  married  her  before  he  left  Berlin. 

Niebuhr' s  young  wife  was  well  aware  that  his  heart  still  clung 
too  strongly  to  the  past,  for  him  to  be  susceptible  of  positive  hap- 
piness ;  she  sympathized  with  his  feelings,  and  trusted  that  time 
would  restore  him  to  a  brighter  frame  of  mind.  She  was  of  a  no- 
ble, affectionate  disposition.  She  could  not,  indeed,  though  a  cul- 
tivated woman,  enter  into  her  husband's  deeper  researches  and 
political  ideas,  as  fully  as  his  first  wife  had  done,  but  she  had 
strong  practical  sense,  and  was  devoted  to  him.  Unfortunately  for 
both,  her  constitution  was  almost  as  delicate  as  that  of  Amelia. 

Niebuhr  and  his  wife  wished  that  Madame  Hensler  should  still 
accompany  them,  but  she  felt  that  it  was  best  to  leave  the  newly- 
married  pair  alone  ;  and  felt  besides,  that  it  was  a  somewhat  haz- 


292 

ardous  experiment  to  transplant  herself  in  middle-life  into  a  foreign 
country  and  an  untried  position,  when  no  longer  called  to  do  so  by 
the  duties  of  friendship.  She,  therefore,  firmly  withstood  their 
pressing  entreaties  to  accompany  them,  and  returned  to  Kiel. 

Extracts  from  Niebuhr's  Letters  from  August,  1815,  to  July, 

1816. 

CXCI. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLEH. 

BERLIN,  5th  Augutt,  1815.* 

This  date  would  be  a  sufficient  token  that  I  have  reached  the  end  of  my 
journey,  to  you,  and  to  our  brothers  and  sisters,  who  will  most  likely  be  at 
your  house,  when  this  reaches  you,  expecting  to  hear  some  tidings  of  the 
poor  friend  who  has  left  them.  Indeed,  I  can  not  write  much  more  for 
weariness,  from  which,  owing  to  the  heat  of  the  weather,  added  to  the  de- 
pression produced  by  my  loneliness,  I  am  suffering  much  more  now,  than 
on  the  more  fatiguing  journey  to  Lubec  with  you. 

I  arrived  here  to-day  at  noon,  and  found  no  letters.  I  feel  extremely 
exhausted.  This  is  only  temporary,  but  shall  I  never  cease  to  feel  the 
void,  the  desolation  in  my  home,  which  now  crushes  and  deadens  my 
heart?  I  doubt  if  these  feelings  will  yield  even  to  the  most  strenuous 
occupation.  Time  will  show.  I  had  the  same  sort  of  feelings  once  before, 
eighteen  years  ago,  when  I  returned  to  Copenhagen  after  my  engagement 
with  Milly,  and  aftet  I  had  spent  so  long  a  time  with  you;  I  conquered 
them  then,  but  it  was  a  terrible  struggle.  However,  I  must  do  as  well  as 
1  can.  On  the  journey,  my  eyes  often  filled  with  tears,  but  the  constant 
onward  motion  did  me  good,  though  it  was  through  a  very  tame  country. 
Now,  I  sit  before  the  objects  which  ought  to  cheer  the  mind  by  giving  it 
full  occupation,  as  a  sick  man,  who  loathes  food,  sits  before  a  table  which 
has  been  carefully  spread  with  all  that  would  please  his  palate,  were  he 
in  health. 

God  reward  you  for  your  presence  when  Milly  died,  and  for  staying  with 
me  afterward !  If  you  could  have  remained  here  longer,  if  you  were  here 
now,  I  should  feel  differently ;  but  it  could  not  be,  and  perhaps  it  is  best 
as  it  is.  You  have  again  left  me  a  treasure  in  your  remembrance.  Oh, 
that  I  were  not  so  thirsting  for  conversation,  or,  rather,  for  sympathy  ;  that 
I  can  not  get  used  to  having  no  creature  with  whom  I  can  talk  of  the  past ! 
Only  to  have  a  child,  like  little  Sophy,  with  me  that  I  loved,  would  be 
worth  more  to  me  now  than  the  most  intellectual  society.  But  it  is  need- 
less to  paint  to  you  the  feeling  of  loneliness  with  which  I  sit  within  these 
dreary  walls.  It  was  by  the  same  road  that  I  came  to  Prussia  with  Milly  ; 
for  the  most  part,  the  same  by  which  we  returned  last  autumn ;  I  entered 
the  city  by  the  same  gate,  drove  along  the  same  streets.  I  was  so  unused 
to  live  alone  that  it  made  me  quite  dependent.  My  inward  consciousness 
refuses  to  believe  that  I  am  alone,  even  more  now,  than  when  you  were 
still  here,  and  I  could  have  the  consolation  of  speaking  of  my  sorrow  with 
you.  When  I  awake  from  sleep,  for  the  first  moment  I  can  not  believe  in 
*  Written  on  his  return  from  Lubec. 


RESIDENCE  IN  BERLIN  IN  1815.  293 

my  solitude.  You  know  how,  when  the  news  of  victory  first  came,*  and 
every  time  fresh  tidings  of  advance  were  brought  us,  I  always  used  to  turn 
round,  as  if  I  could  still  go  to  her  bedside  and  tell  her  about  it.  I  feel  as 
if  Milly  or  you  mutt  be  near  and  within  reach,  as  you  always  have  been  ill 
past  times,  for  me  to  tell  you  all  that  is  in  my  thoughts. 

There  is,  indeed,  no  need  to  cherish  and  feed  these  feelings  to  render 
them  lasting  ;  but  to  try  to  repress  them  would  seem  to  me  a  sin,  and  a 
renunciation  of  the  only  mean*  of  communication  by  which  I  can  reach 
Milly,  and  afford  her  the  one  blessing  which  was  indispensable  to  her  in 
life.  But  the  difficulty  will  be  to  combine  the  emotion  which  arises  from 
this,  with  the  firmness,  without  which  I  should  be  more  liable  than  ever 
to  sink  under  my  grief. 

A  thousand,  thousand  thanks  to  you  for  all  your  boundless  and  unspeak- 
able love  and  faithfulness,  and  you  must  say  the  same  to  our  brothers  and 
sisters,  for  the  love  which  they  have  shown  me  both  face  to  face  and  in 
their  letters.  I  feel  sure  you  will  write  the  day  after  to-morrow;  that  you 
will  not  wait  to  receive  this.  How  could  such  formality  be  possible  be- 
tween us  ?  I  quite  reckon  upon  receiving  a  letter  from  you  on  Friday-— 
the  first  to  me  alone  for  sixteen  years  ;  and  I  shall  count  tho  days  till  it 
comes.  Beg  Behrens,  and  Lene,  and  Freddy  to  write  very  often  to  me 
also.  My  sister  will  do  it  without  reminding.  They  all  know  how  dear 
they  and  their  letters  are  to  me.  1  want  to  know  how  traveling  agree* 
with  Cartheuser,  and  what  he  is  going  to  do. 

My  journey  was  not  attended  with  any  personal  inconveniences.  With 
several  of  the  postillions  I  chatted  very  sociably  ;  in  this  way  one  learns 
a  great  deal ;  and  even  among  this  class,  friendliness  goes  further  than 
large  fees  without  it ;  at  least  with  many.  The  one  from  Ratzeburg  war 
quite  sorry  that  he  could  not  drive  me  further ;  he,  and  one  of  those  in 
Mecklenburg,  had  been  robbed  of  their  hard-earned  savings  by  the  French. 
He  gave  the  Danes  a  good  character ;  there  were  bad  men,  indeed,  every 
where,  but  at  Ratzeburg  they  had  mostly  sided  with  the  inhabitants,  and 
protected  them  against  the  French ;  they  were  not  to  be  complained  of. 
How  is  that  beautiful  country  disfigured  1  Almost  all  the  wood  in  the 
valley  in  which  the  city  is  situated,  has  been  cut  down  during  the  war. 
I  have  heard  much,  which  I  can  well  believe,  of  the  bitter  poverty  left  be- 
hind, after  those  calamitous  times  have  passed  away ;  of  the  heavy  con- 
tributions levied  on  the  inhabitants  of  Mecklenburg;  of  the  gradual  drying 
up  of  ill  sources  of  trade.  With  us,  too,  things  are  bad  enough,  but  the  peo- 
ple bear  their  burdens  cheerfully ;  in  the  Marches  every  one  is  in  good  spirits, 
and  things  look  encouraging,  at  least  for  the  agricultural  population. 

I  will  now  go  out  and  make  one  or  two  calls. 

Farewell !  Of  course  I  shall  write  again  soon,  and  will  always  write 
when  I  want  to  lighten  my  heart.  With  a  little  use,  I  could  sit  at  tha 
table  before  the  sofa,  and  silently  converse  with  Milly  and  you  ;  hut  that 
would  be  a  short  road  to  insanity. 

CXCII. 

BERLIN,  nth  August,  1815. 

The  quiet  melancholy  which  you  desire  for  me,  I  seldom  enjoy.     I  am, 
indeed,  sufficiently  alone,  but  my  mind  is  in  sad  confusion.     Every  thing 
*  The  entrance  of  the  Allies  into  Paris. 


294  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTJHR. 

around  me  jars  upon  my  feelings,  like  a  false  note.  The  mornings  are 
my  least  desolate  times,  because  I  rise  late,  and  go  to  sleep  late,  generally 
with  some  fever,  so  that  I  awake  weary  and  stupefied.  I  am  the  freshest 
about  the  middle  of  the  day.  The  alterations  which  the  servants  have 
made  in  the  arrangements  of  the  furniture  during  my  absence,  are  the  fol- 
lowing   My  only  wish  would  be,  never  to  leave  this  dwelling,  for  here 

I  always  feel  as  if  Milly  were  still  alive  and  with  me,  and  often  as  if  I  saw 
and  heard  her  busy  about  her  household  duties,  or  other  things.  At  first, 
I  orily  saw  her  as  she  was  during  her  illness,  sitting,  or  lying  down,  but 
now,  as  she  used  to  be  in  former  times.  You  are  just  as  present  to  me. 
When  I  go  out,  something  impels  me  home  again,  and  makes  me  feel  as  1 
used  to  do,  when  Milly  was  uneasy  if  I  did  not  come  home  again  as  soon 
as  possible. 

Evening. — Schmedding  has  just  left  me.  I  have  had  some  hours  of 
consoling  conversation  with  him.  The  Reimers  are  at  Magdeburg,  and  at 
the  Goschens  the  swarm  of  dear  little  children  unavoidably  disturbs  con- 
versation ;  else  neither  of  these  families  is  among  the  number  of  those  who 
shun  all  allusion  to  the  only  subject  which  it  relieves  me  to  speak  of.  You 
must  not  fancy  that  I  should  not  enjoy  conversation  on  scientific  subjects 
even  now,  but  this  is  not  started,  and  what  is  said  is  not  congenial  to  me. 
With  Schmedding  I  talked  a  good  deal  about  my  future  vocation,  and  not 
a  little  of  Milly  and  you.  You  have  left  a  strong  impression  on  him,  too, 
and  he  sees  that  your  accompanying  me  would  be  the  only  blessing  I  could 
still  enjoy.  He  himself  was  very  much  affected,  and  I  was  able  to  give 
way  to  my  feelings  with  him. 

The  constant  rain,  together  with  my  great  lassitude,  and  the  distance, 
have  prevented  my  visiting  the  cemetery  as  yet,  to  see  how  far  the  work- 
men have  got  on.  For  God's  sake  do  not  take  it  for  negligence  !  On  Sun- 
day morning,  I  shall  go  to  the  mason,  whom  it  is  not  easy  to  find  at  any 
other  time,  and  on  Monday,  to  the  foundry.  I  can  not  yet  say,  therefore, 
when  I  can  lay  the  beloved  corpse  in  its  cool  bed.  I  should  like  to  do  it  on 
my  birthday,  and  I  hope  to  be  able  to  manage  it. 

You  long  to  see  Milly,  if  only  for  a  moment  !  The  promises  that  you 
would  fain  give  her,  she  has  already  received  by  words  and  deeds  from  you, 
and  taken  with  her  into  eternity.  I  dare  not  cherish  the  wish  that  you 
express ;  for  I  feel  as  if  it  might  very  possibly  be  granted  to  me,  and  would 
cost  me  my  reason. 

I  can  occupy  myself,  thank  heaven  !  and  if  I  could  only  stay  here  in 
quiet,  all  would  be  well.  At  least,  I  am  reading  records,  and  have  also 
begun  canon  law. 

Rauch  will  in  no  case  go  direct  to  Rome.  I  shall,  therefore,  still  be 
much  obliged  to  you  to  write  to  Lund,  and  offer  him  to  travel  with  me  free 
of  expense.  If  I  do  not  go  yet,  he  can  stay  with  me  as  a  visitor  till  we 
set  off. 

CXCIII. 

BERLIN,  8^  September,  1815. 

I  often  busy  myself  with  plans  for  profiting,  to  the  utmost  extent,  by  the 
advantages  Rome  presents  :  I  should  certainly  need  some  assistants  in 
order  to  do  so.  Perhaps  it  is  true,  as  people  say,  that  in  the  clearer  and 
brighter  atmosphere  there,  one  can  work  incomparably  harder  than  here  ; 


RESIDENCE  IN  BERLIN  IN  1815.  296 

it  had  need  be  so,  if  I  am  to  get  my  History  written,  in  addition  to  per- 
forming the  duties  of  my  office,  and  studying  the  city  and  its  treasures. 
I  must,  by  degrees,  search  through  all  the  manuscripts  of  the  Vatican ;  by 
so  doing  I  can  scarcely  fail  of  making  some  discoveries.  I  think  I  have  a 
trace,  which  will  not  disappoint  my  hope  of  digging  up  a  treasure,  in  an 
almost  unknown  Greek  poet.  I  shall  also  look  for  palimpsests  among  the 
parchments  in  the  archives,  as  well  as  those  in  the  library  But  all  this 
enlarges  the  sphere  of  my  researches  so  indefinitely,  that  my  goal  seems 
quite  to  have  receded  out  of  sight. 

Heindorf  has  drawn  my  attention  to  the  fragments  of  Heyne:s 

autobiography  contained  in  Heeren's  ;  I  recommend  you  to  read  them  also. 
It  is  quite  another  question,  whether  or  not  Heyne,  who  afterward  tried  to 
grasp  much  more  than  he  could  retain,  and  accepted,  as  his  due,  the  ex- 
aggerated admiration  and  false  fame  that  was  offered  to  him,  was  a  dis- 
tinguished philologist ;  and  this  praise  must  be  denied  him.  But  the  pic- 
ture of  his  character,  of  his  struggles  under  difficulties,  and  of  his  mind, 
which  is  given  by  these  biographical  fragments,  as  well  as  the  poems  pre- 
fixed to  the  work,  deserves  all  respect. 

CXCIV. 

BKKI.IS,  \5tk  September,  1815. 

For  some  time  past,  I  have  been  very  unwell ;  but  it  was,  perhaps,  no- 
thing more  than  a  cold,  though  I  had  pains  in  my  cheat.  At  last  it  turn- 
ed to  influenza,  which  obliged  me  to  take  to  my  bed.  However,  I  have 
remained  true  to  my  resolution,  not  to  yield  to  effeminacy  again,  and  yes- 
terday I  went  out.  I  rejoice  in  thia  heavenly  weather  and  lose  the  pain- 
ful sense  of  solitude  ;  you  like  a  beautiful  autumn  better  than  the  summer, 
and  Milly  liked  it  too.  We  once  enjoyed  a  most  exquisitely  beautiful  au- 
tumn in  Copenhagen ;  we  took  long  walks  in  all  directions,  without  regard 
to  distance,  and  this  afforded  Milly  the  full -enjoyment  of  what  was  to  her 
the  highest  gratification.  That  was  in  the  times  when  we  lived  as  yet  in 
perfect  seclusion,  when  there  were  many,  many  days  on  which  we  had  not 
a  single  caller,  and  whole  periods  passed  away  without  our,  or  even  my 
making  a  visit.  I  had  a  dim  feeling  that  it  wad  best  for  us  both  ;  Miily 
was  less  satisfied  ;  and  yet  the  storms  and  billows  of  the  world  have  been 
too  much  for  her  strength.  Heindorf  s  stay  with  me  has  cheered  me  in 
another  way.  It  is  refreshing  to  feel  that  the  pleasure  of  seeing  one,  can 
give  animation  and  cheerfulness  to  a  friend  from  whom  one  has  long  been 
separated.  You  know  how  soothing  this  consciousness  is,  and  how  I  have, 
more  than  once,  renewed  my  youth  in  your  society.  Heindorf  has  done 
the  same  among  his  friends  here,  of  whom  I  am  one  of  the  dearest  to  him, 
and  I  do  not  care  whether  others  be  still  dearer  to  him  or  not.  .  .  ._4~' 

Reserve,  the  silence  of  profound  meditation,  complete  absorption  in  one's 
own  thoughts,  are  easily  recognized  and  must  be  honored  ;  but  where  there 
is  great  talkativeness  in  general,  and  it  is  only  when  the  conversation  turns 
upon  what  is  known  to  be  the  real  vocation  of  the  man,  that  it  ceases  to 
flow  freely,  there  must  be  other  causes  than  those  I  have  mentioned ;  the 
man's  heart  is  not  in  his  calling,  he  does  not  live  in  it.  Or,  what  cornea 
to  the  same  thing,  ho  has  not  worked  out  results,  which  he  cherishes,  and 
with  which  he  holds  converse.  Now  this  has  been  accomplished  by  Hein- 


296  MEMOIE  OF  N1EBUHR. 

dorf,  to  a  wonderful  extent,  with  regard  to  grammatical  rules,  and  all  that 
belongs  to  the  narrower  sphere  of  philology,  so  that  he  can  form  positive 
decisions,  for  which  he  can  always  instantly  assign  his  reasons,  where 
others  have  only  a  dim  feeling.  That  he  has  elaborated  his  philological 
system,  by  unwearied  assiduity,  in  spite  of  constant  ill-health  from  hia 
childhood  up ;  that  he  has  never  allowed  himself  to  be  stopped  in  his  pro- 
gress by  sickness  ;  that  he  thinks  nothing  of  all  his  knowledge  and  acquire- 
ments, and  knows  no  greater  happiness  than  the  admiration  and  love  of 
those  whom  he  rates  above  himself ;  that  he  even  sets  little  value  upon  his 
peculiar  department  of  philology  compared  to  others  •,  that  friendship  and 
kindness  are  his  sole  enjoyments — all  this  makes  him  one  of  the  most  lov- 
able persons  among  the  literary  men  of  my  acquaintance.  I  am  somewhat 
proud  of  his  dedicating  the  most  perfect  of  his  writings  to  me,  and  inwardly 
rejoice  that  the  one,  with  which  he  has  connected  my  name,  is  that  which, 
he  says,  will  certainly  endure,  and  has  been  written  for  posterity. 

To-  give  him  some  pleasure  during  his  stay  with  us,  I  invited  his  friends 
to  meet  him  at  a  dinner  in  the  Thiergarten  the  day  before  yesterday,  and 
asked  Nicolovius  and  Ranch,  (who  spoil  no  society)  as  well.  It  was  the 
first  party  that  I  had  really  enjoyed  for  many  months.  One  is  tempted 
indeed  to  reproach  oneself  afterward,  but  yet  it  is  right  perhaps  to  change 
the  current  of  one's  thoughts.  In  former  times  too,  I  have  reproached 
myself  for  it,  if  I  enjoyed  myself  in  a  party  which  Milly  did  not  share,  and  I 
preferred  staying  away  on  such  occasions,  because  Milly  never  had,  or  would 
have,  any  pleasure  for  herself  alone,  so  that  she  had  much  fewer  enjoyments 
than  I,  and  I  would  not  suffer  that.  In  general,  too,  she  preferred  my  re- 
fusing invitations  without  her ;  but  after  her  illness  assumed  a  serious 
character,  she  altered  in  this  respect,  and  wished  me  to  go  into  society, 
for  the  sake  of  change  of  scene  and  amusement.  However,  at  that  time, 
it  would  have  been  unbearable  to  me. 

There  are  many  things  which  become  indispensable  to  us,  when  we  are 
accustomed  to  them ;  and  if  you  are  conscious  of  being  able  to  fill  more 
than  one  vocation,  you  can  not  repress  the  impulse  to  embrace  more  than 
one.  Indeed,  you  feel  that  you  wrong  the  cause,  as  well  as  yourself,  if 
you  renounce  either  of  them.  This  is  my  feeling  now  with  regard  to  the 
highest  spheres  of  statesmanship.  Unhappily  we  always  learn  wisdom  too 
late,  and  I  shudder  when  I  look  at  the  years  that  lie  behind  me,  and  the 
age  I  have  already  reached.  But  this  terror  is  nothing  to  my  bitter  re- 
morse for  faults  and  oversights  on  higher  matters — the  remembrance  of 
which  would  soon  overwhelm  me,  if  I  dwelt  upon  it,  and  yet,  not  to  drive 
it  from  me,  seems  the  only  possible  atonement  for  them.  If  there  be  an- 
other and  a  real  atonement — for  what  destroys  the  energies,  and  makes 
life  useless,  can  not  be  the  right  one — oh,  how  thankful  I  should  be  to  any 
one  who  would  announce  it  to  me  f 

Your  welcome  letter  has  again  done  me  much  good. 

cxcv. 

TO  PERTHES. 

BERLIN,  September,  1815. 

I  thank  you  for  the  interest  you  take  in  my  mission,  which  is  at  least 
highly  probable,  though  not  absolutely  and  irrevocably  fixed.  My  heart 


RESIDENCE  IN  BERLIN  IN  1815.  297 

can  scarcely  be  light  or  joyful,  when  I  am  bidding  farewell  to  my  country, 
most  probably  for  the  whole  of  the  short  portion  yet  remaining  to  my  life ; 
but  certainly  for  so  long  a  time,  that  if  I  return,  it  will  be  to  live  as  a 
stranger  in  my  own  land,  with  changed  feelings,  and  with  habits  that  can 
not  be  altered  at  an  advanced  age.  Especially  as  the  work  which  is  the 
calling  of  my  life,  the  Roman  History,  however  the  reverse  may  seem  evi- 
dent, can  not  by  any  means  be  so  well  composed  there  as  here.  Finally, 
I  must  renounce  the  tasks  that  the  times  continually  set  before  us,  and  in 
the  performance  of  which,  I  have  a  most  distinct  inward  call  to  co-operate. 
Now,  if  the  embassador  to  Rome  were  but  the  mediator  of  wise  and  whole- 
some measures — but  he  is  only  the  instrument  of  what  he  is  ordered  to 
undertake ;  and  how  little  that  will  be  in  harmony  with  my  views  I  can 
already  perceive.  For  the  true  welfare  of  the.  Catholic  church,  in  our  State, 
such  a  spokesman  can  do  nothing  at  all — since  the  ecclesiastical  authori- 
ties of  the  Papacy  are  obstinately  bent  upon  keeping  the  Church  under 
their  own  jurisdiction,  and  the  deep  inward  degeneracy  of  the  Catholic 
clergy  is  not  less  prejudicial  to  it,  than  the  many  perverse  and  mischievous 
views  held  by  Protestant  statesmen. 

Many  form  an  idea  of  this  office,  which  is  quite  at  variance  with  the 
reality,  and  then  congratulate  me  on  a  mission,  which  would  indeed  be 
glorious,  if  the  attributes  they  assume,  really  belonged  to  it.  •  • 

As  regards  philology  alone,  unquestionably  my  stay  there  can  not  be 
useless.  But  I  should  have  accomplished  much  more,  could  I  have  kept 
strictly  to  the  unconditional  furlough  granted  me  in  the  first  instance. 
The  embassador  is  nailed  down  to  Rome,  and  Rome  does  not  contain  the 
twentieth  part  of  the  literary  and  historical  treasures  of  Italy  which  would 
reward  the  labor  of  bringing  them  to  light;  these  are  scattered  over  the 
whole  country.  But  it  is  ordained  that  every  thing  good  must  be  spoilt. 

cxcvi. 

'*rO  PROFESSOR  HRANDIS. 

BERLIN,  26th  September,  1813. 

You  have  applied  to  me,  dear  friend,  on  a  matter  in  which  you  need 
counsel  and  assistance,  and  you  apologize  for  it  with  a  bashfulness  which 
proves  that  in  this  amiable,  but  self-tormenting  weakness,  you  are  the  same 
as  of  old,  just  as  you  are  in  all  other  points,  but  especially — and  of  this  no 
one  will  ever  doubt — in  your  sentiments  toward  your  friends.  I  wish  you 
could  know,  to  your  shame,  not  only  how  interesting  your  letter  is  to  me, 
but  how  full  of  melancholy  pleasure,  for  it  recalls  vividly  to  my  mind  that 
time  when  you  were  with  us  in  Berlin,  as  companion  to  my  sister-in-law. 
The  recollection  of  that  time  is  indeed  a  melancholy  pleasure  to  me,  which 
you,  too,  could  not  willingly  forget.  It  was  the  epoch  at  which  I  reached 
the  quiet  and  secure  haven  of  literary  leisure,  after  passing  through  the 
storms  that  had  convulsed  society  ;  when  a  period  of  contentment  and  hap- 
piness began  which  aroused  all  the  inmost  powers  of  my  being,  and  rendered 
me  capable  of  enterprises  which  I  had  long  despaired  of  undertaking.  Now, 
all  is  night  around  me ;  I  have  lost  all  which  then  made  me  rich,  and  taught 
me  the  true  value  of  my  riches ;  yet  there  are  moments  of  strength,  when 
the  memory  of  the  past  is  a  source  not  of  torture,  but  of  consolation.  I 
thank  you  too  most  sincerely  for  the  confidence  you  place  in  me ;  for  when 

R* 


298  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

a  man  has  found  that  all  his  confidence  in  others  has  been  abused,  and  that 
there  is  no  firm  rock  on  which  he  can  build,  and  yet  is  conscious  that  he  is 
hirrftelf  faithful  and  trustworthy,  he  feels  deep  gratitude  toward  those  who 
do  him  justice  and  trust  him. 

It  is  very  right  and  reasonable  that  you  should  wish  to  come  to  Prussia. 
That  State  in  North  Germany,  which  gladly  receives  every  German  and  re- 
gards him,  when  he  has  once  entered  her  service,  in  the  same  light  as  a 
native  citizen,  is  the  true  Germany ;  and  it  is  comparatively  of  little  con- 
sequence whether  it  may  cause  some  inconvenience  to  other  neighboring 
States,  which  persist  in  their  isolation,  in  the  face  of  God's  providence  and 
the  general  welfare,  or  even  whether  temporary  and  accidental  defects  may 
exist  in  its  administration.  They  are  but  the  moles  in  the  face  of  the  be- 
loved one ;  I  would  not  exchange  our  nation  for  ancient  Rome  itself.  In 
Denmark  you,  as  a  German,  can  never  breathe  freely,  can  never  feel  that 
you  have  a  father-land.  Therefore  you  are  right,  and  in  the  path  of  duty, 
to  leave  it,  even  if  philology,  and  the  other  liberal  branches  of  knowledge, 
were  in  a  better  condition  there  than  is  actually  the  case.  I  hope  that  the 
time  will  come,  when  the  facility  with  which  Germans  make  themselves  at 
home  in  foreign  countries  will  no  longer,  form  a  trait  in  the  national  char- 
acter, and  rejoice  over  every  instance  I  meet  with.  But  the  sudden  progress 
which  science  and  letters  have  made  in  Germany,  renders  it  impossible  for 
the  philologist  to  find  a  fitting  sphere  beyond  its  limits,  and  this  conscious- 
ness oppresses  me  when  I  look  forward  to  my  removal  to  Italy.  Antiquity 
in  walls  and  stones  is  but  the  shadow  of  antiquity;  the  spirit  lives  in  the 
ancient  writings. 

I  thank  you  most  cordially  for  your  friendly  wishes  concerning  my  future 
fate.  God  will  not  let  it  become  too  hard  to  bear.  He,  who  has  long  been 
the  spoilt  child  of  fortune,  feels  indeed  bitter  pain  when  he  finds  himself 
stripped  of  all  his  possessions  and  beggared ;  but  he,  too,  learns  to  endure. 

I  hope  that  a  very  dear  friend  of  mine,  an  excellent  officer  of  our  army, 
will  join  me  in  Rome  as  soon  as  he  can  obtain  leave  of  absence,  and  so  I 
shall  not  be  quite  alone  and  forsaken  in  the  strange  country,  of  which  I  have 
an  indescribable  dread.  Besides  such  isolated  instances  of  faithfulness,  and 
love  which  truly  deserve  the  name,  we  have  a  source  of  joy  and  strength, 
such  as  we  never  knew  before,  in  the  social  and  patriotic  feelings  that  have 
prevailed  in  Germany  since  1813,  and  we  know  it  is  not  a  delusion  which 
we  are  cherishing  in  our  hearts. 

CXCV1I. 

TO  MADAME  HElSTSLER. 

Wth  September,  1815. 

The  funeral  has  had  to  be  put  off  again  ;  the  grave  was  not  ready.  Else 
I  should  have  snatched  myself  from  my  bed.  and — perhaps  God  would  have 
blessed  me  for  it  with  a  shorter  illness.  Thus,  I  have  been  obliged  to  give 
up  the  hope  of  having  the  whole  finished  in  the  course  of  this  week.  So  I 
shall  bury  my  beloved  Amelia  on  Sunday,  the  8th  of  October.  It  is  the 
anniversary  of  our  arrival  here,  and  of  a  completely  new  period  of  our  lives, 
full  of  joy  and  sorrow. 

I  had  written  so  far,  when  I  fell  into  a  state  of  insensibility,  from  which 
I  was  only  recovered  with  difficulty,  and  then  fell  asleep.  I  wanted  to  give 


RESIDENCE  IN  BEELIN  IN  1815.  299 

you  further  particulars  of  the  requests  I  have  to  make  of  yon.     So  now  I  am 
really  seriously  ill,  which  I  promised  to  let  you  know  of. .  . .-.-, . 

CXCVIII. 

BERLIN,  9/A  October,  1815. 

At  last  I  have  reached  the  goal,  and  laid  the  corpse  of  our  beloved  one 
in  its  resting-place.  It  was  yesterday  afternoon  at  five  o'clock ;  the  very 
hour  at  which  we  entered  Berlin  nine  years  ago";  It  was  ju.«t  growing  dark 
then  as  we  turned  into  our  lodging ;  as  it  was  now  when  T  returned  alone 
to  my  desolate  room. 

In  the  morning  I  attended  service  in  St.  Mary's  church,  where  a  very 
good  man  preached,  and  prepared  myself  with  a  still  heart  for  the  bitter 
way.  Nicolovius  and  Goschen,  who  knew  of  it,  came  in  the  afternoon  to 
accompany  me.  May  God  reward  them  for  it,  as  well  as  for  all  the  love 
and  sympathy  they  show  me  !  We  found  every  thing  ready,  and  the  coffin 
was  lowered.  When  it  had  been  let  down,  I  sat  on  the  planks,  and  was 
able  to  weep  bitterly,  and  to  pray  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart.  God  knows 
that  I  would  gladly  have  rested  in  the  grave,  and  that  I  looked  with  sor- 
rowful longing  on  the  empty  space  which,  I  feel  assured,  will  never  receive 
my  Corpse. 

In  the  evening  I  was  quite  alone  again,  and  sufficiently  composed  to  set 
about  some  necessary  work.  I  felt  more  satisfied,  as  if  I  had  laid  my  Milly 
in  her  bed. 

I  will  send  you  the  occasional  paper  by  the  first  opportunity;*  and  with 
it  a  catalogue  of  the  works  of  art  that  have  been  recaptured  and  are  now 
exhibiting.  The  Dantzic  Last  Judgment  is  a  miracle  of  art,  perhaps  the 
highest  specimen  of  its  kind. 

CXCIX. 

BERLIN,  1W*  October,  1815. 

N.t  left  me  an  hour  ago. — I  have  had  a  long  conversation  with  him. 
First  about  myself;  and  then  about  my  business  in  Rome,  and  what  is  to 
be  done  for  the  Catholic  Church. — I  told  him,  that  all  such  measures  as 
might  really  raise  the  church  from  her  terrible  state  of  internal  decay,  lay 
entirely  within  the  sphere  of  the  legislature  and  the  government^  so  much 
so,  that  if  they  fail  to  do  their  part,  no  formal  regulations  to  whick  the 
assent  of  the  Romish  court  would  be  'necessary,  could  avail  any  thing,  but 
must  remain  utterly  fruitless.  The  measures  most  necessary  to  be  adopted 
at  home,  are  to  make  a  suitable  provision  for  the  payment  of  the  clergy  in 
the  Rhine  provinces,  West  Prussia  and  Posen,  as  in  these  countries  the 
church  lands  have  been  confiscated ;  (on  the  other  side  of  the  Rhine  the 
salary  of  the  parochial  clergy  has  only  amounted  to  130  dollars  per  annum 
since  the  concordat ;)  to  raise  the  character  of  the  instruction  in  schools  of 
every  grade;  to  establish  good  Catholic  universities  (in  which,  however, 
we  are  met  by  the  insuperable  difficulty,  that  in  that  church  knowledge 
and  talents  are  now  so  extremely  seldom  combined  with  piety — you  can 
find  the  one  or  the  other,  but  scarcely  ever  the  two  in  union),  and.  to  choose 
eminent  men  for  the  cathedral  chapters,  which  would  secure  the  election 

*  The  preface  to  Von  Vincke's  work  on  "  The  Internal  Administration  of  Great 
Britain." 
t  No  doubt,  Nicolovius. 


300  MEMOIR  OF  N1EBUHR,. 

of  such  for  bishops,  and,  where  the  choice  of  the  bishops  falls  immediately 
to  the  crown,  to  appoint  only  men  of  high  character.  Moreover,  all  decis- 
ions relating  to  the  better  regulation  of  the  Catholic  Church  to  which  the 
assent  of  the  Pope  is  necessary,  ought  to  emanate  from  this  place,  and  to 
be  dispatched  to  the  embassador  in  a  finished  state.  The  latter  would 
never  be  authorized  to  remonstrate  against  them  :  this  would  be  to  overstep 
the  duties  of  his  position.  I  told  him  that  if  the  proposals  were  reasonable 
it  would  require  very  little  skill  to  get  them  accepted ;  if  they  were  un- 
reasonable it  might  still  be  possible  to  carry  them  through ;  but  who  would 
suffer  himself  to  be  an  instrument  in  such  a  work  ?  With  respect  to  many 
things  of  which  the  people  here  fancy  the  attainment  possible,  they  should 
recall  H's*  words:  "The  angel  Gabriel  could  not  bring  them  to  pass  at 
Rome.  The  negotiations  there  might  be  divided  into  two  classes,  such  as 
could  be  very  easily  transacted,  and  such  as  could  not  be  transacted  at  all." 
1  said,  too,  that  skillful  negotiation  with  Italians,  patient  preparation,  silent 
observation  of  character  in  order  to  find  out  how  to  work  upon  it,  were  not 
my  forte,  and  besides  it  was  long  since  I  had  had  any  practice  of  the  kind. 
If,  indeed,  men  awoke  once  more  to  great  aims,  and  great  endeavors,  if  one 
could  embrace  all  around  one  with  affection  as  in  1813,  then  in  truth  my 
powers  of  mind  might  also  re-awaken ;  but  here  there  was  nothing  great 
either  to  be  done  or  sacrificed,  nor  yet  to  be  obtained  in  a  straightforward 
way  by  simple  skill.  As  to  resisting  the  encroachments  of  Rome,  it  was 
needless  to  preach  to  any  one  on  that  subject ;  every  one  would  do  that  who 
had  not  sold  his  heart  to  the  priestly  party. 

Yesterday  I  was  too  sad  to  write  to  you.  I  tried  to  distract  my  thought 
by  paying  the  Dohnas  a  visit,  and  I  got  something  better  than  amusement 
by  it.  They  were  both  very  friendly  and  showed  much  feeling ;  and  I  was 
able  to  talk  about  my  Milly.  Believe  me,  it  pains  me  more  than  any  thing, 
that  no  one  enters  at  all  into  conversation  with  me  on  this  subject.  Every 
one  is  silent  when  I  speak  of  her.  I  am  indeed  not  quite  well,  and  still 
rather  feverish ;  but  in  a  tender  and  calm  state  of  feeling.  For  some  time 
my  sufferings  were  great ;  you  know  in  general,  from  my  letters,  my  con- 
dition from  time  to  time.  As  it  frequently  passed  into  painful  nervous 
excitement,  this  will  explain  and  excuse  to  you  the  irritability  which  has 
frequently  appeared  in  them.  My  natural  disposition  is  gentle — as  it  was 
when  you  first  knew  me ;  my  irritability  has  come  on  much  later  in  life. 
I  miss  two  things  in  my  Milly  : — the  life  with  her,  and  her  love.  But 
this  is  not  all ;  I  also  miss  the  indescribable  energy  which  she  imparted 
to  me  in  a  far  higher  degree  than  I  was  aware  of.  The  grave  is  now  in 
order.  Would  to  God,  that  it  might  one  day  receive  me,  when  I  had  fallen 
peacefully  asleep  in  the  consciousness  of  having  fulfilled  my  true  vocation. 

cc. 

BERLIN,  12th  December,  1815. 

Your  letter  has  been  a  great  comfort  to  me.  I  feel  much  more  satisfied, 
in  the  prospect  of  living  with  you.  What  I  shall  still  feel  the  loss  of,  and 
enjoyed  when  I  had  my  Milly  with  me,  we  will  mourn  over  together.  I 
only  hope  that  now  you  will  be  able  to  come  with  an  easy  mind.  1  dread 
these  last  days  for  you,  and  the  parting  from  those  who  have  always  known 

what  they  possessed  in  you.     I  shall  be  a  debtor  to  all  of  them 

*  Probably  W.  Von  Humboldt,  who  had  been  embassador  in  Home. 


RESIDENCE  IN  BERLIN  IN  1815.  301 

My  mind  will  be  opened  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  treasures  of  Rome,  and 
the  beginning  of  a  completely  new  life  may,  perhaps,  make  me  young 
again.  I  am  very  glad  that  our  circle  of  intercourse  will  be  small ;  it 
promises  me  a  life  of  close  application  to  study. 

A  very  unsatisfactory  tone  of  feeling  prevails  here,  as  is  the  case,  per- 
haps, throughout  Germany.  The -interest  in  literature  is  so  much  on  the 
decline  (indeed  it  is  weaker  now  than  during  and  after  the  fever  of  the 
French  Revolution),  and  our  bright  visions  so  fade  away  one  after  another, 
that  we  can  not  help  perceiving  that  the  noblest  opportunities  of  attaining 
a  permanently  higher  intellectual  standing  for  the  nation  have  been  thrown 
away  or  abused ;  and  we  have  reason  to  fear  that  an  age  of  mediocrity  is 
before  us.  Great  injury  must  inevitably  result  from  so  large  a  part  of  our 
youth  having  taken  the  field  for  a  second  time ;  they  are  nearly  all  snatched 
away  from  their  studies.  The  first  war  did  them  no  harm,  but  that  was 
conducted  in  a  different  spirit  from  the  present  one.  The  regiments  of  the 
line  have  given  way  to  excesses,  and  what  is  still  worse,  many  officers  have 
acquired  a  taste  for  Paris.  The  noble  path  of  life  is  terribly  narrow.  I 
have  very  few  hearers  as  yet. 

As  Gretchen  herself  has  some  apprehensions,  do  not  persuade  her  to 
come  with  us.  Only  I  should  be  so  glad  if  you  could  have  some  com- 
panion, who  could  be  like  a  daughter  to  you.  If  you  could  but  have  little 
Sophy  or  Louisa. 

Since  the  weather  has  become  so  severe,  I  often  vividly  recall  the  time 
that  I  spent  with  Milly  in  Bordesholm,  in  the  winter  of  1800 — a  golden 
age  for  her  and  for  me. 

Pray  take  Christmas  presents  to  the  dear  children  at  Meldorf  in  my 
name ;  and  choose  something  pretty  for  our  friends  at  Husum. 

CCI. 

BERLIN,  23/i  December,  1815. 

On  Tuesday,  Hardenberg  sent  for  me,  and  fixed  to  have  an  in- 
terview with  me  the  next  day ;  the  result  of  which  is,  that  he  has  ap- 
pointed me  one  of  the  Royal  Commissioners  to  take  part  in  the  delibera- 
tions on  the  Constitution.  This  will  necessitate  an  indefinite  postponement 
of  our  journey,  for  a  considerable  time  will  probably  elaps«  before  the 
delegates  to  the  assembly  are  even  named,-  much  more  before  they  arrive 
in  Berlin.  This  may  not  take  place,  perhaps,  till  the  end  of  January,  and 
then  we  know  by  experience  how  slowly  business  advances  in  an  assembly 
the  members  of  which  are  totally  unused  to  deliberations  in  common.  So, 
though  Hardenberg  himself  fancies  that  the  work  might  be  finished  by  the 
end  of  March,  or  at  furthest  in  April,  we  can  not  at  all  reckon  upon 
this  being  the  case,  and,  in  fact,  it  is  impossible  to  fix  any  time  for  the 

termination  of  our  labors I  do  not  know  whether  I  shall  find  any 

sympathy  with  my  views  among  my  fellow-members  of  the  assembly,  but 
I  feel  as  if  I  should  have  missed  an  essential  calling  of  my  life,  if  I  had 
had  no  share  in  the  drawing  up  of  the  Constitution.  We  can  not  expo.:t 
that  this  work  will  result  in  the  establishment  of  thoroughly  mature  an  1 
wise  institutions  at  the  present  moment.  It  can  only  be  a  beginning  and 
a  germ,  to  be  gradually  developed  by  time  and  circumstances.  But  if  this 
opportunity  can  be  seized  to  carry  through  even  a  few  good  laws,  they  may 
have  lasting  consequences:  It  will  be  a  satisfaction  to  you  also,  that  I 


302  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

have  received  this  commission ;  and  when  I  said,  at  first,  that  it  was  not 
quite  welcome  to  me  personally,  that  was  only  in  reference  to  its  lengthen- 
ing my  separation  from  you 

I  have  got  the  Servian  national  songs,  and  shall  translate  them  where 
it  is  possible;  they  are  very  beautiful.  This  season  carries  my  thoughts 
back  to  the  past  very  much.  It  was  a' time  that  Milly  always  enjoyed  so 
much.  Oh,  how  willingly  would  I  give  my  whole  life  for  one  year  with 
her !  Even  if  it  were  a  life  most  rich  in  pleasures  and  prosperity.  Yet  a 
life  rich  in  activity  and  usefulness  I  should  not  dare  to  sacrifice  even  at 
that  price,  and  she  would  not  wish  it.  May  she  watch  over  me  (as  you 
will  too,  with  her  spirit),  and  at  last  receive  me  to  herself  in  peace. 

ecu. 

BERLIN,  16th  January,  1816. 

A  stranger  has  brought  me  a  collection  of  modern  Greek  songs.  I  send 
you  a  translation  I  have  made  of  one  of  them.  Perhaps  it  will  draw  tears 
from  you,  as  it  did  from  me.  The  modern  Greeks  believe  that  the  soul 
does  not  part  from  the  body  till  the  form  of  the  latter  is  destroyed  by  cor- 
ruption. A  child  speaks  thus  from  its  grave  to  its  mother : 

"  Beyond  the  rocky  mountain  peak,  that  rises  high  and  frowning, 
Its  summit  wrapped  in  floating  clouds,  its  steep  glens  dim  and  misty, 
There  grows  the  herb  forgetfulness,  beside  the  still  cold  fountain. 
The  mother-ewe  eats  of  the  herb,  and  then  forgets  her  yeanling ; 
My  mother,  pluck  the  soothing  herb,  and  then  forget  thy  darling." 
77te  Mother.     "  A  thousand  times  I'll  pluck  the  herb,  bat  1  forget  thee  never."* 

In  another  song,  which  begins — 

"  Thou  fiery-red  carnation,  tbou  purple  hyacinth," 

the  soul  of  the  child,  whose  body  is  decaying,  takes  leave  of  the  flowers 
which  are  planted  on  his  grave,  and  asks  them  to  bend  down  their  heads 
to  receive  a  kiss,  and  transmit  it  to  his  parents.  Another  relates  how 
Charon,  now  the  daemon  of  death,  passes  on  his  horse  through  the  village, 
with  the  host  of  dead  after  him,  the  little  ones  hanging  to  the  saddle  ;  the 
poet  entreats  him  to  stop  by  the  cool  spring,  that  the  souls  may  speak  one 
word  to  their  loved  ones,  and  the  children  play  with  the  flowers  !  He  de- 
nies it  :  they  would  not  be  willing  to  leave  it  again.  Many  illustrate  the 
praises  of  heroes,  who  are,  it  must  be  allowed,  only  captains  of  robber 
bands,  but  what  men !  You  soon  become  accustomed  to  the  rhythm,  and 
exclaim  with  delight,  that  it  is  poetry  not  beneath  the  poetry  of  old 
Greece ! 

coin. 

BERLIN,  20/A  January,  1816. 

Some  one  preached  to  me  lately  that  I  should  do  this,  and  that: 

take  up  my  history,  &c.  I  answered,  happy  is  the  man  who  has  succeeded 
in  convincing  himself  that  the  simple  act  of  willing  can  enable  himself  and 

*  "  Jenseits  vom  steilen  Felsgebirg,  das  hoch  dort  ragt  und  duster, 
— Die  Scheitel  decken  Wolken  ihm,  und  Nebel  fiillt  die  Kliifte — 
Da  wachst  am  stillen  kalten  Quell,  Vergessenheit  das  Krautlein. 
Das  Krautlein  pfliickt  das  Mutterschaaf,  vergisst  sodaun  der  Lammer. 
Das  Krautlein  pfliick',  mein  Miitterchen,  vergiss  sodann  des  Kleinen." 
Die  Mutter.    "  Ich  pfliick'  es  mir  wohl  tausendmal,  vergesse  Dem  doch  niin 
mer!" 


RESIDENCE  IN  BERLIN  IN  1816.  303 

others  to  do  every  thing.  If  so,  how  superfluous  are  all  intellectual  gifts ! 
We  need  only  exert  our  will,  and  we  are  competent,  not  merely,  as  all  the 
world  has  believed  hitherto,  to  tasks  requiring  research  and  industry,  but 
to  produce  works  of  genius.  And  this  under  all  circumstances !  It  is  not 
true,  therefore,  that  genius  is  unfolded  by  outward  circumstances,  as  plants 
and  flowers  are  by  spring-tide  and  summer,  and  that  there  are  times  and 
cases  when  genius  can  no  more  exist  than  the  violet  can  blow  in  the  au- 
tumn :  it  is  not  true,  that  in  the  age  of  Alexander  there  were  no  great 
poets,  because  there  could  be  none  then.  From  this  truth,  we  may  soar 
upward  in  a  straight  line  to  the  regions  in  which  Fichte  seemed  to  us 
weaklings  to  rave,  and  look  forward  to  the  time  when  the  will  may  suffice 
to  make  the  rocks  bear  fruit,  and  the  glaciers  bring  forth  corn.  We  may 
•pare  ourselves  all  sympathy  with  our  sick  and  weak  brother ;  it  is  his  own 
fault  if  he  does  not  choose  to  be  healthy 

CCIV. 

BERLIN,  30th  January,  1816. 

Since  [reading  my  treatise  last  Wednesday  hi  the  Academy]  I 

have  been  busied  in  preparing  the  Fronto  for  the  press.  Heindorf  and 
Butt  maun  take  part  in  the  critical  revision  of  it,  but  by  far  the  largest  and 
most  difficult  task  falls  to  my  share.  The  Milanese  editor  has  put  together 
the  loose  leaves  (which  are  quite  unconnected,  only  legible  in  parts,  and 
altogether  form  only  a  small  portion  of  the  whole  work),  without  the  slight- 
eat  regard  to  their  natural  order,  and  printed  them  in  such  a  manner,  that 
you  can  not  see  where  one  fragment  begins  and  another  ends.  I  have 
been  obliged  to  reduce  this  chaos  to  the  fragments  of  which  it  is  composed 
in  the  first  instance,  and  must  next  bring  together  the  parts  which  are 
immediately  connected,  or  only  separated  by  fragments  which  are  lost. 
It  is  a  work  of  great  labor,  but  for  which  I  have  a  peculiar  talent,  so  that 
if  I  did  not  undertake  it,  centuries  might  perhaps  elapse  before  the  poor 
dismembered  thing  would  find  any  one  to  put  its  limbs  in  their  places 
again 

You  ask  after  my  cough.  I  really  can  not  say  when  it  began ;  but  I 
have  been  suffering  from  colds  ever  since  the  beginning  of  December,  be- 
cause I  am  obliged  to  go  out  in  all  weathers ;  to  dinner,  to  the  Crown 
Prince,  to  the  riding-school,  and  when  I  want  to  escape  from  solitude ;  and 
then  generally  I  have  to  walk  long  distances.  About  a  fortnight  ago,  my 
cough  was  really  very  bad ;  now  it  is  of  no  consequence,  only  it  is  con- 
stantly irritated  by  the  dust,  and  damp,  and  draught,  at  the  riding-school, 
so  that  I  have  been  sometimes  afraid  I  must  give  up  this  pursuit.  This 
would  be  a  pity,  for  I  have  conquered  the  greatest  difficulty ;  I  have  lost 
my  awkwardness,  and  am  told  that  I  have  much  improved  in  agility.  I 
feel  safe  and  bold  on  horseback.  If  I  remain  a  part  of  the  summer  here, 
I  shall  attend  the  shooting-gallery,  and  perhaps  the  fencing-school.  When 
my  cough  was  at  the  worst,  it  was  a  welcome  thought  to  me  that  perhaps 
it  might  be  a  legacy  from  my  beloved  Milly ;  the  best  gift  she  could  leave 
behind  with  me. 

A  thousand  thanks  for  your  tender  and  sympathizing  letter.  But  yon 
do  not  know,  you  did  not  see,  and  can  not  understand,  how  a  Work  such 
as  my  History  arises,  and  can  alone  arise — in  love  and  joy  only,  not  in 
affliction,  anguish,  and  bereavement. 


304  MEMOIR  01'  NIEBUHR. 

€CV. 

BERLIN,  IQth  February,  1816. 

.....  My  author  himself  is  a  miserable  hero,  but  the  letters  are  ex- 
tremely attractive,  especially  the  youthful  letters  of  Marcus  Antoninus, 
which  thrpw  much  light  upon  his  inward  history.  What  an  angel  do  we  find 
here  too  !  But  he  likewise  appears  to  have  fallen  in  his  later  years  under 
thes  way  of  a  woman,  who  has  much  more  resemblance  to  Marie  Antoinette, 
than  poor  Louis  to  Marcus  Antoninus ;  and  this  book  makes  it  clearer,  and 
more  comprehensible,  how  it  should  have  been  possible  for  the  rule  of  this 
heavenly  man  to  promote  and  hasten  the  dissolution  and  corruption  of  the 
State. 

I  have  heard  nothing  more  about  the  plague  in  Italy  ;  but  I  feel  we  must 
not  at  all  conclude  from  this  that  the  report  of  it  was  false 

CCVI. 

BERLIN,  IQth  February,  1816. 

I  no  longer  doubt  that  we  shall  go  to  Italy,  unless  the  plague  prove  an 
obstacle,  in  which  case  I  should  have  great  scruples  about  it,  and,  if  you 
went  with  me,  feel  very  anxious.  There  are  certainly  other  considerations 
against  it,  with  regard  to  Gretchen,  which  press  heavily  on  my  heart.  I 
have  foretold  the  spreading  of  the  pestilence  to  Italy  ever  since  the  autumn, 
as  many  can  bear  me  witness  ;  it  is  not  from  any  prophetic  gift  of  mine, 
but  on  very  natural  grounds.  It  attacked  Venetian  Dalmatia  a  year  ago, 
from  which  it  had,  up  to  that  time,  been  excluded  by  quarantine  regula- 
tions. It  has  also  penetrated  into  Austrian  Croatia,  and  is  raging  in 
Corfu.  Hence  we  had  reason  to  fear  that  it  would  advance  from  the 
Adriatic  Sea  over  Italy.  Besides,  I  hold  to  my  assertion,  that  under  cer- 
tain circumstances — when  Death  is  hungry — it  overpowers  all  the  obsta- 
cles which  in  ordinary  times  bar  its  progress.  That  such  is  the  case  at 
present,  we  may  conclude  from  the  fact  that  it  has  reached  Corfu  and 
Croatia,  where  all  possible  precautions  have  been  observed,  and  up  to  this 
time  .successfully. 

Flight  might  not  be  found  quite  so  practicable ;  if  a  place  is  really 
threatened,  no  one  is  allowed  to  pass  thence  to  the  neighboring  districts. 
But  I  think  that  the  spread  or  cessation  of  the  epidemic  must  be  decided 
before  we  enter  Lombardy,  and,  if  God  permit,  we  may  wait  in  the  Ve- 
netian Alps  to  see  what  turn  things  will  take 

CCVII. 

BERLIN,  <Zlth  February,  1816. 

Although  here,  as  well  as  abroad,  they  keep  to  the  system  of  leaving 
the  public  in  the  dark  respecting  the  pestilence,  things  come  to  light  from 
time  to  time,  from  which  the  danger  seems  to  grow  more  and  more  decided. 
The  plague  does  not  simply  slay  its  victims  and  depopulate  countries ;  it 
eats  away  the  moral  energies  as  well,  and  often  quite  destroys  them  ;  thus, 
as  I  have  shown  in  my  last  public  lecture  before  the  Academy,  the  sudden 
and  complete  degeneracy  of  the  Roman  world  from  the  time  of  Marcus 
Antoninus  onward,  may  be  referred  to  the  Oriental  plague  which  then 
entered  Europe  for  the  first  time ;  just  as,  six  hundred  years  earlier,  the 
plague,  which  was  strictly  speaking  a  yellow  fever,  coincides  too  exactly 


RESIDENCE  IN  BERLIN  IN  1816.  305 

with  the  termination  of  the  ideal  period  of  antiquity,  not  to  be  regarded  as 
a  cause  of  it.  In  such  epidemics  the  best  individuals  always  die,  and  the 
rest  degenerate  morally.  Times  of  pestilence  are  always  those  in  which 
the  animal  and  the  devilish  in  human  nature  assume  prominence.  Neither 
need  we  be  superstitious  or  even  pious,  to  regard  great  pestilences  as  some- 
thing more  than  a  conflict  of  the  physical  with  the  human  history  of  the 
earth :  I  fear  my  conviction  that  it  indicates  the  victory  of  the  negative 
and  destructive  of  the  two  contending  principles,  would  be  thought  terribly 
Manicha&an  and  impious. 

CCVIII. 

BERLIN,  29<&  June.  1816.* 

I  had  so  much  to  say  to  yon,  I  do  not  know  what  I  can  and  will  say. 
I  therefore  intend  to  write  very  little  to  you  to-day,  and  to  wait  for  your 
letter.  I  may  still  receive  it  here ;  and  I  hope  that  you  will  reckon  upon 
it,  as  it  is  settled  that  firandis  is  to  come  to  us  here.f 

My  thoughts  have  traveled  with  you ;  you  have  arrived  by  this  time. 
We  still  mean  to  depart  at  the  time  fixed  with  Brandis 

Heindorf  died  last  Sunday  without  being  sensible  of  his  approaching 
end.  His  friends  will  now  have  to  look  after  his  seven  orphans.  My 
position  will  allow  me  to  take  my  share.  Why  was  I  never  able  to  prom- 
ise it  to  him  ?  Yet  he  no  doubt  relied  on  his  friend.!  "^ 

In  the  evening  after  you  had  left  us,  when  your  carriage  went  out  of 
sight  and  I  returned  home,  I  felt  very  sad.  '  Gretchen's  spirits  were  quite 
overcome  by  the  parting,  and  I  recovered  myself  in  trying  to  console  her. 

God  grant  that  you  may  be  happy  1  You  need  only  wish  for  me  the 
enjoyment  of  tolerable  health ;  for  as  it  is  now  I  can  never  get  on.  Ail 
will  rejoice  to  have  you  back  again.  Rejoice  with  them ;  but  remain  to 
to  me  what  you  have  been. 

Give  our  best  love  to  all  our  friends. 

*<%»,  »-.    •.'   •,    >'•'•'       -.>*•;'  -.  .r.r'-fv  - .  ^v^> 1    -, 

CCIX. 

BERLIN,  6th  July,  181«. 

Your  confidence  that  I  should  become  more  tranquil,  has  not  quite  de- 
ceived you ;  I  am  so  on  the  whole.  Gretchen  does  alt  in  her  power  to 
promote  it.  She  enters  thoroughly  and  kindly  into  my  state  of  feeling. 
She  keeps  herself  constantly  employed,  and  has  shown  the  greatest  method 
and  judgment  in  the  arrangement  and  preparations  for  our  removal  and 
packing  up,  which  she  has  executed  with  indefatigable  energy.  She  says 
indeed,  when  she  sees  me  sad,  that  it  would  depress  her  terribly  if  she  did 
not  hope  that  I  should  recover  my  spirits  again  in  time. 

I  do  not  despair  of  my  mental  powers.     I  derive  much  benefit  from 

*  This  was  the  first  letter  Niebuhr  wrote  after  his  parting  from  Madame 
Hensler,  and  her  return  home. 

t  Brandis  accompanied  Madame  Hensler  on  her  return  to  Holstein. 

*  In  an  earlier  letter,  Niebuhr  guys :  "  One  of  th«  sons  is  my  godchild.    I 
shall  provide  for  him."     For  several  years  after  Heindorf  i  death,  his  family  re- 
ceived a  considerable  sum  of  money  regularly  every  year,  without  being  able  to 
discover  whence  it  came.     In  process  of  time,  as  their  circumstances  improved, 
it  ceased,  and  it  was  only  after  many  years  that  Niebnhr  was  found  to  be  the 
author  of  this  assistance,  in  addition  to  the  other  friendly  offices  he  rendered 
them. 


306  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHB. 

simple  warm  baths ;  they  have  already  given  a  more  healthy  tone  to  my 
nerves.  Gretchen  has  stood  the  fatigues  of  packing  very  well.  Her  chest 
is  quite  free  from  oppression,  and  she  has  little  pain  in  her  side. 

Our  departure  is  positively  fixed  for  the  thirteenth.  I  shall  not  take  my 
instructions  with  me ;  it  would  take  too  long  to  wait  for  them  as  I  had 
intended,  and  so  I  shall  travel  forward  at  once.  Hardenberg  has  promised 
to  send  them  after  me. 

We  shall  most  likely  take  the  most  direct  route.  The  two  months  and 
a  half  from  now  to  the  end  of  September  is  so  short,  that  we  must  curtail 
our  stay  wherever  we  can,  in  order  to  stop  long  enough  at  the  important 
places  to  make  some  use  of  them'.  I  have  no  answer  from  Goethe ;  his 
wife  is  dead. 

You  will  write  as  often  to  me  as  you  have  time  and  ability.  Pray  write 
by  the  next  post  to  Nuremberg,  and  a  week  later  to  Munich.  I  shall 
probably  stay  more  than  a  week  in  Munich. 

I  look  forward  to  the  journey  With  great  pleasure — as  much  as  I  can 
now  feel.  Gretchen  also  enjoys  the  prospect. 

The  sorting  and  arranging  of  my  old  papers  has  again  excited  my  pad 
feelings.  Many  of  them  you  will  one  day  read,  not  without  emotion ; 
some  merit  to  be  preserved.  However,  I  do  not  now  think  that  my  death 
is  near.  Love  to  our  friends.  I  shall  write  you  one  more  letter  home. 
God  bless  you.  Farewell. 

ccx. 

BERLIN,  20th  July,  1816. 

Your  anxiously  expected  letter,  in  which  and  from  which  I  hoped  to 
take  a  blessing  with  me  on  my  journey,  has  never  arrived.  Perhaps  you 
have  been  persuaded  to  remain  at  Husum.  If  so,  ten  or  twelve  days  will 
elapse  before  I  find  your  letter  at  Nuremberg. 

I  am  so  tired  and  exhausted  that  even  if  you  were  actually  here  I  could 
scarcely  say  any  thing  rational  to  you.  My  audience  with  the  King  was 
on  Wednesday,  and  not  till  then  could  we  make  definite  preparations  for 
the  journey.  The  next  day,  my  Milly's  birthday,  I  wanted  to  celebrate 
here ;  that  is,  at  her  grave. 

I  can  not  describe  the  feelings  with  which  I  leave  this  place.  I  often 
forget  my  sorrows,  but  I  can  not  yet  be  happy.  The  general  aspect  of 
political  affairs  also  weighs  heavily  on  my  mind. 

The  Crown  Prince  has  taken  a  very  affectionate  leave  of  me,  and  shed 
tears  at  parting.  All  the  other  princes  are  likewise  cordial  and  friendly. 

People  in  general  express  sincere  regret  at  my  leaving,  and  hope  that 
I  shall  return  with  official  advancement ;  which  I,  whose  judgment  is  un- 
warped,  do  not  at  all  expect. 

The  best  piece  of  news  I  have  to  tell  you  is,  that  Gretchen' s  health  is 
much  improved. 

I  must  conclude.  God  bless  you  richly  a  thousandfold.  If  possible  I 
shall  write  a  few  lines  to  you  daily  during  our  journey. 


CHAPTER  X. 

NIEBUHtt'S  MISSION  IN  ROME.    FEOM  1816  TO  1823. 

FROM  this  time  forward,  Niebuhr  was  so  entirely  removed  from 
the  friends  of  his  earlier  life,  that  few  facts  respecting  his  outward 
history  are  to  be  obtained  excepting  from  his  own  letters.  These, 
however,  succeed  each  other  in  such  an  almost  unbroken  series, 
that  they  require  but  few  connecting  links,  and  therefore  there  is 
little  occasion  to  regret  the  absence  of  other  sources  of  information. 
But,  while  his  letters  give  a  very  complete  picture  of  his  personal 
circumstances  and  occupations,  it  must  always  be  borne  in  mind, 
that  most  of  them  were  written  under  great  restraint  with  regard 
to  the  expression  of  opinion  upon  outward  events,  on  account  of 
the  surveillance  exercised  at  the  post-offices  of  the  countries 
through  which  they  passed.  He  often  had  to  deny  himself  the 
utterance  of  a  sentiment  altogether,  for  fear  of  the  total  suppres- 
sion of  the  letter. 

Niebuhr  quitted  Berlin  in  July.  His  friend,  Dr.  Brandis  (now 
Professor  of  Philosophy  in  Bonn),  accompanied  him  as  Secretary 
of  Legation.  He  had  made  the  choice  of  his  secretary  a  condition 
of  his  accepting  the  mission,  and  in  the  first  instance  had  offered 
the  post  to  Professor  Dahlman,  who  however  declined  it,  having 
just  accepted  the  office  of  Representative  to  the  nobles  and  pre- 
lates of  Schleswig-Holstein. 

Niebuhr  first  visited  Munich,  where  he  staid  a  week,  partly 
to  look  through  the  MSS.  of  the  Royal  Library,  partly  to  see  his 
aged  friend,  Jacobi.  Thence  he  proceeded  to  Innspruck,  and  vis- 
ited the  memorable  scenes  of  the  Tyrolese  war.  The  next  place 
at  which  he  made  any  stay  was  Verona,  where  likewise  he  ex- 
plored the  manuscript  treasures  contained  in  the  library,  and  made 
his  famous  discovery  of  the  Institutes  of  Gaius.  He  spent  a  short 
time  at  Venice,  Bologna,  and  Florence,  and  reached  Rome  on  the 
7th  of  October. 

Niebuhr  had  sent  his  books  by  sea  to  Leghorn.  He  soon  learnt 
that  the  ship  had  been  wrecked  at  Calais,  and  was  for  several 
months  in  uncertainty  respecting  their  fate.  As  no  books  were 


308  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHB. 

allowed  to  be  taken  out  of  the  public  libraries,  he  was  for  a 
considerable  time  deprived  of  the  means  of  pursuing  his  studies, 
and  this,  joined  to  the  ill-health  which  seized  both  him  and  his 
wife  almost  immediately  on  their  entrance  into  Italy,  and  the,  to 
him,  unaccustomed  privation  of  all  intellectual  intercourse,  ac- 
count for  the  tone  of  depression  which  prevails  in  his  earlier  let- 
ters from  Rome.  In  spite  of  these  disadvantages,  however,  he 
turned  his  time  to  account,  as  far  as  possible,  by  visiting  the  li- 
brary of  the  Vatican,  and  in  November  discovered  the  fragments 
of  Cicero's  orations,  and  some  of  Livy,  Seneca,  and  Hyginus  ;  after 
which  he  occupied  himself  assiduously  with  their  correction  and 
preparation  for  the  press.  Their  publication,  however,  was  from 
many  causes  delayed  for  several  years. 

Niebuhr's  relations  with  the  court  of  Rome  assumed  a  very 
satisfactory  aspect  from  the  first.  A  mutual  liking  sprang  up  be- 
tween him  and  the  excellent  Pope  Pius  VII.,  and  he  was  on  terms 
of  personal  friendship  with  Cardinal  Gonsalvi,  the  prime  minister 
and  secretary  of  state,  of  whose  character  as  a  statesman  Niebuhr 
had  a  high  opinion.  During  the  earlier  years  of  his  residence  in 
Rome,  Niebuhr  had  merely  to  dispatch  the  current  business  with 
the  Papal  court,  as  the  instructions  for  his  special  mission,  which 
Hardenberg  had  promised  to  send  after  him  in  a  few  weeks,  did 
not  arrive  for  four  years. 

His  intercourse  in  Rome,  beyond  that  which  he  enjoyed  with 
Brandis  and  Bunsen,  with  the  latter  of  whom  he  soon  formed  an 
intimate  friendship,  was  chiefly  confined  to  Germans  and  English, 
though  he  had  likewise  several  acquaintances  among  the  French. 
Among  the  Italians  there  were  very  few  whose  conversation  af- 
forded him  any  pleasure,  owing  to  their  entirely  opposite  cast  of 
mind,  though  there  were  a  few  of  the  higher  ecclesiastics  who 
formed  exceptions.  Niebuhr  associated  much  with  the  young  art- 
ists who  were  then  studying  in  Rome,  and  laying  the  foundation 
of  the  present  German  school  of  historical  painting.  Among  them 
he  was  particularly  intimate  with  Cornelius,  Platner,  Overbeck, 
and  the  two  Schadows.  He  made  their  acquaintance  on  the  an- 
niversary of  the  battle  of  Leipsic,  eight  days  after  his  arrival.  The 
artists  celebrated  the  day  by  a  dinner,  to  which  they  invited  Nie- 
buhr and  Brandis.  Niebuhr  sat  between  Thorwaldsen  and  Cor- 
nelius, who  both  instantly  inspired  him  with  the  strongest  interest, 
and  he  made  an  equally  favorable  impression  on  them.  Niebuhr 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1816.  309 

always  took  a  lively  interest  in  art,  particularly  in  paintings,  and 
his  judgment  was  considered,  by  those  most  competent  to  form  an 
opinion,  remarkably  correct,  though  he  had  no  practical  acquaint- 
ance with  any  branch  of  art. 

Letters  vyritten  in  1816. 

ccx. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

MUNICH,  \3tk  August,  1816. 

Gretchen  has,  I  think,  furnished  you  with  the  thread  of  our  journey  as 
far  as  Ratisbon.  From  Meiningen  I  sent  you  the  history  of  our  adventures 
and  calamities  on  the  road  through  the  forest  of  Thuringia.  We  saw  no- 
thing of  that  town ;  it  rained  in  torrents,  and  if  the  brother  of  our  old 
Heim  had  not  lived  so  near,  I  should  not  even  have  visited  him.  From 
him  I  heard  that  the  duchy  contains  54,000  inhabitants;  not  much  could 
be  said  about  its  wealth ;  but  the  people  help  themselves  through,  which 
is.  perhaps,  what  is  most  to  be  wished  for.  The  weather  cleared  up  as  we 
started,  and  the  valley  of  the  Werra,  through  which  we  were  hastening,  on 
an  excellent  high  road,  appeared  in  all  its  beauty.  The  roads,  from  this 
neighborhood  till  beyond  Wurzburg,  were  extremely  good;  they  seemed  to 
be  made  of  the  basalt  of  the  hills  near  Wurzburg  and  Fulda.  The  little 
towns  in  the  Wurzburg  district  are  not  pretty,  though  they  are  probably 
more  prosperous  than  those  on  the  Saal,  as  the  land  is  very  fertile  and 
rich.  The  country  is  beautiful,  and  thickly  dotted  with  villages  of  some 
size.  At  Wurzburg  we  stopped  for  twenty-four  hours.  The  city  is  cer- 
tainly very  well  situated ;  part  of  it  lies  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river, 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  on  which  are  the  Marienburg,  and  a  place  of  pil- 
grimage. This  hill  produces  the  Stein  wine,  and  it  stretches  so  far  into  the 
country  that  it  affords  to  a  wide  district  the  enjoyment  of  its  delicious  pro- 
ducts, of  which  Brandis  and  I  partook.-  The  bridge  is  adorned,  like  that 
of  Prague,  with  statues  of  saints,  single  and  in  groups ;  altogether  Wurz- 
burg swarms  with  Christian  statues — all  bad,  all  mannered,  and  tasteless. 
The  cathedral  is  new,  and  so  are  the  paintings,  which  are  worthless ; 
many  of  the  buildings  are  large  and  handsome,  and  show  that  the  city 
was  once  the  seat  of  a  Chapter  composed  of  a  proud  and  rich  aristocracy. 
We — which,  in  such  cases,  always  means  Brandis  and  myself — hunted 
out  Professor  Goldmayer — found  him  not  at  home ;  he  had  received  my 
card,  however,  and  came  to  me  at  the  hotel.  I  found  in  him  not  merely 
courtesy,  which  is  shown  by  what  I  have  just  said,  but  a  simple,  obliging, 
straightforward,  upright  man,  with  nothing  unprotestant,  that  is,  no  sti- 
fling of  his  genuine  German  nature  about  him.  This  seems  to  be  the  case 
with  the  rest  of  the  Wurzburg  scholars,  and  their  political  ideas  appear  to 
be  quite  satisfactory.  The  librarian  showed  me  what  I  wished  to  see,  the 
MSS.,  among  which  are  some  of  very  great  antiquity  ;  one  was  of  the  kind 
for  which  I  am  looking  out,*  but  the  obliterated  writing  was  nothing  but 
an  old  Latin  translation  of  the  Bible,  written  probably  in  the  fourth  or  fifth 
century.  I  wasted  several  hours,  that  evening  and  the  following  morning, 
in  carefully  looking  over  these  works,  to  me  quite  useless.  But  I  had 
*  i.e.  Palimpsests. 


310  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

pleasure  in  examining  the  works  of  art  which  I  found  among  them,  the 
exquisitely  carved  ivory  tablets  which  ornament  their  covers,  and  must 
be  at  least  as  old  as  the  eleventh  century.  They  really  must  be  regarded 
as  specimens  of  alto-relievo,  of  which  ancient  art  would  not  need  to  be 
ashamed.  Copies  from  it  they  may  be,  for  some  of  the  figures  are  in  un- 
mistakable Eoman  costume.  Similar  carvings  are  to  be  found  among  the 
illuminated  MSS.  of  the  Munich  library,  some  with  Greek,  others  with 
Latin  inscriptions,  the  letters  of  which  are  so  accurately  formed  that  it  is 
impossible  to  ascribe  them  to  Constantinople. 

Our  road  brought  us  through  a  district  where  the  different  territories 
were  formerly  curiously  intermingled,  for  the  most  part  belonging  to  Bay- 
reuth  or  Anspach,  and  I  thought  I  could  still  distinctly  recognize  the  dif- 
ference of  religion  and  of  their  former  political  relations.  We  caught  sight 
at  once  of  the  whole  extent  of  Nuremberg,  with  its  castles  and  its  high 
steeples.  The  city  is  much  smaller  than  I  had  expected  from  its  ancient 
population,  which,  calculating  from  4000  yearly  births,  must  have  amount- 
ed, in  the  fifteenth  century,  to  more  than  100,000  souls.  It  lies  on  hills. 
Nearly  all  the  names  of  the  streets  have  been  changed  since  the  change 
of  the  government.  Two  churches  had  been  already  pulled  down  because 
they  wanted  repairs ;  one  was  sold,  as  we  heard,  for  five  hundred  florins, 
for  the  sake  of  its  building  materials.  The  price  of  houses  is  unusually 
low.  A  house  for  a  family  of  the  ordinary  middle  class  may  be  had  for 
five  hundred  florins ;  a  very  handsome  one,  which  in  Berlin  would  prob- 
ably cost  from  sixty  to  eighty  thousand  dollars,  may  be  had  here  for  ten 
thousand  florins.  Yet  the  city  appears  by  no  means  so  empty  and  desert- 
ed as  you  might  anticipate  from  this,  and  trade  is  reviving ;  orders  have 
unexpectedly  arrived  from  America.  The  debts  of  the  city,  amounting  to 
9.500,000  florins,  have  been  made  over  to  the  Bavarian  government,  with 
a  reduction  of  one  half  in  the  rate  of  interest.  The  municipal  constitution 
has  been  quite  abrogated ;  the  city  is  governed  by  a  royal  commissioner ; 
a  town-council  has  been  nominated,  but  it  does  not  assemble.  But  the 
Bavarians  have  hopes,  from  the  express  words  of  a  law  promulgated  last 
year,  that,  in  the  larger  cities,  magistrates  will  be  again  appointed,  to 
whom  the  management  of  the  fiscal  matters  of  the  communes,  and  even 
the  administration  of  justice  and  the  police  will  be  restored.  Magistrates 
have  been  already  conceded  to  the  smaller  towns.  In  consequence  of  all 
these  changes  the  Town  Hall  is  useless  and  empty,  or,  at  least,  appropri- 
ated to  other  purposes.  The  old  decorations  and  emblems  have  been  car- 
ried away ;  a  screen  of  finely-executed  brass-work,  which  stood  in  the 
council-hall,  has  been  sold,  &c.  Those  churches,  the  preservation  of  which 
seemed  necessary  for  the  wants  of  the  city,  have  been  suffered  to  keep 
their  immense  treasures  of  art  untouched.  You  are  not  prepared  to  see  so 
many  sacred  relics  of  antiquity  in  a  Protestant  city ;  the  appearance  of 
the  place  is  quite  Catholic ;  nay,  to  judge  by  the  present  state  of  the 
Catholic  Churches,  it  might  be  maintained  that  the  works  of  art  would 
have  been  far  better  preserved  if  the  Reformation  had  become  universal, 
supposing  it  to  be  carried  out  with  as  much  moderation  as  at  Nuremberg. 
St.  Sebald's  and  St.  Lawrence's  have  grown  rich  in  old  paintings  through 
a  custom  which  I  never  met  with  elsewhere ;  on  the  death  of  a  citizen  of 
consideration,  a  painting  was  hung  up  in  the  church  to  his  memory,  to 
which  a  tablet  bearing  the  date  of  his  death  was  affixed,  but  which  had 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1816.  311 

no  other  personal  reference  to  the  deceased,  rarely  even  to  his  patron  saint. 
These  pictures  are  shockingly  neglected;  they  are  regarded  as  the  property 
of  the  family  who  presented  them  to  the  church.  There  is  one  extremely 
beautiful  painting  in  St.  Lawrence's,  ascribed,  like  every  thing  else  in 
Nuremberg  of  unknown  origin,  to  Albert  Durer,  but  it  is  much  older.  But 
the  most  beautiful  painting  of  all  was  actually  discovered  by  Brandis ;  it 
was  painted  before  1450,  to  judge  by  another  picture  near  it,  which  is 
provided  with  a  date.  Brandis  had  climbed  on  to  an  old  stone  altar  to 
look  at  another  picture,  also  of  great  merit,  when  he  suddenly  became 
aware  that  there  was  one  far  superior,  hanging  on  a  column  behind,  of 
which  you  caught  sight  through  an  arch.  To  get  near  it  we  were  obliged 
to  send  for  the  key  of  the  clerestory — it  was  worth  the  trouble.  It  is  an 
altar  picture  with  wings ;  in  the  background  ia  Christ,  very  youthful,  and 
with  a  crown  on  his  head,  engaged  in  crowning  the  Holy  Virgin  who  is  also 
represented  in  very  -early  youth.  Its  beauty  is  hardly  to  be  surpassed. 
Of  the  works  of  Hans  Kulmbach,  hitherto  an  unknown  artist  to  me,  I  could 
give  you  no  account,  unless  I  had  written  every  day.  There  is  a  gallery 
in  the  castle,  in  two  halls,  which  contains  some  very  respectable  and  very 
ancient  pictures,  and  some  masterpieces  by  Michael  Wohlgemuth.  I  never 
knew  what  he  really  was  till  I  came  there.  There  are  eight  large  figures 
of  saints,  which  are  splendid,  all  of  course  on  a  gold  ground,  the  handling 
vigorous  and  delicate,  the  coloring  brilliant.  A  Last  Judgment  of  his 
leaves  me  scarcely  a  doubt  that  he  was  the  painter  of  the  Dantzic  picture ; 
nothing  else  can  explain  the  likeness  between  the  portrait  figures.  We 
could  only  see  the  very  ancient  imperial  chapel,  said  to  date  from  the 
Emperor  Conrad,  through  a  window.  An  old  lime-tree  stands  in  the 
court-yard,  hollow,  and  scarcely  to  be  called  alive ;  the  saying  goes  that 
it  was  planted  by  St.  Cunigunda,  the  consort  of  Henry  II.,  whose  memory 
is  still  poetically  preserved  by  monuments,  not  only  in  Nuremberg,  but 
also  in  Bamberg,  Merseburg,  and  Ratisbon.  From  the  halls  of  this  castle 
I  overlooked  the  country  where  Gustavns  Adolphus  was  encamped  within 
his  lines,  in  the  summer  of  1632;  Wallenstein  was  opposite  to  him;  I 
could  trace  the  circuit  of  the  lines  of  the  great  Swedish  monarch ;  a  large 
portion  of  them  is  still  existing.  The  Frauenholz  collection  at  the  Town 
Hall,  which  is  brought  together  for  sale,  contains  some  magnificent  things. 
There  I  saw  for  the  first  time  an  important  work  of  Martin  Schoen.  I 
also  visited  the  town  library  with  Brandis ;  but  there  was  nothing  of 
value  in  the  whole  collection  of  MSS. ;  the  most  interesting  thing  was  a 
globe  on  which  Cuba  is  represented  as  a  continent,  and  there  is  a  greater 
confusion  in  the  northern  part  of  Europe,  that  is,  in  Norway  and  Sweden, 
than  in  our  maps  of  America  a  hundred  years  ago.  Among  the  people 
whom  I  saw  in  Nuremberg,  where  the  Museum  renders  it  very  easy  to  see 
people  and  hear  them  speak,  the  most  attractive  and  important  to  me  was 
Seebeck,  Goethe's  friend  and  fellow-laborer  in  optics.  Hegel  was  not  at 
home  when  I  called,  but  immediately  returned  my  visit,  and  staid  a  long 
time.  To  you,  dear  Dora,  I  may  venture  to  say — and  you  will  see  no 
danger  in  it  for  me— that  I  have  met  universally  with  a  very  distinguished 
reception.  This  does  not  make  me  vain;  it  humbles  me;  I  often  say  my- 
self, they  might  spare  their  trouble ;  they  only  see  my  corpse  and  ghost. 
Twenty  years  ago,  when  older  men  made  me  feel  my  distance,  they  did 
me  wrong ;  I  was  conscious  that  I  had  something  in  me  which  merited 


312  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR 

affection  and  welcome.  Nay  even  I  might  have  felt  this  but  a  few  years 
ago  deeply  !  We  ought  to  have  spent  at  least  another  day  in  Nuremberg ; 
there  was  yet  much  to  see,  and  I  was  still  quite  unacquainted  with  the 
citizens  who  have  retained  somewhat  of  their  former  remarkable  charac- 
ter ;  it  would  have  been  amusing,  too,  to^  have  seen  with  our  own  eyes  the 
relics  of  the  Guild  of  the  Master-singers  and  of  the  Fruit-bearing  Society.* 
We  left  on  Sunday  afternoon.  We  slept  at  Neumarkt,  where  the  Arch- 
duke Charles  first  defeated  the  French  in  1796.  As  we  did  not  expect  to 
find  the  means  of  conveyance  always  ready,  we  had  sent  a  circular  to  the 
post-masters  as  far  as  Ratisbon — a  very  unnecessary  precaution,  and  here, 
it  seems,  a  very  unusual  one,  except  with  persons  of  high  rank.  In  Neu- 
markt, when  we  drove  up  to  the  post-house  (in  Franconia  and  Bavaria  it 
is  usual  to  sleep  at  the  post-houses),  we  found  every  thing  in  commotion, 
and  the  house  full  of  lights ;  the  landlady  lighted  us  up-stairs,  offered  us 
a  ready-prepared  supper,  enumerated  her  wines,  which,  after  all,  turned 
out  not  very  good ;  but  the  beds  were  arranged  and  decked  in  the  best 
style.  Miiller  remarked,  but  we  did  not  know  it  till  after  our  departure, 
that  on  the  door  of  the  room  was  written  in  white  chalk,  "  For  their  Royal 
Highnesses  ;"  and  the  landlady  asked  the  next  morning  when  she  knocked 
at  our  door  (we  did  not  hear  it),  "Are  your  Royal  Highnesses  still  asleep? 
Then  every  thing  shall  be  quiet  in  the  house."  Neumarkt  is  not  a  bad- 
looking  little  place.  The  Upper  Palatinate  is  moderately  fertile.  Toward 
Ratisbon,  on  approaching  the  Nab,  the  scenery  becomes  picturesque,  and 
the  view  from  the  heights,  where  yon  first  catch  sight  of  Ratisbon  and  the 
Danube,  is  glorious.  The  whole  country,  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  is  full 
of  historical  associations  of  the  years  since  1809,  with  the  heights  above 
Hof,  whence  the  Austrians  were  obliged  to  set  that  unhappy  town  on  fire 
with  their  shot  in  order  to  cover  their  retreat,  and  southward  the  walls 
and. fields  in  the  neighborhood.  I  had  not  expected  to  see  Hof  so  com- 
pletely rebuilt !  I  have  already  written  to  you  about  its  noble  bridge, 
and  the  incomparable  view  we  had  from  our  windows.  The  second  pride 
of  the  old  city  is  her  cathedral,  and  in  particular  its  most  original,  rich, 
and  splendid  faf  ade.  It  is  imperfect,  and  the  interior  is  interesting  only 
from  its  beautiful  architecture.  A  strange  tradition,  which  the  sacristan 
told  us,  but  which  we  had  already  heard  from  a  working  man,  says,  that 
a  pupil  of  the  master  who  built  the  cathedral,  constructed  the  bridge  in 
league  with  Satan ;  hence  he  had  finished  his  work  the  first,  in  despair  at 
which  the  master  threw  himself  from  one  of  the  pinnacles  of  the  church. 
Ratisbon  has  not  a  very  ancient  appearance,  which  may  be  explained  from 
the  circumstance  that,  for  the  last  150  years,  the  embassadors  were  the 
chief  persons  in  the  city,  and  though  they  were  not  permitted  to  possess 
any  houses  in  their  own  name,  they  bought  and  built  under  the  name  of 
some  other  person.  The  old  corporation  was  quite  Lutheran :  this  fact,  in 
the  midst  of  Bavaria,  and  where  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  are  Cath- 
olics, is  a  very  curious  historical  phenomenon,  which,  I  confess,  ought  not 
to  be  an  enigma  to  me,  as  its  solution  must  be  to  be  found  in  history. 
The^nce  noble  library  of  St.  Emmeran,  and  even  the  town  library,  have 

*  This,  society  was  founded  in  1617,  for  promoting  the  purity  of  the  German 
language.  At  their  meetings  the  members  of  the  society  laid  aside  their  own 
names,  and  took  that  of  some  plant,  or  fruit.  It  was  open  to  men  of  all  ranks, 
but  always  had  some  sovereign  prince  at  its  head.  It  lasted  sixty-three  years. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1816.  313 

lost  their  MSS.,  which  have  been  brought  here.  Had  I  been  aware  of  this, 
and  believed  the  assertion  that  we  could  reach  Landshut  in  eight  hours,  I 
should  have  remained  there  only  one  day.  From  Ratisbon,  passing  over 
the  battle-field  of  Eckmiihl,  you  enter  a  very  rich  country ;  the  roads  are 
the  most  beautiful  in  the  world,  and  they  ought  not  to  be  otherwise,  for  in 
all  Bavaria,  south  of  the  Danube,  the  gravel  is  inexhaustible,  and  every 
where  close  at  hand,  BO  that  it  only  needs  to  be  dug  up;  it  is  nowhere 
necessary  to  break  stones  as  in  other  countries.  Still  the  country  can  not 
be  called  beautiful,  except  in  the  neighborhood  of  Landshut.  At  Freysing 
there  are  some  beautiful  meadows  by  the  water,  which  seem  to  be  kept 
with  great  care,  but  from  whence  to  Munich  it  is  a  steppe  without  trees. 
We  reached  Landshut  too  early  to  make  it  a  halting-place,  and  arrived  in 
Munich  the  following  day  at  noon.  Traveling  here  is  incredibly  rapid.  It 
was  the  8th  of  August  on  which  we  arrived. 

I  will  not  begin  here  to  tell  you  about  Munich.  We  go  to  the  Jacobi's 
every  day.  Schelling  is  not  here,  but  in  the  country,  working  at  the 
"  Ages  of  the  World." 

CCX1. 

TO  NICOLOVIUS; 

MUNICH,  \~th  August,  1816. 

I  have  written  to  you  twice  on  my  journey,  my  dear  friend ;  the  first 
letter  from  Erfurt  has,  no  doubt,  been  punctually  forwarded,  because  I 
informed  the  postmaster  that,  among  other  things,  I  had  represented  his 
complaints  of  the  badness  of  the  roads ;  the  second,  from  Nuremberg,  a 
mere  note,  has  most  likely  also  reached  you,  as  it  was  intrusted  to  the 
care  of  a  friend.  Since  both  contained  things  requiring  an  answer,  and  you 
are  as  exempt  arily  conscientious  about  correspondence  as  I  am  hardened  in 
sin  (at  least,  often  seem  so),  I  almost  fear  that  your  reply  has  been  stranded 
somewhere,  which  would  be  a  bad  beginning  for  my  exile. 

We  have  traveled  very  slowly.  We  were  obliged  to  go  round  by  Gotha, 
because  we  knew  that  the  route  by  Coburg  was  quite  impassable,  and  did 
not  know  that  there  was  a  road  through  Kahla  and  Schleiz,  which  certainly 
could  not  be  worse  than  the  one  we  have  chosen,  with  a  circuit  of  not  less 
than  from  twelve  to  fifteen  German  miles.  We  staid  one  day  at  Wurz- 
burg,  two  at  Nuremberg  (unhappily  not  longer),  one-and-a-half  at  Ratisbon. 
We  arrived  here  ten  daya  ago,  and  have  been  prevailed  upon  by  Jacobi's 
kind  entreaties  to  stay  longer  than  we  had  intended ;  so  we  shall  not  start 
again  till  the  day  after  to-morrow. 

I  go  hence  southward  with  a  heavy  heart  on  all  accounts.  In  all  human 
probability,  I  shall  never  return  along  this  road ;  and  even  if  cheerfulness 
be  not  to  me  a  treasure  irrecoverably  lost,  I  could  not  look  back  with  cheer- 
fulness from  the  summits  of  the  Alps  upon  my  poor  Germany.  Tranquil  as 
every  thing  seems  here,  the  various  rumors  of  warlike  preparations,  which 
appear  in  the  newspapers,  renew  the  feelings  I  have  before  experienced  on 
the  eve  of  the  outbreak  of  storms  in  the  political  world.  I  sigh  for  peace, 
and  can  not  think  of  the  possibility  of  its  disturbance  without  inexpressible 
repugnance  ;  so  much  so,  that  I  grow  indignant,  or  at  least  vexed,  with  the 
"  Allgemeine  Zeitung,"  and  other  circulators  of  these  reports,  innocently  as 
they  may  have  related  what  they  have  heard.  If  these  fears  accompany  me 
to  Italy,  what  will  become  of  my  enjoyment  of  antiquity  and  of  the  country  ? 

O 


314  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

Another  reason  of  the  sadness  with  which  I  quit  Munich  is  the  parting 
with  Jacobi ;  we  are  certainly  parting  for  the  last  time.  It  is  not  easy  to 
describe  his  state  to  you  as  vividly  as  I  could  wish.  His  heart  is  still 
young ;  his  intellect  is  only  occasionally  such  as  we  have  known  it  for- 
merly. '  He  is  more  inclined  to  narrate  than  to  pour  forth  fresh  thoughts, 
as  he  used  to  do  ;  but  his  judgment  is  still  acute  and  unwarped  when  sub- 
jects are  presented  clearly  before  his  mind.  He  himself  is  evidently  sens- 
ible that  his  life  is  an  after-summer,  when  the  unclouded  sun  only  shines 
warmly  during  the  noon-tide  hours,  and  can  call  no  new  vegetation  into 
life  •  and  he  feels  this  with  a  melancholy  which  is  more  touching  to  his 
younger  friend  than  to  himself.  Roth  is  invaluable  to  him  as  a  companion 
and  inseparable  friend ;  he  does  more  than  enliven  Jacobi's  existence,  he  is 
essential  to  it ;  he  deserves  the  warmest  thanks  of  all  Jacobi's  friends  for 
his  faithful  and  indefatigable  endeavors  to  entertain  him,  and  make  up  for 
the  partial  loss  of  sight  by  reading  aloud,  &c.  I  find  the  sisters  unaltered. 
But  their  society  would  not  supply  sufficient  materials  for  his  mental  life, 
to  keep  him  tolerably  happy  ;  and  without  Roth  I  do  not  know  how  he  could 
get  on  at  all  here,  as  much  that  is  new,  and  rich  in  significance  to  me,  and 
in  which  I  could  find  sufficient  materials  of  enjoyment,  must  be  quite  in- 
different to  him. 

If  there  is  the  least  truth  in  the  common  saying,  you  must  all  have  had 
as  great  a  ringing  in  your  ears  for  the  last  few  days  as  if  we  had  been  con- 
stantly touching  the  most  sonorous  English  glasses  to  your  health 

My  stay  here  has  done  me  a  great  deal  of  good.  The  spiritual  magnet- 
ism whose  power  I  have  often  experienced,  but  to  which  I  thought  I  had 
lost  all  susceptibility,  has  exerted  itself  once  more,  and  the  state  of  soul- 
sickness  from  which  I  have  so  long  suffered  is  much  relieved 

I  have  every  where  met  with  the  most  friendly  and  courteous  reception, 
and  could  have  staid  some  time  longer  here  with  pleasure.  I  have  been 
much  interested  by  several  persons  whose  acquaintance  I  have  made,  as 
well  as  by  the  immensely  rich  scientific  and  artistic  collections.  Director 
Naumayer,  to  whom  I  was  introduced  at  Jacobi's,  a  man  who  has,  per- 
haps, never  crossed  the  frontiers  of  his  native  country,  seems  to  me  one  of 
the  most  worthy  and  intelligent  men  I  have  ever  seen.  I  have  got  some 
very  instructive  details,  from  intelligent  Catholics  residing  here,  about  the 
convents  and  their  church.  Sailer*  himself  said,  at  Landshut,  the  convents 
must  have  gone  to  ruin,  even  if  they  had  not  been  suppressed ;  and  a  very 
ingenuous  young  man  gave  us  the  sad  history  of  his  education  in  a  Nor- 
bertine  convent,  such  as  makes  me  shudder  when  I  recall  it.  The  reading 
of  a  German  book,  Gellert's  Fables  in  the  "  casus  in  terminis,"  was  pun- 
ished with  stripes  by  virtue  of  a  law  recently  introduced. 

I  am  told  that  here,  likewise,  among  the  youth,  there  is  a  mysticizing, 
well-meaning,  but  very  wrong-headed  party  forming.  I  saw  the  superb 
collection  of  casts  in  company  with  one  of  these  young  men,  among  the 
rest  the  Colossus  of  Monte  Cavallo,  which  is  shown  here  in  a  new  building, 
with  the  advantage  of  varied  artificial  lights.  After  a  long  silence,  my 

*  He  was  at  this  time  professor  at  the  University  at  Landshut,  but  was  after- 
ward made  a  bishop.  His  truly  evangelical  piety  and  tolerance  toward  Prot- 
estants caused  him  to  be  looked  upon  as  half  a  heretic  himself  for  many  years 
His  simplicity  of  character,  and  genuine  child-like  piety  interested  Niebub 
deeply. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1816.  31 

companion  covered  his  eyes  with  his  hands,  and  exclaimed  quite  seriously, 
"To  me  that  is  horrible."  "  Horrible  ?"  I  asked;  "  I  should  have  said 
magnificent."  "  Horrible,"  he  continued;  "I  seem  to  see  the  very  incarna- 
tion of  the  spirit  of  heathenism."  Now,  as  I  have  no  such  horror  of  this 
kind  of  heathenism,  I  feel  angry  with  such  vagaries,  which  are  only  fit  to 
stand  in  De  Groot's  Annual.  Our  age  knows  nothing  but  reactions  and 
leaps  from  one  extreme  to  another.  Among  such  people  Winkelmann  is 
regarded  as  a  fool. 

Travelers,  who  have  lived  some  time  at  Rome,  tell  me  I  shall  be  able  to 
hire  a  furnished  house  there  without  difficulty.  I  am  very  glad  of  this,  as 
I  shall  thus  be  able  to  settle  myself  gradually,  without  going  to  too  great 
an  expense  the  first  year.  As  this  is  the  case,  I  shall  give  up  going  round 
by  Leghorn,  and  thus  gain  time  either  for  the  journey  or  to  arrive  tho 
sooner  in  Rome. 

Be  so  kind,  dear  Nicolovius,  as  to  give  my  best  remembrances  to  Savigny 
and  all  other  friends.  I  wish  we  had  some  little  certainty  of  our  letters 
reaching  their  destination.  I  have  heard  here  that  at  least  a  third  of  the 
correspondence  to  Italy  through  the *  post-offices  is  suppressed. 

Tell  Savigny,  too,  that  I  no  longer  despair  of  continuing  my  History.  I 
am  reading  Livy  again  on  the  journey,  and  have  learnt  to  see  many  things 
in  him  that  had  escaped  me  previously.  Why  should  I  not  also  confess 
that  the  manner  in  which  I  have  found  my  History  read  and  known  along 
the  whole  course  of  my  journey,  particularly  in  South  Germany,  has  helped 
to  stimulate  me  to  resume  it  ? 

Gretchen  sends  her  kind  regards  to  you.  Farewell,  and  maintain  your 
friendship  for  me.  Your  faithful  NIEBUHR. 

CCXII. 
TO  MADAME  HEJfSLER. 

MKKAX,  IK  THE  VALLET  or  THE  ADIOE. 

26<A  Avgvtt,  1816. 

We  left  Munich  on  the  19th It  is  BO  cold  here,  that  the  people 

say  there  are  not  five  days  in  the  year  when  they  do  not  light  a  fire.  Un- 
fortunately we  could  gain  no  information  at  all  as  to  the  height  of  this 
district  above  the  sea,  but  it  certainly  can  not  be  as  high  as  Innspruck. 
These  Bavarian  mountaineers  agree  with  the  Tyrolese  in  asserting  that 
the  cold  has  much  increased  within  the  last  few  years.  The  lake  herel 
was  formerly  always  open  in  winter :  for  the  last  few  years  it  has  been 
completely  frozen  over  every  season ;  in  the  Tyrol  the  glaciers  are  enlarg- 
ing, and  the  frost  is  gradually  killing  the  Indian  com.  The  Tyrolese,  how- 
ever, do  not  consider  the  change  for  the  worse  as  permanent,  but  as  peri- 
odical ;  they  say  the  glaciers  grow  during  one  seven  years,  and  diminish 
during  the  next. 

From  the  Wallensee  to  Mittenwald,  tho  last  Bavarian  village,  the  road 
constantly  ascends,  passing  through  wild  and  barren  tracts,  where  the  Isar 
falls  noisily  down  from  rock  to  rock.  The  only  thing  that  attracted 
ine  at  Mittenwald  was  the  church-yard.  Instead  of  the  grassy  hillock  at 
the  foot  of  each  cross,)  there  is  an  open  black  chest  in  the  form  of  a  coffin, 

•  Austrian.  t  The  Wallensee. 

?  The  cross  which  in  Catholic  countries  is  always  placed  at  the  head  of  each 
grave. 


316  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

and  filled  with  earth.  Flowers  are  planted  in  this  earth,  or  scattered  over 
it.  On  the  boards  at  the  side  are  inscriptions,  for  the  most  part  in  very 
bad  verse,  but  full  of  feeling 

The  fortress  hi  the  Scharnitz  lies  in  rains,  just  as  it  was  left  after  it 
was  razed  by  Ney  in  1805.  It  would  be  an  exceedingly  strong  pass  if  the 
avenues  to  it  were  watched  and  guarded.  The  heaps  of  rubbish  formed 
by  the  ruins  of  the  old  walls,  the  tokens  and  the  effects  of  the  dreadful 
havoc  the  war  has  made,  in  the  shells  of  the  burnt-down  houses,  the  mis- 
erable poverty,  the  swarms  of  beggars,  made  a  most  painful  impression 
upon  us,  on  our  first  entrance  into  long-expected  Tyrol.  We  were  equally 
disappointed  at  Seefeld,  the  first  place  where  we  stopped  for  the  night. 
The  devastations  of  the  war  were  every  where  visible ;  the  walls,  indeed, 
are  indestructible.  The  people  of  these  parts  are  ugly.  The  whole  scene 
changes  as  you  descend  the  mountain  toward  the  valley  of  the  Inn.  Clouds 
gathered  and  dispersed,  adorning  rather  than  concealing  the  view;  and 
when  a  ravine  opened  toward  the  valley,  and  I  caught  sight  of  the  mount- 
ains in  all  their  beauty,  lying  before  us  and  around  us,  and  the  rich  valley, 
with  its  magnificent  stream,  can  you  doubt  that  my  first  thought  was  of 
you  and  our  Amelia?  You  have  to  drive  in  a  zig-zag,  with  the  hind 
wheels  locked,  for  at  least  an  hour,  from  the  top  of  the  mountain  down  to 
Market  Zirl,  the  first  stage  in  the  valley  of  the  Inn.  Here,  too,  the  rav- 
ages of  war  were  still  frightfully  visible.  Brandis  and  I  had  descended  on 
foot,  and  had  made  some  acquaintances  by  the  time  the  carriage  came  up. 
The  people  were  very  obliging  and  sociable,  and  told  us  their  history ;  the 
son,  who  was  now  on  the  mountains  hunting,  had  served  as  an  officer  in  the 
war  of  insurrection ;  the  old  man  showed  us  the  places,  one  by  one,  where 
the  enemy's  soldiers  had  been  shot  down  by  the  peasants  in  his  house,  and 
the  marks  of  the  balls  ;  and  gave  us  some  account  of  his  flight  to  the 
Alps  with  his  family,  and  how  his  wife  died  there.  From  Zirl,  the  high 
road  to  Innspruck  runs  beneath  the  steep  and  lofty  rock  of  the  Martins- 
wand,  doubly  celebrated,  for  the  legend,  that  on  its  summit  the  Emperor 
Maximilian  I.  lost  himself  while  hunting,  and  took  refuge  when  exhausted 
in  a  cave  (visible  from  the  wood),  from  which  an  angel  led  him  down; 
and  for  the  story,  that  when  the  Tyrolese  drove  the  Bavarians  out  of  the 
country  in  1703,  they  made  a  furious  onslaught  on  their  retreating  foes  at 
this  spot,  and  would  have  slain  the  Elector  Maximilian  Emanuel,  had  not 
his  general  sacrificed  his  own  life  for  him  by  assuming  the  place  of  honor, 
and  thus  deceiving  the  unerring  marksmen.  This  valley  of  the  Inn  is  a 
most  favored  and  lovely  plain,  with  a  level  surface,  and  a  rich  and  produc- 
tive soil,  in  the  highest  state  of  cultivation.  Maize,  or  Indian  corn,  is 
every  where  cultivated,  and  considered  the  moist  profitable  species  of  grain, 
for  when  the  crop  is  good,  a  yoke  of  land,  or  6000  square  feet,  will  yield 
a  harvest  worth  150  florins. 

The  kindly  courtesy  of  the  Tyrolese  was  shown  even  in  the  behavior  of 
the  men  who  asked  for  and  examined  our  passports  at  the  frontier.  I  can 
assure  you,  that  among  the  many  Tyrolese  to  whom  I  have  spoken,  I  have 
not  found  one  uncivil  or  immoderate  in  his  demands;  and  I  repeat  this 
declaration  once  more,  because  some  who  have,  in  other  respects,  done  jus- 
tice to  this  noble  people,  still  charge  them  with  avarice.  In  more  than  one 
instance,  where  persons  might  certainly  have  thought  a  fee  due  to  them, 
they  have  gone  away  without  it,  or  taken  it  as  a  present;  not  one  has 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1816.  317 

cither  by  words  or  looks  murmured  at  receiving  too  little.  Innspruck  is 
pleasantly  situated ;  the  town  is  not  large ;  it  contains  some  six  hundred 
houses,  and  ten  thousand  inhabitants.  From  our  windows  at  the  hotel, 
we  looked  oat  on  the  beautiful  bridge,  and  the  mountain  range  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river.  Hofer  had  occupied  the  same  rooms  when  he  en- 
tered the  town  for  the  first  time.  Hence  the  house  contained  many  relics 
of  him  ;  he  had  presented  the  hostess  with  a  horn  snuff-box  ;  some  of  his 
proclamations,  accompanied  by  some  not  badly-drawn  scenes  from  the 
great  war,  were  framed  and  glazed,  and  hung  round  the  room.  As  soon 
as  we  had  dined,  Brandis  and  I  put  ourselves  under  the  guidance  of  a  man 
who  had  served  as  a  rifleman  in  the  revolt  from  the  very  beginning,  to 
visit  and  survey  the  hill  Isel,  which  has  been  immortalized  by  three  hard- 
fought  combats  in  the  principal  epochs  of  the  insurrection.  Our  guide 
was,  as  to  station,  what  would  be  called  a  common  man,  and  the  influence 
of  this  would  have  made  him  a  bad  companion,  if  he  had  not  belonged  to 
a  free  people ;  but  his  conversation  and  manners  were  such,  that  we  heart- 
ily congratulated  ourselves  upon  his  society.  It  seems  to  help  these  peo- 
ple to  a  correct  and  unembarrassed  sense  of  their  relation  to  a  traveler, 
when  they  hear  with  what  profound  veneration  he  speaks  of  the  host  of 
Sand,*  who  is  the  hero  of  their  idolatry,  but  whose  earlier  life  was  passed 
in  as  humble  a  position  as  their  own,  and  whose  humility  did  not  forsake 
him  when  he  rose  to  be  Regent  of  the  whole  country,  for  he  never  consid- 
ered himself  as  the  superior  of  any  other  Tyrolese  peasant.  From  this 
guide  I  learnt  at  every  spot  what  had  happened  there.  He  afterward  con- 
ducted me  past  the  waterfall  of  Wiltau  to  the  old  castle  of  Amraa,  from 
whose  turrets  a  wide  prospect  over  the  lovely  valley  and  the  lofty  mount- 
ains rewards  the  not  inconsiderable  labor  of  the  ascent,  though  all  the 
curiosities  and  treasures  which  it  formerly  contained  have  been  either  re- 
moved or  are,  like  the  picture-gallery,  closed. 

I  suppose  I  need  not  tell  you  who  Speckbacher  is  ?  Speckbacher's  son 
was  taken  prisoner  in  the  war,  and  educated  in  a  division  of  the  cadet 
school,  because  the  King  took  an  interest  in  him  ;  for  he  is  a  boy  of  extra- 
ordinary talent,  and  his  letters  to  his  father  are  as  beautiful  in  thought, 
and  refined  in  language,  as  any  youth  of  his  age  could  write.  We  did  not 
see  the  boy  himself  at  Munich,  but  Brandis,  who  is  indefatigable  in  profit- 
ing by  every  opportunity  of  seeing  things,  and  gaining  information  that 
the  journey  affords,  applied  to  his  tutor,  and  obtained  from  him  a  letter 
of  introduction  for  us  to  the  father.  Equipped  with  this,  we  set  out  on 
Thursday,  all  three  in  a  mountain  car.  Speckbacher  lives  at  Rinn,  in  the 
mountains  above  Hall ;  the  way  thither  is  over  almost  impassable  mount- 
ain roads.  I  send  this  letter  off  unfinished  (from  Trent),  because  the  post 
is  going  out. 

The  narrative,  which  is  here  broken  off,  has  been  supplied  to 
the  translator  verbally  by  Professor  Brandis. 

*  Sand  was  the  name  of  a  little  hamlet  on  the  Brenner  where  Hofer  wa§  the 
innkeeper.  He  commonly  went  by  the  name  of  the  Sandvrirth,  or  host  of  Sand. 
Almost  all  the  innkeepers  bad  been  officers  in  the  war,  and  they  were  generally 
very  intelligent  men.  Niebuhr  always  used  to  question  them  about  the  war, 
and  received  a  great  deal  of  valuable  information  from  them,  especially  from  the 
host  at  Pfunz,  the  pass  between  the  Inn  and  Adige  valleys,  whom  he  found  also 
well  verscil  in  the  local  history  of  the  country. 


318  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

Niebuhr  and  Brandis  were  obliged  to  leave  the  carriage  at  some  distance 
from  the  house,  so  that  Madame  Niebuhr  was  not  able  to  accompany  them 
in  their  visit.  When  they,  knocked  at  the  door,  it  was  opened  by  a  tall, 
spare,  haggard-looking  man,  with  flashing  black  eyes  and  aquiline  features, 
Who,  in  answer  to  their  inquiries,  replied  that  he  was  Speckbacher  himself, 
and  begged  to  know  who  his  visitors  were.  When  Niebuhr  told  him  that 
he  was  the  embassador  from  Prussia  to  Rome,  the  astonishment  of  the 
simple  peasant  was  extreme,  that  such  grand  personages  should  have  come 
out  of  their  way  to  visit  him,  and  he  was  about  to  kiss  Niebuhr's  hand,  but 
Niebuhr  drew  it  back,  exclaiming,  "No,  it  is  I  who  ought  to  kiss  your 
hand,"  fell  on  his  neck  and  embraced  him,  and  they  were  friends  directly. 
Speckbacher  began  to  make  apologies  that  he  could  give  them  no  better 
entertainment ;  his  wife  and  daughters  were  out  reaping,  and  he  was  alone 
in  the  house,  and  had  nothing  to  set  before  his  honored  guests.  "Never 
mind,  we  only  want  to  see  you;  sit  down  and  tell  us  about  the  war."  He 
then  related  the  events  in  which  he  had  been  engaged ;  and  took  them  out 
to  show  them  the  stable  where  he  had  been  concealed  by  his  faithful  servant, 
Zoppel,  for  more  than  a  month,  in  a  hole  dug  in  the  ground  and  covered 
with  hay.  After  the  peace  of  Vienna*  he  fled  to  the  mountains,  and  was 
for  a  long  time  concealed  in  a  cavern  among  snow  and  ice,  but  at  length 
the  whiter  became  too  severe,  and  he  left  his  hiding-place  and  took  refuge 
in  the  stable  of  his  own  house,  where  he  remained  while  the  enemy  were 
searching  for  him  in  every  direction,  and  a  considerable  number  of  Bavarian 
soldiers  were  actually  quartered  in  his  house.  Not  even  his  wife  knew  of 
his  being  in  the  neighborhood.  Zoppel  could  only  bring  him  food  at  night, 
and  sometimes  not  even  then,  when  there  were  soldiers  about. 

During  the  struggle,  he  sent  his  wife  and  children  up  the  mountains  for 
safety.  His  eldest  child,  a  boy  of  ten  years  old,  could  not  be  induced  to 
stay  quietly  there,  but  after  several  ineffectual  attempts  succeeded  in  reach- 
ing his  father.  When  Speckbacher  found  that  it  was  impossible  to  persuade 
the  boy  to  go  back  again,  he  agreed  to  keep  him  with  him.  In  the  last 
battle  fought  before  the  peace  of  Vienna,  Speckbacher  was  defeated,  and 
escaped  with  difficulty ;  his  boy  was  separated  from  him,  and  taken  prisoner 
by  the  Bavarians.  When  they  asked  him  where  his  father  was,  the  child 
undauntedly  replied,  in  the  Tyrolese  patois,  "  Boer  Ferkel  schiesse."  (Gone 
to  shoot  the  Bavarian  pigs). 

To  the  disgrace  of  the  Austrian  government,  the  only  reward  Speckbacher 
received  for  his  services  was  the  rank  of  a  major  in  the  militia,  to  which  a 
small  pension  was  attached.  It  was  proposed  to  send  him  an  order,  but 
even  this  was  prevented  by  the  court  party,  who  could  not  endure  that  a 
peasant  should  be  thus  distinguished.  The  Emperor  sent  him,  instead,  a 
large  gold  medal,  which  Speckbacher  showed  with  great  delight  to  Niebuhr, 
exclaiming,  "See  how  gracious  the  Emperor  has  been  to  me!"  Niebuhr 
had  to  bite  his  lips  to  repress  his  indignation  that  this  should  be  the  sole 
honor  this  heroic  patriot  had  to  exhibit,  but  Speckbacher  himself  was  per- 
fectly contented.  He  had  only  one  wish  ungratified,  namely,  to  receive  a 
rosary  that  had  been  blessed  by  Pope  Pius  VII.  He  had  written  to  Vienna 
to  make  this  request,  but  "  it  was  very  natural,"  he  said,  "  that  those  great 
lords  should  have  had  no  time  to  attend  to  a  request  from  an  insignificant 
peasant  like  him,  and  he  had  never  received  any  answer." 

*  By  which  on  the  14th  of  Oct.,  1809,  the  Austrians  ceded  the  Tyrol  to  Bavaria. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1816.  319 

The  first  business  Niebuhr  transacted  with  the  Pope  was  to  lay  Speck- 
bacher's  wish  before  him,  and,  in  a  few  days  after  his  arrival  in  Rome,  he 
had  the  pleasure  of  forwarding  to  Speckbacher  a  splendid  rosary,  as  a  gift 
from  his  Holiness.  Speckbacher  returned  a  letter  of  thanks  to  the  Pope, 
together  with  his  portrait,  painted  by  another  peasant,  a  most  frightful  thing. 

One  of  the  interesting  personages  the  Niebuhrs  met  with  at  Innspruck, 
was  an  old  fruitwoman  who  kept  a  stall  in  the  street.  In  the  war  she  had 
sold  all  her  goods,  bought  provisions,  and  followed  the  army,  supplying  the 
soldiers  for  nothing  as  long  as  her  means  held  out,  when,  as  was  frequently 
the  case,  they  were  unable  to  pay.  Madame  Niebuhr  was  so  touched  by 
her  tale,  that  she  took  off  a  gold  necklace  and  hung  it  round  the  old  woman's 
neck  as  a  keepsake. 

In  traveling  along  the  valley  of  the  Lower  Inn,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Landftberg,  they  came  to  a  pass  where  the  Tyrolese  who  were  coming  to 
attack  Innspruck,  had  stopped  the  Bavarian  troops,  by  means  of  a  singular 
contrivance.  The  road  was  overhung  by  rugged  mountains  ;  the  Tyrolese 
had  dislodged  huge  masses  of  rock,  which  they  bound  together  with  ropes 
•o  as  to  keep  them  from  rolling  down  ;  they  held  the  ropes  tightly  in  silence 
till  the  first  company  of  Bavarians  was  immediately  below  them,  when,  ex- 
claiming "  In  the  name  of  the  Holy  Trinity !"  all  loosed  their  hold,  and  the 
ponderous  missiles  rushed  down  on  the  heads  of  the  soldiers  beneath,  crust- 
ing nearly  a  whole  company,  and  effectually  barring  the  road  for  those  who 
followed,  while  the  Tyrolese  descended  the  hill-side  with  their  guns,  and 
shot  them  down  from  behind  trees  and  rocks  till  few  of  them  remained. 

ccxm. 

TO  SAV1GNY. 

VENICE,  Uh  September,  1816. 

Except  at  some  rare  seasons  of  cheerfulness  and  mental  activity,  it  has 
always  been  a  peculiarity  of  my  first  letters  to  my  friends  after  taking  leave 
of  them,  that  a  considerable  portion  of  space  is  occupied  with  an  apologetic 
explanation  of  my  delay  in  writing ;  and  this  firstling  of  my  correspondence 
with  you,  will  form  no  exception  to  the  rule.  However,  I  will  restrict  myself 
to  informing  you,  that  I  am  quite  aware  I  owe  you  such  an  apology,  and  if 
you  will  forgive  me  without  requiring  it  at  my  hands,  it*  will  be  an  act  of 
generosity  on  your  part.  As,  even  amidst  the  wonders  of  this  magnificent 
city,  my  mind  is  not  bright  and  unclouded  enough  to  allow  me  to  write 
playfully,  and  yet  I  do  not  like  to  relate  in  a  grave  tone  the  ideas  which 
occurred  to  me  in  a  merry  mood,  I  have  felt  as  if  I  had  no  right  to  appear 
before  you  with  a  letter,  till  I  had  some  discovery  in  the  shape  of  a  juridical 
"  ineditum"  to  present  you  with.  But  I  hasten,  at  all  events,  to  satisfy  the 
curiosity  which  the  sight  of  the  uncial  letters  on  the  inclosed  sheets,  will 
probably  have  excited  in  you  the  moment  you  opened  this  letter;  particu- 
larly as  these  inclosures  are  the  reason  for  my  taking  advantage  of.  the 
earliest  opportunity  to  write  to  you  from  this  place. 

The  Cathedrar  of  Verona  possesses  a  library  extremely  rich  in  very  old 
Latin  parchment*.  Fortunately  for  it,  about  the  middje  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  a  thoroughly  learned  prebendary — a  rare  phenomenon  even 'there— 
Gian  Jacopo  de  Dionigi  by  nam<>,  examined  and  arranged  the  whole  of  its 
contents ;  and  some  time  after,  Antonio  MazzottL,  a  very  honest  and  indus- 


320  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

trious  librarian,  made  an  excellent  catalogue  of  them.  This  catalogue,  how- 
ever, has  not  helped  me.  to  my  discovery,  concerning  the  subject  of  which, 
it  does  not  contain  a  syllable.  The  first  thing  that  fell  into  my  hands,  on 
opening  the  chest  containing  the  manuscripts,  was  a  very  thin  little  volume 
of  extremely  ancient  single  and  double  leaves  of  parchment,  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  title  page,  were  collected  from  among  dirt  and  rubbish  by  the 
said  Dionigi  in  1758.  Most  of  them  are  biblical  fragments,  from  perhaps 
the  sixth  to  the  eleventh  century,  and  a  note,  by  the  hand  of  their  diligent 
collector,  exhibits  their  contents.  But  almost  instantly  I  espied  among  them, 
two  fragments  of  quite  a  different  kind,  whose  Mature  he  did  not  understand, 

and  of  which  he  has  therefore  omitted  all  notice.* I  have  only  copied 

this  fragment  that  nothing  might  be  overlooked.  But  now  comes  the  main 
piece  of  news  I  have  to  announce  to  you  :  namely,  that  there  is  preserved 
at  Verona,  as  much  of  Ulpian  as  would  fill  a  small  octavo  volume ;  of  which, 
however,  I  was  only  able  to  copy  a  single  leaf  by  way  of  a  specimen  and 
attestation,  which  I  herewith  transmit  to  you  for  publication. 

I  had  already  begun  when  at  Wurzburg,  to  look  out  for  palimpsests,  and 
had  hit  upon  one  there  almost  immediately  (which  Ogg  has  described)  ;  but 
it  only  consisted  of  fragments  from  the  "  Itala."  At  Munich  I  looked 
through  all  the  old  Latin  parchments,  and  could  only  detect  among  them  a 
single  palimpsest :  that,  too,  was  merely  a  biblical  text,  under  St.  Jerome 
and  Gennadius  "  De  Vitis."  At  Verona  my  lucky  star  was  again  in  the 
ascendant,  for  I  found  the  Codex  13,  containing  the  Epistles  of  St.  Jerome, 
a  pretty  thick  quarto  volume  of  the  ninth  century,  which  is  a  complete 
palimpsest,  except  about  a  fifth  part  of  the  leaves,  which  are  new.  Some 
of  the  part  written  over  is  of  a  theological,  but  by  far  the  greater  portion 
of  a  juridical  nature.  It  is  written  by  the  same  hand  as  the  fragment  of 
Gaius,  from  which  we  may  conclude  that  the  cathedral  chapter,  or  the 
church  at  Verona,  was  once  in  possession  of  several  works  on  jurisprudence, 
which  the  ecclesiastics  afterward  used  up  ;  and  that  it  had  these  books  be- 
fore Justinian's  time,  and  under  King  Theodoric.  My  transcript  is  as  exact 
a  representation  of  the  original  as  it  was  possible  to  make,  without  tracing 
it  through  transparent  paper.  Single  words  here  and  there,  of  a  yellowish 
color,  could  be  made  out  where  the  lines  did  not  exactly  coincide,  from  which 
the  nature  of  the  contents  could  be  gathered,  but  it  would  be  impossible  to 
make  any  thing  of  it  without  the  aid  of  chemistry.  The  best  re-agents 
were  not  to  be  procured  at  Verona.  I  was  obliged  hastily  to  prepare  for 
myself  an  infusion  of  gall-nuts,  which,  imperfect  as  it  was,  produced  so  much 
effect  as  to  allow  us  to  hope  for  full  success  with  better  means. 

Now,  dear  Savigny,  here  lies  a  treasure  waiting  for  your  hands  to  dig  it 
up ;  a  bait  that  shall  lure  you  over  the  Alps  to  us.  Or  will  you  give  the 
necessary  instructions  to  Cramer  that  he  may  set  to  work  ?  Or  will  you 
persuade  some  one  else  to  come  ? 

You  will  never  suffer  this  discovery,  which  is  exactly  what  you  have 
been  wishing  for  so  ardently,  to  be  lost  for  want  of  some  one  to  make  use 
of  it.  But  whoever  comes,  let  him  not  depend  merely  upon  his  own  eyes. 
Let  him  bring  with  him  the  best  chemical  re-agents  to  bring  out  the  writ- 
ing, and  also  a.  good  magnifying  glass.  Now  I  think  I  fairly  deserve  your 
best  wishes,  that  I  may  discover  something  for  myself  also.  There  is  no- 
thing here  in  the  library  of  St.  Mark.  The  republic  had  no  library  before 
*  Here  follows  a  description  of  the  fragments. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1816.  321 

Besaarion's  time,  and  this  Greek  collected  no  ancient  Latin  manuscripts ; 
the  oldest  is  of  the  eleventh  century.  Of  Justinian's  works  on  jurispru- 
dence, Verona,  possesses  only  the  Code  with  a  new  gloss.  I  will  write  you 
word  of  all  I  meet  with  here  another  time. 

And  now  I  hand  over  to  you  the  raw  material*  that  I  have  collected. 
If  you  publish  my  transcripts,  I  only  bind  you  to  this,  that  you  do  not 
give  them  to  the  world  without  your  notes  and  explanations.  Make  such 
extracts  from  this  letter  as  may  be  advisable ;  to  which  I  must  add,  that 
the  obliging  way  in  which  the  prebendaries  permitted  the  library  to  be 
opened  for  me,  deserves  the  highest  praise ;  and  also  the  patience  of  the 
Gustos  Archiptete  Eucherio.  who,  with  the  greatest  kindness,  gave  up  his 
mornings  and  evenings  to  me  whenever  I  desired  it.  If  you  put  the  affair 
into  your  Journal,  let  there  be  twenty  extra  copies  printed,  and  I  will  let 
you  know  hereafter  what  is  to  be  done  with  them.  I  can  not  tell  you  any 
thing  about  the  journey  to-day,  for  an  Albanian  from  Scutari,  whose  ac- 
quaintance I  have  made,  will  be  waiting  for  me  in  the  Turkish  coffee- 
house. A  Greek  is  our  guest  to-day  at  dinner.  Thus  immeasurably,  al- 
most oppressively,  rich  in  objects  of  interest  do  I  find  the  progress  of  our 
journey,  but  my  mind  is  vailed  in  deepest  night.  Gretchen  often  causes 
me  great  anxiety.  She  does  not  bear  the  traveling  well,  and  can  derive 
little  enjoyment  from  it ......  • 

We  had  a  delightful  journey  through  the  Austrian  Tyrol.  Your  friend 
Salvotti  received  us  very  kindly.  We  both  send  our  kindest  regards  to  you 
and  all  our  friends.  I  have  written  three  times  to  Nicolovius.  I  beg  you 
will  address  your  next  to  me  at  Rome,  for  you  must  answer  this  letter, 
dear  Savigny.  Mai  has  made  a  fresh  discovery,  something  from  Dion. 
Halic. ;  it  is  not  known  here  yet  what  it  is,  but  it  is  said  to  be  from  the 
History ;  that  would  be  in  my  way.  Farewell,  my  dear  friend,  and  re- 
member me. 

P. S.  The  fragments  of  Dion.  Halic.  have  come  to  nothing.  They  are 
excerpts  from  some  other  historian,  that  hardly  contain  a  single  new  fact.  I 
will  make  a  report  upon  them  shortly  to  the  Academy.  Here  there  is  nothing 
to  be  found  except  a  leaf  from  a  MS.  of  the  Code  of  the  eleventh  century, 
with  inscription  and  subscription.  I  have  collated  them  for  you.  The 
variations  are  considerable.  To-morrow  we  go  to  Padua.  Yet  once  more 
farewell,  dearest  friend.  Have  mercy,  and  write ! 

CCXIV. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

FLORENCE,  241&  September,  1816. 

I  have  not  even  been  able  to  write  a  diary  for  you,  during  my  journey. 
I  will  now  tell  you  a  few  facts  of  a  general  nature.  My  pre-conceived 
opinion  of  the  scholars  and  higher  classes  in  Italy  has  proved  perfectly  cor- 
rect, as  I  was  convinced  would  be  the  case,  because  I  possessed  sufficient 
data  to  form  an  accurate  idea  of  them.  I  have  always  allowed  the  exist- 
ence of  individual  exceptions  as  regards  erudition,  but,  even  in  these  cases, 
there  is  not  that  cultivation  of  the  whole  man  which  we  demand  and  deem 
indispensable.  I  have  become  acquainted  with  two  or  three  literary  men 
of  real  ability ;  but,  in  the  first  place,  they  are  old  men,  who  have  only  a 
few  years  longer  to  live ;  and,  when  they  are  gone,  Italy  will  be,  a*  they 

,o* 


322  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

say  themselves,  in  a  state  of  barbarism ;  and,  in  the  second,  they  are  like 
statues  wrought  to  be  placed  in  a  frieze  on  the  wall ;  the  side  turned  to- 
ward you  is  of  finished  beauty,  the  other,  unhewn  stone.  They  are  much 
what  our  scholars  may  have  been  sixty  or  eighty  years  ago.  No  one  feels 
himself  a  citizen.  Not  only  are  the  people  destitute  of  hope,  they  have  not 
even  wishes  respecting  the  affairs  of  the  world,  except  as  they  concern  their 
several  cabinets  ;  and  all  the  springs  of  great  and  noble  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings are  choked  up.  I  have  met  with  one  noble-minded  and  agreeable 
young  man,  who  unites  depth  of  feeling  and  profound  melancholy  about 
the  state  of  the  world,  with  a  very  poetical  mind,  and  a  considerable  amount 
of  scholarship,  though  not  such  as  would  come  up  to  our  standard.  He  is 
not,  however,  a  native  of  Italy,  but  a  Greek  from  Corfu.  He  has  prom- 
ised to  come  to  Rome,  and  a  visit  from  him  would  be  worth  much  to  me. 

The  three  genuine  and  intellectual  scholars  of  my  acquaintance,  Morelli, 
Garatoni,  and  Fontana,  are  all  ecclesiastics  ;  they  are,  however,  only  eccle- 
siastics by  profession ;  for  I  have  not  found  in  them  the  slightest  trace 
either  of  a  belief  in  the  dogmas  of  Catholicism,  or  of  the  pietism  which 
you  meet  with  in  Germany.  When  an  Italian  has  once  ceased  to  be  a  slave 
of  the  Churoh,  he  never  seems  to  trouble  his  head  about  such  matters  at  all. 
Metaphysical  speculations  are  utterly  foreign  to  his  nature,  as  they  were  to 
the  old  Romans.  Hence  the  vacuity  of  mind  which  has  become  general 
since  the  suppression  of  freedom,  except  in  the  case  of  those  who  find  a 
sphere  of  action  in  writing  literary  and  historical  memoirs.  Their  public 
men  are  immeasurably  behind  the  Germans  in  knowledge  and  cultivation. 
Perhaps  there  may  be  more  of  this  found,  here  and  there,  among  the  advo- 
cates, but  the  physical  philosophers  are  the  most  reflective  class.  In  Rome, 
it  is  solely  among  the  clergy  that  I  expect  to  find  men  with  whom  I  can 
hold  intercourse. 

The  common  people  are,  on  the  whole,  better  than  I  expected.  At 
Padua  and  Venice  you  can  not  help  feeling  a  real  attachment  for  them, 
and  for  the  burghers ;  they  are  earnest,  honest,  and  intelligent,  indeed 
even  kind.  Their  soft  and  graceful  dialect,  warm  and  caressing,  makes  it 
a  pleasure  to  talk  to  them.  The  lowest  Venetian  is  polite  and  decorous. 
In  this  respect,  as  in  others,  there  is  as  great  a  difference  between  the 
Italian  towns  as  if  they  were  inhabited  by  different  races.  The  shameless 
rapacity  of  the  innkeepers  and  postillions  is  disgusting ;  and  it  is  very  un- 
pleasant to  be  obliged  to  beat  down  all  the  tradespeople,  not  excepting 
the  booksellers.  But  they  are  rather  avaricious  than  deceitful  in  their 
dealings.  The  day  before  yesterday,  I  went  with  Brandis  to  visit  the  an- 
cient Fiesole,  situated  on  the  hill  about  half  a  G*erman  mile  from  hence ; 
the  peasants  there  did  not  differ  in  their  manners  from  Germans,  and  did 
not  even  seem,  to  expect  money  from  us ....... 

As  I  anticipated,  I  certainly  see  and  inquire  into  much  that  other  trav- 
elers have  not  seen  or  inquired  into ;  but,  on  this  very  account,  I  have 
seen  less  than  most  of  what  every  one  sees.  About  the  landed  interest, 
tenure  of  land,  husbandry,  the  right  of  boundaries,  I  have  already  learned 
much  that  will  be  of  great  use  in  my  researches  into  antiquity ;  and  there- 
fore, as  I  am  only  just  beginning  my  inquiries  on  these  subjects,  I  hope  to 
obtain  rich  spoils.  It  also  contributes  greatly  to  a  vivid  conception  of 
historical  events,  when  you  can  survey  their  scene  for  yourself,  and,  if  you 
can  traverse  it  frequently  in  different  directions,  you  can  not  but  gam  very 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1816.  323 

important  assistance.  I  am  indefatigable  in  making  inquiries  of  all  kinds, 
and  shall  continue  to  be  so.  But  one  can  not  help  feeling  indignant  with 
those  who  visited  this  land  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago,  for  it  is  incredible 
how  many  relics  of  antiquity  have  been  lost  or  destroyed  since  then.  Still, 
there  are  a  thousand  traces  of  past  ages  to  be  found  if  you  look  for  them ; 
there  are  very  many  connected  with  husbandry.  The  stone  coffins  at  Ve- 
rona, of  the  middle  ages,  are  quite  Etruscan  in  their  form.  I  have  found 
in  an  old  Etruscan  temple  wall  that  has  been  dug  up  at  Fiesole,  a  similar 
style  of  dressing  the  stones  to  that  of  the  exterior  walls  of  the  Florentine 
palaces  of  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries,  (The  peasants  of  Fiesole 
can  distinguish  perfectly  between  Roman  and  Etruscan  masonry.) 

Be  assured  that  I  shall  not  forget  the  work  to  which  I  feel  myself  most 
sacredly  pledged ;  but,  to  enrich  my  store  of  materials  for  it,  I  must  often 
turn  aside  into  by-ways  and  examine  every  path  that  presents  itself.  Be- 
sides, a  residence  in  a  foreign  country  involves  the  necessity  of  making 
myself  thoroughly  acquainted  with  its  language  and  literature,  and  at- 
tempting to  gain  an  accurate  knowledge  of  its  topography.  Here  again, 
I  feel  how  greatly  my  memory  has  suffered,  how  much  escapes  me  nowa- 
days. It  used  to  be  an  amazing  assistance  to  my  memory  that  I  repeated 
every  thing  I  read  or  thought  to  my  Milly.  who  received  it  with  interest 
and  life,  and  presented  it  again  to  me  in  new  points  of  view. 

It  will  take  some  time  for  ray  constitution  to  adapt  itself  to  the  climate. 
I  have  many  inconveniences  to  suffer ;  I  can  not  drink  the  wines,  and  am 
always  catching  cold.  But  Gretchen  sufiers  far  more.  She  was  very  well 
till  we  got  to  Erfurt,  but  from  thence  onward  she  has  been  constantly  get- 
ting worse.  At  Munich  she  revived,  but  as  we  came  along  the  valley  of 
the  Adige,  toward  the  south  she  grew  more  and  more  indisposed.  Her 
eyes  are  also  very  weak.  She  derives  scarcely  any  pleasure  from  the 
journey,  because  she  is  obliged  to  sit  so  much  alone  (and  now  ill)  at  home ; 
but  she  bears  this  with  touching  gentleness  and  resignation. 

We  hear  news  from  Rome  of  the  rise  of  prices  of  all  kinds,  especially  in 
the  rent  of  furnished  apartments,  occasioned  by  the  concourse  of  foreigners, 
so  that  we  shall  most  likely  be  obliged  to  furnish  next  spring.  The  ship 
in  which  our  goods  were  embarked,  has  been  wrecked  at  Calais.  Under 
the  best  circumstances,  it  will  be  long  before  we  receive  any  of  our  things. 

I  have  already  seen  a  great  deal  of  the  works  of  art  here.  My  prefer- 
ence for  the  old  masters,  up  to  the  time  of  Raphael,  has  been  decidedly 
confirmed.  Giovanni  Bellini,  who  was  my  favorite  eight  years  ago,  has 
bocome  so  again  at  Venice.  And  we  have  seen  also  some  really  wonder- 
ful productions  of  Francia  at  Bologna.  Masaccio,  Mantegna,  Vivarini, 
and  Carpaccio,  can  be  studied  only  in  Italy.  Of  Giotto's  works  I  have 
already  seen  a  great  number,  and  have  now  got  a  complete  idea  of  the 
history  of  art  in  Italy.  The  direction  of  oar  journey  by  way  of  Nuremberg 
and  Munich  has  been  of  great  advantage  to  me  hi  this  respect.  In  the 
fourteenth  century  Giotto  leans  to  the  antique ;  his  school  departs  from  it 
again.  Masaccio  soars  at  once  on  high.  After  him  art  sinks  again ; 
and,  during  the  first  sixty  years  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  Germans  stand 
high  above  the  Italians.  Then  tho  other  scale  descends.  After  the  time 
of  Raphael  and  Durer,  the  tjririt  was  dead  on  both  sides  of  the  Alps;  but 
the  art  survived  in  Italy.  In  architecture,  the  Italians  of  the  middle  agea 
are  not  to  be  compared  to  the  Germans.  In  the  plastic  arts  they  excel  them. 


324  MEMOIR  OF  N1EBUHR. 

The  day  after  to-morrow  we  proceed  on  our  journey.  When  we  arrive 
in  Rome  depends  on  circumstances.  If  I  should  find  any  thing  in  the 
Chapter  libraries  of  Arezzo  and  Perugia,  I  shall  halt  there.  But,  at  all 
events,  we  shall  certainly  be  at  Rome  long  before  the  answer  to  this  letter 
can  arrive.  Do  not  deny  me  this  refreshment.  Our  love  to  all  our  rela- 
tions and  friends.  Farewell !  God  bless  you  ! 

ccxv. 

ROME,  ~th  October,  1816. 

...  It  was' with  solemn  feelings  that  this  morning,  from  the  barren 
heights  of  the  moory  Campagna,  I  caught  sight  first  of  the  cupola  of  St. 
Peter's,  and  then  of  the  view  of  the  city  from  the  bridge,  where  all  the 
majesty  of  her  buildings  and  her  history  seems  to  lie  spread  out  before  the 
eye  of  the  stranger ;  and  afterward  entered  by  the  Porta  del  Popolo.  I 
have  already  wandered  through  a  part  of  the  city,  and  visited  the  most 
famous  of  the  ruins.  My  presentiment  of  the  emotions  with  which  I  should 
behold  them  has  proved  quite  correct.  Nothing  about  them  is  new  to  me ; 
as  a  child  I  lay  so  often,  for  hours  together,  before  the  pictures  I  gave  you 
as  a  keepsake,  that  their  images  were  even  at  that  early  time  as  distinctly 
impressed  upon  my  mind  as  if  I  had  actually  seen  them  :  then,  besides, 
it  repels  me  that  all  the  remains  are  those  of  the  imperial  times,  and  it  is 
impossible  for  an  architectural  work  of  art  to  speak  to  the  feelings,  if  con- 
sidered as  isolated,  and  without  connection  with  other  ideas.  But  the  in- 
fluence of  the  completely  modern  pait  of  all  that  here  surrounds  you,  and 
intrudes  itself  upon  your  attention,  is  most  disturbing ;  the  glaringly  bad 
taste  of  the  churches  of  the  last  two  hundred  a-nd  fifty  years;  the  utter 
want  of  solemnity  in  all  that  meets  the  eye.  In  Petrarch's  time,  all  must 
have  made  a  profound  impression  of  grandeur  and  magnificence  on  those 
who  were  susceptible  to  it ;  indeed,  much  that  but  a  short  time  since 
spoke  to  the  sense  of  poetry,  has  now  been  destroyed  by  the  clearing  out 
of  the  rubbish  from  the  Forum  and  the  Colosseum.  Now,  their  walls  and 
columns  stand  stripped  and  naked,  corroded  by  time,  despoiled  of  the  lux- 
uriant and  wild  vegetation  which  once  flourished  among  the  ruined  stones. 
The  extent  of  Rome,  too,  appears  small  to  a  traveler ;  still,  the  distance 
from  the  Vatican,  where  I  hope  to  find  my  chief  pleasures,  must  be  further 
than  from  the  last  house  which  Milly  and  I  occupied,  to  the  Konigsthor  at 
Berlin,  which,  in  rain  and  the  hot  sun,  is  not  an  agreeable  prospect.  This 
library  is  closed  now,  and  will  remain  so  for  the  whole  of  this  month,  so 
that  I  must  school  myself  into  patience.  In  Florence,  however,  I  attained 
a  high  degree  of  probability  that  the  Greek  poet — in  the  possibility  of 
finding  whom  I  have  always  believed  for  the  last  five-and-twenty  years — 
really  exists  there,  and  has  only  failed  to  attract  notice  owing  to  the  care- 
lessness of  those  into  whose  hands  he  has  fallen.  If  this  treasure  should 
really  be  reserved  for  me  I  shall  not  have  come  hither  in  vain. 

But  when  one  sees  this  favored  land,  to  which  our  most  fruitful 

districts  are  barren ;  sees  how,  at  Terni,  two  harvests  of  grain  are  reaped 
from  the  soil  in  one  year — one  of  wheat  in  June,  and  the  maize  soon  after 
it  in  October ;  how  this  goes  on  year  after  year,  and  the  wheat  yields  fifteen 
fold;  when  one  sees  how  there  is,  strictly  speaking,  no  peasant  class  at  all 
here ;  how  the  very  happiest  places  are  those  where  the  peasant  only  has  to 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1816.  325 

give  up  half  the  produce,  and  not  where,  as  for  many  miles  round  Rome,  all 
husbandry  is  performed  by  day-laborers  under  the  enormously  rich  nobles : 
when  you  see  the  swarms  of  beggars  who  assure  you,  with  looks  that  bear 
witness  to  their  assertions,  that  they  have  not  tasted  bread  to-day  ;  when 
you  hear  what  numbers  have  died  of  hunger ;  *  it  does  indeed  raise  bitter 
feelings.  It  has  become  perfectly  clear  to  me  how  this  misery  arose  in 
the  imperial  times,  and  has  been  rendered  permanent  by  the  German  con- 
querors, who  have  in  no  respect  made  themselves  benefactors  to  Italy. 

CCXVI. 

TO  SAVIQNY. 

HOME,  nik  October,  1816. 

If  a  letter  which  I  wrote  you  from  Venice  arrived  punctually,  dear 
Savigny  (of  which,  however,  I  do  not  feel  at  all  confident),  and  found  you 
at  Berlin,  I  am  certain  that  you  must  have  written  to  me  ;  for  my  discov- 
eries at  Yerona  were,  I  should  think,  almost  enough  to  induce  you  to  order 
post-horses  on  the  spot,  and  set  out  for  Italy  yourself ;  and  I  conjured  and 
supplicated  you  to  let  mo  hear  from  you. 

Just  now,  however,  I  will  neither  torment  myself  because  the  wished-for 
letter  seems  to  loiter  on  the  road — although  it  would  be  doubly  painful  to 
me  if  my  packet  and  its  inclosures  should  not  have  come  to  hand — nor 
yet  postpone  this  second  letter  till  I  know  something  certain  about  it. 

We  arrived  in  Rome  ten  days  ago,  and  removed,  the  day  before  yester- 
day, into  the  apartments  which  we  have  taken  for  the  winter;  the  innumer- 
able calls  are  over  except  a  few,  and  we  have  made  our  acquaintance  in 
the  circle  of  my  official  intercourse.  We  are  now  able  to  survey  our  posi- 
tion and  prospects.  Do  not  make  an  outcry  when  I  say  that  these  are 
any  thing  but  agreeable;  and  beg  others  who  may  hear  this  from  you,  not 
to  do  so  either.  Were  I  a  young  man  of  twenty  or  thirty,  coming  hither 
as  an  independent  traveler,  with  a  mind  free  from  care,  and  the  prospect 
of  returning  home  sooner  or  later,  perhaps  I  should  find  this  place  to  my 
liking,  though  I  would  not  take  my  oath  of  it.  But  now,  what  is  per- 
manent presses  me  down  with  its  leaden  weight,  and  what  is  transitory 
has  no  charms  for  me.  Only  one  utterly  unacquainted  with  facts  could 
suppose,  that  the  life  of  an  embassador  here  in  Rome  could  be  free  from 
restraint  and  interruption ;  but  it  were  really  a  pardonable  mistake  to 
imagine  it  somewhat  less  fettered  than  it  is ;  for  that,  as  such,  I  should  be 
obliged  to  observe  all  courtly  formalities  toward  the  Spanish  court  of  Charles 
IV.,  of  the  Queen,  and  the  Prince  of  the  Peace,  and  even  to  the  Queen  of 
K tmria.  I  confess  I  did  not  dream  ;  but  so  it  is.  I  foresaw,  of  course,  that 
I  must  unavoidably  hold  frequent  intercourse  with  my  colleagues,  and 
gradually  learn  to  adapt  my  conduct  to  the  claims  and  dictates  of  their 

*  It  ought  to  be  noticed,  that  the  year  in  which  Niebnhr  went  to  Italy  was 
a  famine  year,  and  that  this  operated  greatly  in  heightening  the  unfavorable 
character  of  Niebuhr's  first  impressions  of  the  country  in  general,  though  his 
opinion  of  the  moral  aud  intellectual  condition  of  the  higher  classes  remained 
unchanged.  Professor  Brandis  related  to  the  translator,  how  at  Vicenza  they 
were  positively  driven  out  of  the  amphitheatre  by  the  crowd  of  bepgars  that 
surrounded  them,  and  at  Venice  were  unable  to  sleep  at  all  the  first  night, 
from  the  cries  and  shrieks  of  the  starving  crowd  assembled  under  their  windows, 
and  calling  for  bread. 


326  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

opinions.  Then  for  any  foreigner,  except  a  single  man  living  independently 
of  others,  Rome  has  become  extravagantly,  nay  frightfully,  dear.  Furni- 
ture is  only  to  be  procured  at  this  moment  at  quite  unreasonable  prices, 
and  we  have  been  thankful  to  hire  a  very  small  suite  of  furnished  apart- 
ments for  the  winter,  at  fifty  scudi  a  month.  We  have  not  yet  engaged  a 
cook;  one  has  applied,  and  asks  eighteen  scudi  a  month  wages,  and  two 
scudi  (nearly  three  thalers)  a  day  for  providing  dinner  for  us  three,  with 
Miiller  and  himself.  Without  a  written  agreement,  nothing  can  be  done. 
A  hired  carriage  costs  at  least  sixty-five  scudi  a  month.  The  extra 
charges  for  lights,  drink-money,  &c.,  are  endless.  Do  not,  however,  ascribe 
it  to  the  influence  of  these  unpleasing  prospects,  or  of  my  vexation  at  fore- 
seeing how  miserably  the  time  I  need  for  the  completion  of  a  work  which 
was  begun,  and  can  only  be  continued  in  quiet  and  retirement,  will  have 
to  be  frittered  away,  when  I  further  confess  to  you  that  the  sight  of  Rome 
has  by  no  means  made  a  cheering  or  elevating  impression  upon  me.  This 
it  can  not  have  on  any  one  who  really  sees  what  really  exists. 

The  aspect  of  Venice  and  Florence  appeared  to  me  grand  and  pleasing ; 
in  both,  the  images  and  monuments  of  the  times  of  their  greatness  still  re- 
main visible  and  tangible.  Venice  is  to  me  the  grandest  thing  I  have  ever 
seen,  and  I  liked  every  thing  connected  with  it.  Its  inhabitants  pleased 
me,  too ;  their  manners  are  mild  and  noble,  and  they  have  all  an  expres- 
sion of  grave,  quiet  sadness,  that  spoke  to  my  inmost  heart.  In  Florence 
every  street  is  historical,  and  so  are  hundreds  of  the  buildings.  I  have 
traced  the  circuit  of  the  Roman  colony,  and  of  the  walls  after  their  exten- 
sion, step  by  step ;  visited  Dante's  house ;  read  manuscripts  written  by 
Machiavelli  and  Benvenuto  Cellini ;  seen  the  tombs  in  Santa  Croce  and 
San  Lorenzo.  In.  both  these  cities  there  still  exist  unbounded  treasures  of 
genuine  art — i.  e.  up  to  Raphael's  death.  Rome  has  no  right  to  its  name ; 
at  most  it  should  only  be  called  New  Rome  (like  New  York).  Not  one 
single  street  here  goes  in  the  same  direction  as  the  old  one ;  it  is  an 
entirely  foreign  vegetation  that  has  grown  up  on  a  part  of  the  old  soil,  as 
insignificant  and  thoroughly  modern  in  its  style  as  possible,  without  na- 
tionality, without  history;  it  is  very  characteristic,  that  the  really  ancient, 
and  the  modern  city  lie  almost  side-by-side.  The  abominable  rage  for 
building  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  has  called  into  exist- 
ence a  multitude  of  churches  and  edifices  which  any  unprejudiced  observer 
must  allow  to  be  mean  and  tasteless,  and  removed  or  built  up  every 
ancient  structure. 

There  are  nowhere  any  remains  of  any  thing  that  it  was  possible  to  re- 
move. The  ruins  all  date  from  the  times  of  the  Emperors,  and  he  who 
can  get  up  an  enthusiasm  about  them,  must  at  least  rank  Martial  and 
Sophocles  together.  In  pictures,  Rome  (except  the  Vatican)  is  poor,  com- 
pared to  those  two  cities ;  Bolognese  manufactures,  and  others  still  worse, 
I  do  not  take  into  the  account.  St.  Peter's,  the  Sixtine  Chapel,  and  the 
Loggie  are  certainly  splendid;*  but  even  St.  Peter's  is  disfigured  internally 
by  the  wretched  Statues  and  decorations  ;  and  who,  indeed,  would  deny 
that  even  Rome  has  its  glories  ?  The  statues  I  must  acquire  a  taste  for 
by  degrees ;  the  doors  of  the  Baptistry,  particularly  the  ornamental  work 

*  In  another  letter  he  says,  "The  Last  Judgment  I  do  not  yet  understand. 
The  statues  by  Michael  Angelo  at  Florence  1  prefer  to  those  of  antiquity.  The 
Perseus  of  Beuvenuto  seems  to  me,  on  the  contrary,  mediocre." 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1816.  327 

round  their  edges,  which  was  not  designed  by  Ghiberti,  but  by  Giotto,  take 
my  fancy  moro  than  all  the  bas-reliefs.  Science  is  utterly  extinct  here  ; 
of  philologists  there  is  none  worthy  the  name,  except  the  aged  de  Rossi, 
who  is  near  his  end.  The  people  are  apathetic,  and  truly  if  they  ever  were 
remarkable  in  any  way  for  personal  appearance,  they  must  have  strangely 
altered.  In  all  Italy  (with  a  few  exceptions  at  Venice)  we  have  not  seen 
one  handsome  face,  most  certainly  not  one  here ;  but  much  more  positive 
ugliness  than -in  Germany.  Moreover,  what  as  yet  seems  to  us  quite  un- 
accountable, there  is  nothing  like  song  to  be  heard,  either  of  human  voices 
or  birds'  throats  ;  only  a  horrible  screeching  every  now  and  then. 

This,  then,  is  the  country  and  the  place  in  which  my  life  is  to  be  passed  ! 
It  is  but  a  poor  amends  that  I  can  get  from  libraries,  and  yet  my  only  hope 
is  from  the  Vatican.  That  we  may  be  crossed  in  every  way,  this  is  closed 
till  the  5th  of  November,  and  to  have  it  opened  sooner  is  out  of  the  ques- 
tion ;  in  other  respects,  all  possible  facilities  have  been  promised  me  by  the 
Pope  himself,  Cardinal  Gonsalvi,  Monsignor  Testa,  and  the  Prefect  of  the 
Library,  Monsignor  Baldi :  this  last  is  now  engaged  in  printing,  at  his  own 
cost,  a  work  on  which  he  has  expended  600  scudi,  without  hope  of  receiv- 
ing any  compensation  for  it.  It  is  on  seventeen  passages  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, in  which  he  has  found  the  cross  mentioned  by  name.  A  manuscript 
collection  of  inscriptions  has  been  bequeathed  to  the  Vatican  by  Marini, 
which  can  not  be  printed  for  want  of  funds.  About  that  I  shall  write 
some  day  to  the  Academy.  Should  I  find  nothing  in  the  Vatican,  I  shall 
be  dreadfully  disappointed.  But  I  will  still  hope  for  something  there.  It  is 
only  open  three  hours  a  day,  and  shut  on  Thursdays  and  all  the  innumer- 
able Catholic  festivals ;  and  it  just  now  happens  that  our  meetings  for  con- 
ference have  been  altered  from  Thursday  to  some  other  day,  so  that  in 
general  there  will  only  be  three  days  a  week,  at  most,  in  which  I  can  work 
there.  Of  living  antiquities  I  can  expect  none  at  Rome,  as  all  the  estates 
are  "  latifundia,"  without  peasants.  At  Terni  I  found  the  old  art  of  land- 
surveying  still  extant;  I  rode  along  what  was  probably  an  ancient  "limes," 
found  the  "  rigor"  and  the  "  V  Pedea,"  and  the  coals  and  bricks  under  the 
"termini."  Unfortunately  there  was  no  "  acclimensore"  in  the  town  (as 
the  people  now  call  the  occupation).  I  shall  go  there  again  if  I  live  till 
next  autumn.  It  is  a  charming  place.  There  are  at  least  fifty  houses  in 
the  town — among  them  one  very  large— which  date  from  the  Roman  times, 
and  which  have  pever  yet  been  observed  or  described  by  any  traveler.* 
Several  of  the  churches  are  Roman  private  houses.  If  one  could  but  dis- 
cover in  Rome  any  thing  like  this  !  I  long  inexpressibly  to  have  it  for  my 
burial-place.  Every  thing  in  ancient  in  Terni  and  its  neighborhood;  even 
the  mode  of  preparing  the  wine.  Oh,  to  have  been  in  Italy  500  years  ago ! 

Since  my  own  literary  life  is  brought  to  a  close  with  this  mission,  I  en- 
deavor at  least  to  make  myself  useful  to  my  friends,  aa  far  as  it  may  still 
lie  in  my  power.  Your  commissions,  dear  Savigny,  have  not  escaped  ray 
memory.  First  at  Bologna ;  Ridolfi  has  been  removed  thence  to  Padua, 
where  I  have  twice  been  without  knowing  this.  Your  book  has  been  for- 
warded to  him  through  that  philological  miracle,  Mezzofanti.  The  cata- 
logue of  documents  I  left  with  the  Canon  Londi,  as  it  would  have  required 
full  eight  days  merely  to  copy  it.  This  Canon  and  Schiassi,  the  Keeper  of 

•  There  wai,  too,  an  old  bridge  at  Terni,  also  of  Roman  architecture,  which 
particularly  interested  Niebuhr. 


328  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

the  Archives,  have  promised  to  get  a  copy  made  for  me.  I  obtained  a 
similar  promise  at  Florence  from  Villani  and  Bandini,  on  behalf  of  the 
Chapter  ;  for  as  I  made  it  my  chief  object  there  to  examine  the  Laurentian 
library  as  thoroughly  as  possible  for  palimpsests  (the  search  proved  fruit- 
loss,  as  also  in  the  Marcian  library),  time  failed  me  there  also.  I  had 
great  difficulty  in  discovering  the  MSS.  of  Bologninus.  They  were  found 
at  last  in  a  chest. 

CCXVII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

ROME,  30th  October,  1816. 

It  makes  me  very  uneasy  that  I  have  still  no  answer  from  Savigny  to 
my  announcement  of  the  discovery  I  made  at  Verona.  The  letters  to  me 
must  be  detained  somewhere  on  the  road,  for  you  would  never  all  keep  si- 
lence to  me  and  Gretchen  in  this  manner. 

It  is  extremely  depressing  while  we  can  receive  no  sympathy  in  conver- 
sation, to  be  deprived  of  all  communication  by  which  my  mind  can  be 
roused  into  life.  I  shall  never  be  able  to  feel  at  home  here.  Any  thing 
from  Germany,  even  a  leaf  from  the  "  Allgemeine  Zeitung"  is  the  most 
welcome  acquisition  to  me  in  this  foreign  land. 

I  have  indeed  some  German  fellow-countrymen  here  ;  but  it  is  with 
them  as  I  expected.  Among  the  artists,  the  two  whose  conversation  I 
find  the  most  agreeable,  are  Cornelius  and  Wilhelm  Schadow.  The  latter 
is  particularly  refined  and  intellectual ;  but  he  is  unfortunately  a  convert 
to  Catholicism.  Overbeck,  to  whom  he  yields  precedence  as  an  artist,  and 
whose  physiognomy  is  very  prepossessing,  is  taciturn  and  melancholy.  Rome 
is  a  terrible  place  for  any  one  who  is  melancholy,  because  it  contains  no 
living  present  to  relieve  the  sense  of  sadness  ;  the  present  is  revolting,  and 
in  what  exists,  there  is  not  the  slightest  trace  of  antiquity  to  be  recog- 
nized ;  there  are  not  even  any  remains  of  the  Church  of  the  middle  ages. 
It  does  no  good  (to  me  especially)  to  be  thrown  back  upon  works  of  art  and 
nothing  but  works  of  art.  My  colleagues  are  tolerably  agreeable  people. 
Among  the  Italians  you  seek  in  vain  for  even  interesting  conversation,  al- 
though this  would  be  far  from  sufficient  for  me  now.  There  is  only  one 
man  of  talent  and  mental  activity  here,  at  least  among  the  philologers  and 
historians — an  old  ex-Jesuit  on  the  borders  of  the  grave ;  and  he  repeats 
the  verdict  which  I  have  already  heard  from  the  lips  of  the  few  old  men  in 
whom  I  have  become  acquainted  with  the  relics  of  a  more  intellectual  age  ; 
"  1' Italia  e  spenta  :  e  un  corpo  morto  ;"  and  I  find  it  so.  Cardinal  Gon- 
salvi  is  an  intellectual  man,  and  would  be  really  distinguished  among  any 
ministers  of  any  court.  1  have  found  some  intelligent  men  among  the 
prelates,  but  we  Germans  and  they  find  each  other's  society  devoid  of 
stimulating  influence ;  many  of  our  thoughts  may  be  mirrored  in  each 
other's  minds,  but  pass  away  and  exert  no  living  power.  The  aged  and 
venerable  Pope  received  me  with  remarkable  kindness  and  affability ;  I 
staid  to  dinner  with  his  chaplain,  and  it  was  about  the  brightest  day  I 
have  spent  since  my  arrival.  So  far  from  there  being  any  truth  in  the 
absurd  rumor,  that  the  court  of  Rome  had  protested  against  me  personally, 
it  turns  out  that  they  have  looked  forward  to  my  coming  with  great  pleas- 
ure, and  certainly  no  Catholic  embassador  can  boast  of  a  more  distinguish- 
ed and  friendly  recention 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1816  329 

It  is  a  real  misfortune  that  our  goods,  consequently  my  books,  have  not 
arrived  yet.  We  are  still  without  tidings  of  them,  and  the  captain  who 
could  make  shipwreck  at  Calais  in  the  middle  of  summer,  would  need  a 
miracle  to  get  safely  to  Leghorn  at  this  season.  Besides,  there  are  Bar- 
bary  pirates  cruising  off  the  Portuguese  coasts,  who  plunder  every  vessel 
they  come  near.  I  wish  I  had  followed  my  own  plan,  and  sent  the  books, 
at  least,  over  land.  If  they  are  lost,  it  would  be  impossible  to  replace  them 
in  Italy.  But  I  bow  in  resignation  to  every  calamity  of  this  kind.  Only 
it  is  very  sad  that  with  them  I  should  lose  every  means  of  study  and  em- 
ployment, for  no  book  is  lent  out  of  the  libraries  here  under  any  conditions 
whatever  ;  and  so  bow  can  I  undertake  any  learned  work  ?  The  libraries 
are  open  five  days  a  week,  for  three  hours  each  day,  and  of  these  five 
days,  two  are  those  of  the  ministerial  conferences.  However,  as  I  said, 
my  murmuring  spirit  if  broken  ;  perhaps  just  because  one  only  desires 
passionately  when  one  is  full  of  life.  All  other  things  may  turn  out  as 
they  will,  if  only  God  protect  and  preserve  to  me  my  dearest  treasure. 
Farewell ! 

CCXVIII. 

ROME,  20th  November,  1816. 

Brandis  is  a  very  agreeable  inmate,  and  sympathizes  with  me  on 

every  occasion. 

I  have  found  in  the  Vatican  a  manuscript  full  of  treasures  from  the  Ro- 
man literature,  and  am  working  busily  at  it.  I  have  discovered  fragments 
of  the  lost  parts  of  Cicero's  Oration  for  Fonteius.  and  probably  also  the 
conclusion  of  that  for  Tullius.  I  shall  have  these  fragments  printed  here, 
together  with  some  passages  in  the  fragment  of  Livy  which  their  first  edi- 
tors could  not  read,  as  soon  as  the  indescribably  laborious  work  is  finished, 
in  order  that  it  may  gain  me  access  to  more  of  the  same  kind.  I  think  I 
can  also  recognize  long  passages  from  Cicero's  lost  philosophical  writings  ; 
if  I  prove  to  be  right,  I  should  like  to  sell  them  in  England  for  a  good 
price,  by  way  of  earning  some  money  for  our  young  artists.  Among  these, 
there  are  some  really  excellent),  young  men,  who  are  languishing  for  the 
means  of  cultivating  their  talents,  and  are  at  the  same  time  hard  put  to  it  for 
daily  bread.  I  should  like  to  get  enough  money  to  set  a  few  of  them  to 
paint  a  fresco  in  the  Library.  Some  of  the  ecclesiastical  officials  reject  all 
fees ;  these  I  shall  also  lay  aside  for  this  object.  Cornelius  is  the  most 
intellectual  of  them.  Overbeck  and  Wilhelra  Schadow  are  amiable  men 
and  very  clever  artists,  notwithstanding  their  proselytizing  spirit 

I  am  zealously  performing  my  official  duties.  Unhappily  I  am  still 
without  instructions  on  all  the  important  points,  though  I  have  urgently 
entreated  that  they  may  be  sent  me.  The  moment  is  favorable;  besides, 
the  people  here  are  well  disposed  toward  me,  and  I  think  I  shall  be  able  to 
come  to  arrangements  with  them 

23d I  am  glad  too  to  hear  that  the  German  artists  here  call  me 

the  German  .minister.     People  from  all  parts  of  Germany  who  have  no 
ambassador  here,  come  to  me  as  the  representative  of  their  respective 

countries 

CCXIX. 

ROME,  7th  December,  1916. 

Thank  Heaven,  my  books  have  arrived  at  Leghorn ;  though  no  doubt 
it  will  be  a  long  while  before  I  shall  get  them  here.  I  hope,  with  their 


330  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBITHR. 

assistance,  to  return  to  occupations  that  can  fill  my  mind.  It  gives  me 
great  pain  to  think  that  my  History  must  remain  unfinished;  that  my 
Milly's  only  request  will  be  left  unfulfilled.  Oh  that  I  could  fulfill  it !  But 
what  I  could  do  now  would  be  too  unlike  the  former  part.  From  the  gen- 
eral account  which  I  have  received  of  the  review,  mentioned  also  in  your 
letter,  it  does  not  vex  me  much  ;  it  would  do  so,  perhaps,  if  I  read  it.  They 
may  say  what  they  will  about  the  matter  ;  I  am  as  certain  of  the  correct- 
ness of  my  views  as  I  am  of  my  own  existence,  and  that  I  have  discov- 
ered the  solution  of  the  enigma.  It  is  not  the  love  of  conjecture  that  has 
impelled  me,  but  the  necessity  of  understanding,  and  the  faculty  of  guess- 
ing and  divining.  For  many  points,  still  more  numerous  and  express 
proofs  might  be  produced,  than  those  I  have  brought  forward.  He  who 
presumes  to  pronounce  a  judgment  on  this  subject  without  knowing  more 
than  the  current  opinions  on  it,  has  really  no  voice  at  all  in  the  matter. 
Further,  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  every  one,  or  even  that  many,  should 
have  that  faculty  of  immediate  intuition  which  would  enable  them  to  par- 
take in  my  immovable  conviction,  for  which  I  should  be  ready  to  die. 
Mortifications  do  not  annoy  me  now  as  they  used  to  do  ;  but  still  it  is  mel- 
ancholy that  the  love  and  appreciation  of  literature  is  so  declining  in  Ger- 
many. This  I  may  say  without  arrogance,  that  he  who  refuses  respect  to 
my  History,  deserves  none  himself. ...... 

ccxx. 

ROME,  Christmas  Eve,  1816. 

Now,  at  the  dead  of  night,  as  Gretchen  has  gone  to  sleep,  and  all  is 
silent  in  the  house,  I  will  sit  down  to  answer  your  two  dear  affectionate 
letters. 

You  will  not  misunderstand  and  misinterpret  me  for  having  suffered  a 
week  to  elapse  after  receiving  your  former  letter  before  replying  to  it.  My 
eyes  will  not  allow  me  to  write  late  at  night,  though  until  now  I  have 
been  able  to  read  then  without  difficulty.  I  have  perceived  this  change 
with  alarm  for  the  last  month  past ;  it  is  probably  the  effect  of  having 
worked  too  hard  at  deciphering  writing  more  than  half  obliterated.  Per- 
haps it  will  give  way  when  this  murderous  work  for  the  eyes  is  finished, 
which  is  not  the  case  yet. 

If  reflection,  when  it  has  become  too  one-sided,  and  too  domineering 
over  a  deeply  feeling  heart,  is  apt  to  lead  us  into  errors  in  our  treatment 
of  others,  it  gives  us,  on  the  other  hand,  the  power  of  looking  every  thing 
in  the  face,  of  supporting  the  most  dreadful  prospect,  and  maintaining  our 
equanimity  ;  but  he  who  has  neglected  to  cultivate  this  power,  and  always 
lived  exclusively  in  imagination  and  direct  perception,  with  these  faculties 
nourished  by  an  interchange  of  every  thought  and  feeling  with  another,  is, 
when  a  great  calamity  befalls  him,  robbed  of  his  whole  Wealth,  and  in- 
capable of  replacing  it. 

My  first  impression  of  the  city  remains  unchanged.      Brandis, 

too,  finds  nothing  Elysian  here.  Neither  the  city,  nor  its  inhabitants,  so 
far  as  it  is  inhabited,  have  any  charms  for  me.  The  magnificent  pros- 
pects toward  the  surrounding  mountains  from  some  of  the  eminences  would 
delight  you.  I  still  find  the  ruins  of  the  imperial  times  uncongenial  to 
my  taste  ;  there  is  wonderfully  little  that  is  truly  beautiful.  The  frescoes 
of  Raphael  and  Michael  Angelo,  and  some  ancient  statues,  are  all  that  is 


LETTERS  FROM   ROME  IN  1816.  331 

really  living  in  Rome.  I  often  ascend  the  Capitoline  Hill  to  look  at  Mar- 
cus Aurelius  and  his  horse,  and  I  have  not  been  able  to  refrain  from  caress- 
ing the  lions  of  basalt.  You  can  not  stand  on  the  Aventine  or  the  Pala- 
tine without  grave  thoughts,  but  standing  on  the  spot  brings  me  very  little 
nearer  to  the  image  of  past  ages. 

Among  the  present  living  occupants  of  Rome,  our  German  artists  alone 
have  any  worth  in  them  ;  and  in  their  society,  as  far  as  their  sphere 
reaches,  you  may  sometimes  transport  yourself  for  a  few  hours  into  a 
better  world.  Cornelius  you  know,  from  his  illustrations  to  the  "Nibel- 
ungen  Lied."  They  are  incomparably  surpassed  by  those  to  the  Faust, 
which  have  been  already  engraved.  Cornelius  is  an  entirely  self-educated 
man.  His  taste  in  art  is  quite  for  the  sublime,  the  simple,  and  grand. 
We  are  constantly  becoming  more  intimate,  and  may  already  call  ourselves 
friends.  He  has  an  excellent  wife,  a  native  of  Rome,  who  I  hope  will  be 
of  service  to  Gretchen  when  she  needs  a  friend.  He  is  very  poor,  because 
he  works  for  his  conscience  and  his  own  satisfaction,  and  purchasers  who 
would  or  could  measure  their  remuneration  by  the  same  standard  are  not 
to  be  found.  I  can  not  afford  to  give  the  artists  work,  but  I  am  glad  to 
be  able  to  help  them  as  a  friend  when  their  necessities  are  pressing.  An- 
other  frequent  visitor  of  ours  is  Platner,  who  has  been  made  a  painter  by 
an  unlucky  accident,  whereas  nature  intended  him  for  a  scholar  and  his- 
torian. He  is  still  poorer  than  Cornelius ;  his  wife  is  very  like  Mrs.  Reimer. 
The  Tyrolese  Koch,  whom  you  will  have  heard  of  as  a  landscape  painter, 
is  a  friend  of  theirs,  an  eccentric,  petulant  man,  full  of  just  thoughts  and 
bitter  sarcasms.  With  these  three  we  can  thoroughly  harmonize,  though 
Platner  is  Saxon  in  his  politics,  and  only  attracted  to  me  by  personal 
liking ;  Koch,  however,  has  such  an  antipathy  to  Hackert  and  to  the 
Propyhea,  and  Goethe's  Winckelmann,  that  he  even  speaks  absurdly  and 
spitefully  against  Goethe  himself.  I  like  Overbeck  and  the  two  Schadows 
much,  and  they  are  estimable  both  as  artists  and  as  men  ;  but  the  Cathol- 
icism of  Overbeck  and  one  of  the  Schadows  excludes  entirely  many  topics 
of  conversation.  Rauch  was  here  for  some  time.  Thorwaldsen  estimates 
the  representation  infinitely  higher  than  the  thought,  and  maintains  that 
a  work  which  is  false  .in  conception,  but  correct  in  drawing,  is  still  the 
work  of  a  master ;  while,  on  the  contrary,  a  picture  having  the  noblest 
idea,  if  in  any  respect  erroneous  in  drawing,  or  imperfect  in  coloring,  is 
only  that  of  a  learner.  There  are  no  learned  men  among  the  foreigners 
here  at  present,  except  my  old  tutor  and  friend,  Playfair,  of  Edinburgh. 
Bunsen  is  here,  however,  and  for  him  one  must  feel  the  highest  esteem, 
but  he  is  much  engaged  with  an  Englishman  to  whom  he  gives  instruction. 
You  want  to  know  my  way  of  life.  Whenever  the  library  is  open,  and 
no  conference  with  the  Secretary  of  State  stands  in  the  way,  I  go,  if  the 
weather  is  tolerable,  to  the  Vatican.  There  I  am  still  occupied  upon  a 
manuscript  in  which  I  have  found  lost  fragments  of  Cicero's  Orations,  a 
part  of  the  fragment  of  Livy,  which  the  earlier  editors  have  not  beeri  able 
to  make  out,  and  other  fragments  of  Seneca  and  Hyginus.  The*  printing 
of  these  things  will  soon  begin ;  I  shall  dedicate  them  to  the  Pope,  for 
whom  I  still  retain  the  reverence  I  felt  at  a  distance.  I  often  go  to  the 
Forum,  where  they  have  excavated  an  interesting  spot.  More  distant 
walks  can  seldom  be  undertaken  at  this  season  of  the  year.  When  Gret- 
chen feels  inclined  we  take  a  drive.  Three  times  a  week,  my  Italian  mas- 


332  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

ter  comes,  who  is,  however,  a  very  bad  one.  Every  Tuesday,  there  in  a 
large  dinner-party  at  the  French  embassador's,  which,  as  it  always  con- 
sists of  the  same  persons,  gets  more  tiresome  every  time 


".'  1817- 

ABOUT  this  time,  A.  W.  Schlegel's  attack  upon  Niebuhr' s  His- 
tory came  out  in  the  Jena  "  Litteratur  Zeitung,"  and  other  un- 
favorable reviews  of  it  appeared  in  the  Heidelberg  "  Jahrbiicher," 
which  vexed  Niebuhr  all  the  more,  as,  owing  to  his  absence,  he 
was  unable  to  defend  his  work  as  he  would  have  wished.  A  much 
more  serious  annoyance  was  caused  him  by  a  statement  which  ap- 
peared in  the  "  Alte  Freimuthige,"  from  the  pen  of  Gottlieb  Mer- 
kel,  accusing  him  of  having  torn  the  fragments  of  the  Gaius, 
which  he  had  sent  to  Savigny,  out  of  books  belonging  to  the  Ca- 
thedral Chapter  at  Verona,  and  carried  them  off.  Niebuhr  caused 
a  judicial  investigation  to  be  instituted,  the  result  of  which  was 
that  Merkel  was  condemned  to  "  six  months'  imprisonment,  or  a 
fine  of  500  dollars,  for  a  libel  against  the  Privy  Councilor  Nie- 
buhr." 

In  April,  1817,  his  wife  bore  him  a  son  after  long  and  severe 
suffering.  This  event  gave  him  the  keenest  delight,  and  it  was 
the  first  thing  that  dispelled  the  cloud  of  melancholy  which  had 
hung  over  him  ever  since  his  first  wife's  death.  He  had  never 
had  any  anxious  wishes  for  children  in  his  first  marriage,  but  now 
his  heart  yearned  toward  the  child  that  was  born  to  him  with  the 
whole  fervor  of  his  deep  affections. 

During  the  summer  of  this  year  Niebuhr,  with  his  family  and 
Brandis,  spent  some  time  at  Frascati,  where  he  translated  an  es- 
say on  the  Poor  and  Pauperism  that  had  appeared  in  the  "  Quar- 
terly Review,"  and  had  greatly  excited  his  interest.  He  occupied 
what  leisure  he  had  from  the  duties  of  his  office  this  year,  in  study- 
ing the  history  of  Greece  and  of  Asia,  from  the  time  of  Philip  of 
Macedon  to  their  conquest  by  the  Romans,  in  order,  as  he  himself 
expressed  it,  "to  obtain  a  sharply-outlined  picture  of  the  period 
when  Greek  and  Roman  history  first  begin  to  run  parallel  to 
each  other  without  coming  into  contact,  up  to  that  in  which  they 
at  last  coalesce."  These  studies  were  interrupted  by  a  lingering 
illness,  his  recovery  from  which  was  long  doubtful.  It  was,  how- 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1817.  333 

ever,  remarkable  that  even  during  his  illness  his  mind  felt  clearer 
and  brighter  than  for  two  years  previously.  While  still  confined 
to  his  bed  he  was  able  to  study,  and  was  conscious  of  the  revival 
of  that  faculty  of  divination  and  happy  combination,  the  loss  of 
which  had  so  often  depressed  him.  From  this  time  forward,  a 
brighter  era  in  Niebuhr's  life  begins,  notwithstanding  his  settled 
dislike  of  the  nation  among  whom  his  lot  was  cast.  He  was, 
however,  long  unfit  for  any  bodily  exertion. 

On  his  return  to  Rome,  in  October,  he  foimd  Professor  Bekker, 
of  Berlin,  who  had  been  sent  with  Professor  Goeschen,  by  the 
Academy  of  Sciences,  to  follow  out  Niebuhr's  discovery  of  the  In- 
stitutes of  Gaius.  Niebuhr  invited  Bekker  to  become  his  guest 
during  the  ensuing  months  which  he  intended  to  spend  at  Rome, 
and  found  in  his  society  the  opportunity  of  conversing  on  the  sub- 
jects of  his  studies,  the  want  of  which  he  had  hitherto  felt  so  pain- 
fully since  his  arrival  there.  He  now  renewed  bis  investigations 
in  connection  with  Roman  history. 

Many  foreigners  visited  Rome  during  this  winter,  among  whom 
were  the  Crown  Prince  of  Bavaria,  Lord  Colchester,  and  Lord 
Lansdowne ;  with  the  two  latter,  Niebuhr  formed  a  sincere  and 
lasting  friendship. 

Letters  written  in  1817. 

CCXXI. 

TO  MADAME  HEN8LER. 

ROME,  lit  January,  1817. 

My  first  employment  this  day  shall  be  to  write  to  you.  Till  this  time 
two  years,  the  close  of  the  old  year  was  generally  a  happy  and  joyous 
time :  my  Milly  made  it  a  festival  for  us  at  home,  at  least,  and  we  used 
to  enter  on  the  new  year  reading  and  talking  together ;  frequently,  with  a 
spoken  recollection  of  you — at  any  rate,  with  a  silent  one ;  for  she  clung  to 
you  with  the  Warmest,  tenderest  love.  She  so  often  spoke  of  you  with  af- 
fection ;  she  longed  so  to  have  you  with  her,  though  she  was  so  happy  in 
her  love,  that  she  could  endure  your  absence. 

How  delightful  were  those  eves  of  the  new  year,  and  of  Christmas  while 
we  lived  at  Copenhagen,  and  before  we  had  been  drawn  into  the  whirlpool 
of  politics !  But  how  delightful  they  were  too  at  Berlin,  although  on  the 
whole  the  destruction  of  our  quiet,  unconscious,  individual  life,  had  issued 
in  a  new,  perhaps  more  brilliant,  but  less  blessed  epoch  of  our  existence. 

I  try  to  employ  myself;  but  it  is  to  little  purpose,  for  I  find  it  is  still 
as  ever  the  case  with  me,  that  I  can  only  work  with  success  when  I  linger 
with  pleasure  over  my  occupations.  My  powers  are  still  further  paralyzed 
by  the  disagreeable  and  deadening  effect  of  the  fashionable  parties  which 
are  very  numerous  at  this  season.  Then,  too,  the  parties  here  are  more  in- 


334  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

sipid  and  and  annoying  than  any  I  have  ever  been  in  before.  I  have 
formed  the  intention  of,  at  least,  revising  and  correcting  the  Roman  His- 
tory, if  I  can  not  finish  it ;  I  sit  faithfully  enough  for  hours  together  be- 
fore my  books,  but  memory  and  sagacity  will  not  serve  me  as  formerly ; 
vague  recollections  of  things  I  have  read,  and  of  the  existence  of  relations 
dawn  upon  my  mind,  but  refuse  to  let  me  grasp  them,  or  to  assume  a  dis- 
tinct shape. 

I  have  many  times  before  felt  what  it  is  to  be  in  a  foreign  land ;  I  felt 
it  least  of  all  in  England ; — in  Holland  more,  after  the  first  interest  was 
exhausted,  but  never  as  I  do  here  in  Italy ;  here  you  can  never  learn  to 
feel  at  home.  There  is  no  possibility  of  intimacy  with  those  around  you 
— that  is,  with  the  Italians — no  possibility  of  growing  attached  to  them 
through  common  interests  or  feelings.  No  object  of  science  or  of  occupa- 
tion brings  you  together.  If  we  could  but  let  each  other  entirely  alone,  it 
would  not  be  so  bad ;  for  we  are  not  at  a  loss  for  society  and  friends,  but 
that  is  impossible.  I  must  keep  up  an  intercourse  with  them.  Every  one 
is  titled ;  every  one  has  a  certain  rank ;  the  noble  and  beautiful  alone  has 
neither  rank  nor  existence.  All  the  topics  which  occupy  us  in  Germany 
are  foreign  to  them,  have  no  existence  for  them ;  their  thoughts  are  not 
directed  to  any  object  or  aim. 

I  have  other  anxieties,  relating  to  my  father-land,  that  is,  my  adopted 
one.  There  are  rumors  of  war  abroad,  and  they  only  give  weight  to  a 
long-cherished  presentiment  of  mine.  I  have  long  feared  a  coalition 
against  Prussia.  I  can  not  bear  to  think  out  the  details  of  the  calamities 
which  such  an  occurrence  may  and  almost  certainly  must  entail,  of  which, 
the  least  would  be  a  progress  toward  barbarism  and  slavery.  In  such 
times,  it  is  no  happiness  to  become  a  father,  and  a  heavy  misfortune  to  be 
at  a  distance  from  one's  own  country.  The  impossibility  of  holding  any 
affectionate  or  interesting  intercourse  with  the  natives  of  this  country,  is  a 
great  obstacle  to  progress  in  their  language.  Another  hindrance  is,  that 
while  all  my  anticipations  regarding  the  miserable  condition  of  Rome,  in 
a  moral  point  of  view,  have  been  fulfilled  to  the  uttermost,  I  find  the  dif- 
ference between  the  wretched  language  that  is  current,  and  the  beautiful 
old  language  of  the  literature,  far  greater  than  I  had  ever  supposed  it  to 
be.  The  more  modern  writings  are  such  as  no  one  could  peruse  with  care  ; 
it  is  hardly  possible  to  run  through  them,  still  less  to  appropriate  their  lan- 
guage ;  but  neither  can  you  obtain  a  perfect  mastery  over  the  old  classical 
language,  for  the  new  which  you  are  constantly  hearing,  mixes  itself  up 
with  it,  and  corrupts  it.  In  Florence  it  still  lives,  but  like  a  learned  lan- 
guage, in  the  pens  of  many,  and  in  the  mouths  of  a  few  cultivated  men. 
I  felt  there  that  I  could  render  myself  a  complete  master  of  it ;  but  here  it 
is  so  badly  spoken,  that  it  is  impossible  for  me,  at  least  with  my  present 
capabilities,  to  acquire  it.  I  have  begun  to  read  Guicciardini  aloud  during 
the  evenings ;  his  fullness  and  power  of  vivid  description  render  him  most 
admirable  as  an  historian.  Further,  we  do  not  get  on  with  our  reading 
together  as  I  could  wish 

CCXXII. 

TO  JACOBI. 

ROME,  llth  January,  1817. 
I  am  making  some  effort  to  purchase  the  tomb  of  the  Scipios.    It 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1817.  335 

is  a  characteristic  trait  of  this  modern  Rome,  that  when  this  unique  and 
venerable  monument  of  antiquity  was  discovered  in  1780,  the  bones  of 
Scipio,  which  were  in  a  state  of  perfect  preservation,  were  torn  from  their 
atony  couch  and  thrown  away  !  When  people  try  to  console  you  for  the 
passing  away  of  the  old  Roman  times,  by  saying  that  modern  Rome  has 
become  Christian  and  Catholic,  I  can  not  help  quoting  Lucan's  consolation 
for  the  civil  wars,  that  all  this  blood  had  not  flowed  in  vain,  for  else  Nero 
could  never  have  reigned. 

However,  among  the  artists  here,  the  pious  and  believing  are  by  far  the 
most  eminent  men,  and  there  are  some  of  them  highly  deserving  of  respect  5 
but  no  place  seems  to  me  so  fitted  to  confirm  one  in  Lutheranism  as  this  ; 
unless,  indeed,  you  are  in  close  intercourse  with  the  Pope,  for  whom  your 
personal  veneration  increases  with  your  knowledge  of  him 

Have  I  told  you  that  I  have  found  our  Indian  numerals  in  use  in  a 
Greek  MS.,  which  must  certainly  be  older  than  the  seventh  century? 

Goethe's  Travels  have  only  just  made  their  appearance  here,  and  I  am 
reading  them  much  as  the  Man  in  the  Moon  might  read  Schrb'ter's  Seleno- 
graphical  Fragments.  But  it  is  too  wide  a  subject  for  me  to  enter  upon  it 
now.  I  had  so  much  to  discuss  with  you  and  Roth  !  among  other  things, 
the  French  Electoral  Law,  which  I  am  quite  full  of  at  present,  so  much 
so,  that  I  have  begun  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject,  which  will  probably, 
however,  be  left  unfinished.* 

CCXXIII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

ROME,  15/A  January,  1817. 

Gretchen  is  not  at  all  well But  how  much,  to  her  ax  well 

at  to  me,  hangs  on  the  life  of  this  child,  which  will  very  likely  be  your 
inheritance  if  Gretchen  and  I  go  before  you.  I  know  that  you  will  tend 
and  educate  our  child  with  the  warm  love  of  a  mother. 

I  certainly  look  forward  with  gladness  to  the  birth  of  this  child.  In 
case  it  should  be  a  boy,  I  am  already  preparing  myself  to  educate  him.  I 
should  try  to  familiarize  him  very  early  with  the  ancient  languages  by 
making  him  repeat  sentences  after  me.  and  relating  stories  to  him  in  them, 
in  order  that  he  might  not  have  too  much  to  learn  afterward,  nor  yet  read 
too  much  at  too  early  an  age,  but  receive  his  education  after  the  fashion  of 
the  ancients.  I  think  I  should  know  how  to  educate  a  boy,  but  not  a  girl ; 
I  should  be  in  danger  of  making  her  too  learned.  In  Montaigne's  times, 
the  sons  of  learned  men  acquired  Greek  and  Latin  by  conversation,  like  a 
modern  language.  I  would  relate  innumerable  stories  to  the  boy,  as  my 
father  did  to  me  ;  but  by  degrees  mix  up  more  and  more  of  Greek  and  Latin 
in  them,  so  that  he  would  be  forced  to  learn  those  languages  in  order  to 
understand  the  stories.  If  it  is  a  boy,  he  shall  have  the  name  which  ray 

Milly  would  have  given  to  hers ;  that  of  my  father  and  of  yours If 

it  is  [a  girl]  it  shall  have  Amelia's  name  and  yours,  and  your  united 
blessing: 

Brandis  feels  the  effects  of  our  troubles — I  fear  of  the  climate  too 

For  the  rest,  you  know  how  much  I  am  attached  to  him,  and  how  I  value 

*  This  fragment  U  contained  in  a  volume  of  hii  smaller  writings,  published  in 
1842,  p.  471. 


336  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

his  society.  A  purer  heart,  a  more  noble  and  unselfish  disposition  than 
his,  there  can  not  exist ;  and  these  derive  a  rare  worth  from  his  refined  in- 
tellect, and  his  quick  appreciation  of  all  elevated  ideas 

CCXXIV. 

TO  NICOLOVIUS. 

ROME,  22<J  January,  1817. 

I  have  been  ill  for  some  time,  dear  Nicolovius  :  I  was  so  for  several 
weeks  before  I  would  give  way ;  but  at  last  I  was  forced  to  take  to  my 
bed.  Now  I  am  enjoying  the  refreshing  feeling  of  recovery.  While  it  lasts, 
I  will  clear  off,  without  further  delay,  the  heavily-accumulated  debt  of 
answer  to  your  kind  and  consolatory  letter.  It  is  better  that  my  reply  has 
been  put  off  so  long,  for  such  a  black  cloud  hung  over  my  mental  horizon, 
that  any  thing  I  could  have  written  in  that  state  would  only  have  given 
you  pain. 

The  physical  cause  of  my  illness  was  the  changeable  weather,  The 
winter  has  been  on  the  whole  mild  up  to  this  time  (and  if  nature  is  in  any 
respect  what  she  was  in  ancient  times,  spring  must  begin  A.D.  vin.  Idus 
Fcbr.),  and  pleasant  from  its  dryness.  No  snow  has  fallen  in  the  city,  and 
the  Triton  has  only  had  a  beard  one  morning  at  most ;  but  the  Tramon- 
tane gives  you  cold  much  sooner  than  a  snow  storm,  and  the  excessively 
rapid  changes  of  temperature  are  more  than  my  constitution  can  stand,  par- 
ticularly since  I  am  frequently  obliged  to  wear  full  court  dress,  and  then  to 
come  from  before  an  immense  open  fire  down  the  exposed  staircases  through 
an  icy-cold  sea  of  air.  Then,  too,  the  very  quality  of  the  winds  here  has 
quite  altered  since  the  ancient  times  ;  which  has,  I  think,  never  yet  been 
remarked.  The  Aquilo,  or  Greco,  no  longer  blows  from  the  N.N.E.,  but 
from  the  N.E.,  and  the  Scirocco,  or  Vulturnus,  was  formerly  dry  and  not 
very  disagreeable  :  thus,  too,  I  do  not  doubt  that  the  character  of  the  Li- 
buccio  and  Ostro  has  changed  much  for  the  worse,  though  in  the  main  they 
are  what'they  used  to  be.  Do  you  see  that  I  am  already  becoming  a 
Roman  of  the  present  day  ?  for  the  prevailing  wind,  and  the  price  of  oil, 
and  the  size  of  the  pagnotti,*  are  the  main  ideas  that  occupy  their  minds  ; 
in  fact,  what  can  and  dare  we  poor  wretches  think  about  besides  ?  So  in 
order  to  complete  the  information,  which  you  have  a  right  to  expect  from 
a  Roman  of  the  present  day,  I  beg  to  announce  to  you  that  a  fogliette  of 
oil  costs  from  two-and-twenty  to  four-and-twenty  bajocchi ;  in  your  time  it 
will  not  have  cost  more  than  seven  or  eight  at  most.  Some  aged  men 
among  the  natives  remember  when  an  insurrection  was  near  breaking  out, 
because  it  rose  from  two  and  a  half  to  four  bajocchi.  The  price  would  have 
risen  to  forty  with  us,  as  the  forestallers  and  regraters  set  no  bounds  to 
their  audacity,  but  that  a  counter-speculation  was  set  on  foot.  Meanwhile, 
that  forestalling  is  an  honest  trade,  to  which  the  State  can  offer  no  opposi- 
tion ;  and  that  by  these  high  prices  and  their  profits,  large  capitals  are 
created,  which  contribute  much  more  to  the  increase  of  the  national  wealth 
than  the  pennies  trickling  through  the  poor  man's  purse  for  his  daily  wants 
— has  been  proved  to  satisfaction  by  political  economy,  for  which  science 
there  is  unfortunately  no  gallows,  because  it  was  only  in  the  schools  of  the 
rhetoricians  that  one  could  bring  forward  an  accusation  of  inscripti  maleficii. 
*  Penny  rolls. 


LETTERS  FEOM  ROME  IN  1817.  337 

Our  forefathers,  however,  would  have  drowned  the  teachers  of  this  wisdom, 
and  my  old  Romans  would  have  banished  them  still  more  rigorously  than 
the  Greek  sophists,  or  at  least  would  have  ordered  them  to  cease  from  their 
Indus  impiulentitt.  At  Castelmaggiore,  in  Sabina,  sixty-two  human  beings 
have  already  died  of  hunger,  as  I  have  been  assured  by  a  parish  priest,  who 
seems  to  be  an  intelligent  and  honest  man ;  this  is  the  state  of  things 
every  where  among  the  mountains.  As  for  ourselves,  we  are,  indeed,  in 
no  danger  of  starvation,  but  I  am  obliged  to  renounce  all  indulgences  in 
order  to  make  both  ends  meet ;  can  buy  neither  books  nor  works  of  art ; 
and  must  quietly  put  up  with  having  it  said  that  we  do  not  live  suitably  to 
oui  station. 

I  have  written  about  Titel I  wish  my  recommendations  of  our 

much  more  eminent  young  painters  may  also  be  successful.  I  have  no 
need  to  press  this  matter  further  upon  your  attention ;  and  if  there  are 
great  difficulties  with  regard  to  it,  I  am  only  making  your  heart  heavy. 
There  are  two  ways  in  which  something  really  useful,  and  conducive  to 
the  dignity  of  Prussia  might  be  accomplished ;  the  one  would  do  honor  to 
the  government ;  the  other  at  any  rate  to  the  public.  Either  let  the  gov- 
ernment summon  some  of  the  most  distinguished  artists  to  Berlin,  and 
commission  them  to  execute  some  great  work  in  fresco— say,  in  the  cathe- 
dral (to  which  the  King  would  perhaps  be  most  inclined),  or  in  the  Uni- 
versity, or  some  other  public  building.  Or,  if  the  ministry  will  not  listen 
to  this,  let  a  subscription  be  raised  if  possible  among  the  wealthy  for  the 
s aim:  object,  to  •which  end  you  must  go  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges 
and  invite  them  to  come  in,  where  people  are  beggars  only  in  a  spiritual 
point  of  view,  and  their  scrip  is  full.  I  have  written  to  Savigny  about  a 
similar  notion.*  I  think  that  the  Princess  William  might  be  interested 
in  this  matter,  and  if  necessary  I  would  write  to  her  about  it.  You  have 
probably  not  yet  seen  the  Faust  of  Cornelius — have  you  ?  It  has,  or  will 
far  surpass  your  expectations.  Cornelius  is  a  very  high-minded,  intel- 
lectual, and  amiable  man ;  a  Catholic  by  birth,  but  so  little  a  zealot,  that 
when,  we  were  talking  with  him  about  his  favorite  idea  of  painting  a  Last 
Judgment,  though  he  refused  our  request  that  Luther  might  be  translated 
into  the  heavenly  glory,  on  the  plea  that  he  dared  not  do  that,  he  said 
that  he  should  be  represented  as  holding  up  the  Bible  to  the  devil,  and  the 
latter  as  retreating  at  the  sight  of  it.  I  fancy  Stolberg  would  approve  of 
thi»  too  in  the  depths  of  his  heart — don't  you  ?  1  recommend  the  two 
Schadows  strongly  to  the  notice  of  the  government.  As  for  William,  I 
fear  that  he  is  exerting  himself  beyond  his  strength  and  will  not  live  long; 
but  you  must  not  let  his  father  know  more  of  this  than  is  necessary  to  in- 
duce, him  to  moderate  his  demands  upon  his  son.  Both  the  brothers  are 
extremely  industrious,  and  like  all  our  eminent  young  men,  of  irreproach- 
able morality.  Rudolph  is  beginning  to  acquire  celebrity,  and  there  is 
some  prospect  of  his  receiving  important  commissions  from  Englishmen. 
If  so,  it  would  be  a  terrible  pity  that  he  should  not  remain  here  for  some 
years  to  come ;  for  it  is  only  through  such  labors,  by  producing  great  and 
numerous  works,  that  the  artist  can  truly  develop  hinwelf.  If  obstacles 
of  this  kind  should  prevent  him  from  obeying  the  dictates  of  his  father, 
those  who  are  in  Berlin  must  excuse  his  conduct  to  the  old  man  :  in  this 

*  This  is  interesting  as  being  the  first  suggestion  from  which  the  Art  Unions, 
now  so  numerous  in  Germany,  took  their  rise. 

P 


338  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

case  I  have  promised  to  claim  your  mediation,  dear  Nicolovius,  and  you 
would  do  a  good  work  if  you  could  prepare  the  old  man  for  it  beforehand. 

There  are  two  others  besides,  in  whose  behalf  I  shall  boldly  apply  to  the 

Home  Office the  two  Rhinelanders,  Gau  the  architect,  and  the  painter 

Moseler,  who  received  stipends  from  the  provisional  government.  I  must 
earnestly  entreat  that  these  may  be  continued  to  them.  Gau  is  a  real 
genius,  and  has  begun  to  make  most  important  discoveries  respecting 
ancient  architecture ;  he  has  made  drawings  at  Pompeii,  which  inspire 
much  more  confidence  in  their  accuracy  than  those  of  Maizoy ;  here  in 
Rome,  he  has  made  observations  from  the  summit  of  the  Capitol,  which 
have  suggested  some  very  important  ideas  with  regard  to  the  ancient 
ground-plan  of  the  city — for  instance,  that  there  are  fragments  of  two 
plans  of  completely  different  proportions ;  he  has  also  discovered  the 
TJlpian  Basilicse ;  and  further,  recently,  that  the  arch  of  Janus  is  con- 
structed out  of  fragments  of  the  so-called  Temple  of  the  Sun.  He  is  ex- 
tremely industrious,  and  it  would  be  a  thousand  pities  if  he  were  obliged 
to  leave  Italy  just  at  present.  Unless  I  am  much  deceived,  we  may  ex- 
pect great  things  from  him.  Moseler  is  at  work  on  copies  from  the  old 
Cologne  school  of  painters,  which  Wenner  is  bringing  out  at  Frankfort 
with  an  historical  introduction,  which  has  the  great  merit  of  dispelling, 
by  its  impartial  and  acute  investigation,  the  mist  that  even  the  Boisserees 
have  thrown  over  the  supposed  early  period  of  art  in  that  city.  His  re- 
sults, unlike  theirs,  are  in  harmony  with  what  is  known  from  other  histori- 
cal sources,  and  therefore  it  is  to  be  hoped  that,  after  their  publication,  we 
shall  hear  no  more  of  a  school  of  art  at  Cologne  under  the  Byzantine 
Emperors,  or  even  dating  back  to  the  Roman  times.  But  it  is  of  great 
moment,  to  enable  him  to  form  a  connected  history  of  art  from  the  earliest 

times,  that  he  should  see  Tuscany  and  Venice What  are  they  doing 

about  the  University  on  the  Lower  Rhine  ?  I  wish  some  appointment 
there  could  be  found  for  our  friend  Platner,  who  is  not  great  as  a  painter, 
but  has  a  real  vocation  for  literature.  If  it  were  possible  to  establish 
there,  or  in  any  other  university,  a  professorship  of  Italian  literature  and 
history,  and  the  history  of  Italian  art,  that  would  be  the  post  best  suited 
to  his  talents,  and  he  would  fill  it  with  great  honor  to  himself.  He  has 
begun  to  prepare  an  edition  of  Vasari,  and  would  be  quite  capable  of 
writing  an  excellent  commentary  upon  Dante,  if  the  publishers  would 
condescend  to  patronize  him.  Unless  my  memory  deceive  me,  he  was  not 
named  according  to  his  merits  at  Berlin.  He  is  a  particularly  noble- 
minded  man. 

Be  so  kind  as  to  return  my  kind  regards  to  L.  Stolberg,  with  the  assur- 
ance that  I  should  not  fail  for  want  of  "going  piano,"  even  if  the  utter 
absence  of  all  instructions  did  not  render  it  impossible  to  advance  a  step 
forward.  This  is  a  misery  for  which  I  can  not  console  myself,  because  a 
conjunction  in  every  respect  favorable  is  thereby  lost  to  us.  The  Pope  is 
ready,  nay,  offers  to  do  all  that  is  reasonable ;  he  could  not  have  ex- 
pressed himself  more  clearly  on  this  subject,  than  he  did  to  me,  a  short 
time  since,  in  a  long  conversation.  We  are  regarded  with  favor  in  a 
political  point  of  view,  and  as  for  myself  personally  I  certainly  do  not 
stand  in  the  way  of  the  business.  The  dedication  to  the  Pope  of  the 
Ciceronian  fragments  I  have  discovered  here  (I  sent  him  the  MS.  a  week 
ago),  has  greatly  pleased  the  kind-hearted  old  man  ;  and  the  government 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1817.  339 

are  really  more  obliging  to  me  in  regard  to  public  business  than  I  could 
have  ventured  to  hope ;  for  they  have  gone  so  far  as  to  receive  from  a 
Protestant  embassador,  the  filling  up  of  incomplete  clerical  certificates. 
Still,  I  ask,  if  I  am  to  have  no  other  vocation  than  that  of  negotiating 
dispensations ;  is  it  at  all  worth  while  that  my  life  and  real  calling  should 
be  thus  sacrificed  ?  With  me,  dearest  Nicolovius,  the  inward  life  is  burnt 
out,  and  my  body  too  is  exhausted.  I  lived  through  the  spirit,  and  that 
is  fallen  asleep. 

That  the  Cathedral  Chapter  of  Cologne  should  extend  its  jurisdiction 
beyond  the  Rhine,  is  certainly  out  of  the  question,  so  long  as  the  new 
bishopric  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  stands  in  the  way,  and  this  gives  a  great  deal 
to  do  in  the  way  of  negotiation  ;  but  if  Cologne  were  created  into  an  arch- 
bishopric, all  difficulties  would  be  removed ;  assuming,  that  is,  that  the 
government  would  endow  the  Cathedral  Chapter  and  bishoprics,  as 
Bavaria  has  done,  which  really  does  not  involve  an  extravagant  expendi- 
ture, and  allow  the  Chapter  to  elect  their  own  bishops.  I  have  made  a 
report  upon  the  Bavarian  Concordat  to  the  foreign  department,  and  hope 
that  your  department  will  learn  the  contents  of  my  report  upon  ecclesias- 
tical matters.  Oh  that  you  had  it  in  your  power  to  get  my  instructions 
forwarded  to  me ! 

I  am  still  occupied  upon  the  same  codex ;  some  extremely  trivial  leaves 
from  Seneca,  which  are  dreadfully  illegible,  but  unhappily  have  never  been 
printed,  are  costing  me  many  valuable  hours  now,  and  will  probably  cost 
my  eyes  a  great  part  of  their  power.  I  hope  the  dedication  to  the  Pope 
will  open  the  private  closets,  and  then  it  seems  impossible  but  that  some- 
thing should  be  brought  to  light.  But  Rome  affords  me  no  help  toward 
my  History.  This  Rome  is  a  Codtx  reicriptus,  where  Cato's  Origines 
have  been  erased,  and  a  "  Diario  di  Roma"*  written  over  them.  It  is 
particularly  unfortunate  that  one  can  not  get  to  the  mountains,  but  that 
is  quite  impossible,  on  account  of  the  banditti.  We  can  not  even  venture 
as  far  as  Palestrina,  or  Cori. 

Since  your  time,  every  thing  must  have  changed  beyond  recognition. 
This  I  am  assured,  too,  is  the  case  by  those  who  have  long  lived  here. 
The  inhabitants  of  Trastevere  are  as  tame  as  all  the  rest ;  as  ugly  as  all 
the  rest ;  they  all  steal  along  in  silence  and  melancholy ;  the  sound  of 
song  is  nowhere  heard.  I  have  not  seen  a  merry  face  since  I  have  been 
here. 

I  deeply  sympathize  in  what  you  tell  me  of  Gbschftn's  anxieties.  Oh  if 
it  were  but  possible  to  be  of  any  help  to  one's  friends  under  such  calami- 
ties ! 

ccxxv. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

ROM*,  7th  February,  1817. 

..... .To-day,  at  eight  o'clock,  begins  the  wild  buffoonery  of  the  Car- 
nival, to  us  a  melancholy  spectacle.  It  is  a  question  whether  even  the 
Romans  will  enact  it  with  any  real  gayety  of  heart.  Probably  they  did 
so  as  long  as  their  easy  life  still  resembled  that  of  children  in  the  holidays, 
but  all  merriment  is  strange  to  them  now.  A  people  of  utterly  vacant 
mind  is  capable  of  childish  enjoyment  as  long  as  it  has  outward  comforts, 
*  A  miserable  little  daily  paper  at  Borne. 


340  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHE. 

but  when  a  period  of  agitation  and  calamity  comes,  when  its  playthings 
are  broken,  and  it  has  to  go  hungry,  it  must  inevitably  become  heavy  and 
stupid.  The  difference  between  my  expectation  and  that  of  those  who 
had  seen  Rome  many  years  ago,  consisted  in  my  having  a  distinct  con- 
ception of  this  change.  There  is  scarcely  any  thing  more  repulsive  than 
a  fool  without  mirth.  I  can  well  understand  how  it  was  that  Nicolovius 
and  others,  in  the  gayety  of  their  own  youth,  should  have  delighted  in 
these  merry  fools.  They  should  come  and  see  them  now  !  Every  counte- 
nance is  careworn,  even  those  that  are  not  emaciated  by  hunger.  All  is 
so  changed  here,  that  even  the  far-famed  gesticulation  and  grimace  of  the 
Italians  have  almost  entirely  vanished.  The  people  are  kept  in  order  by 
the  iron  rigor  of  the  police ;  the  cavaletto — the  machine  on  which  those 
who  infringe  the  police  regulations  are  whipped — is  almost  permanent. 
You  certainly  hear  of  no  murders  committed  within  the  city,  and  it  may 
be,  that  when  a  people  is  condemned  to  live  in  such  an  indescribable  state 
of  physical  and  political  misery,  nothing  but  this  iron  discipline  can  enable 
us  of  the  upper  classes  to  live  in  safety.  But  what  a  state  of  things ! 
You  can  not  venture  to  go  where  this  coercion  can  not  also  reach,  and  in 
Tivoli,  a  highly  respectable  man  was  murdered,  a  few  weeks  ago,  in  his 
own  house  by  masked  robbers.  Latium.  on  the  other  side  of  Frascati  and 
Albano,  is  quite  inaccessible  to  me ;  and  yet  it  is  that  spot  which  would 
above  all  things  have  rendered  my  residence  here  valuable  to  my  History. 

Certainly  the  country  and  the  climate  are  beautiful.  The  fertility  of 
the  soil  is  inconceivable,  and  I  should  think  that  seven  jugers  might  well 
suffice  for  a  household.  But  the  'auk  soil  exhales  death,  and  even  the 
laborers  are  obliged  to  forsake  the  vineyards  in  summer.  This  has  beeh  a 
winter  such  as  can  scarcely  be  remembered,  so  mild  and  dry,  but  too  dry 
for  the  crops.  No  snow  at  all  has  fallen  in  the  city  ;  but  the  high  mount- 
ains in  the  Sabina  are  adorned  with  it.  That  snow  can  be  beautiful,  is 
incomprehensible  to  the  Romans,  e  pur  cosa  brutta.  By  this  time,  how- 
ever, it  is  melting  away.  In  the  gardens,  every  thing  is  sprouting  and 
growing  green,  as  it  does  with  us  in  the  end  of  April ;  and  it  is  as  warm  ; 
the  birds  are  singing  and  chirping.  It  is  said  that  in  Florence  the  dis- 
tress is  still  greater  than  with  us,  and  that  people  are  dying  of  hunger 
daily  hi  that  city 

The  editing  of  my  little  work  takes  up  a  great  deal  of  my  time.  The 
fragments  will  be  accompanied  by  an  introduction  and  notes,  besides  a 
long  essay.  I  possess  Latin  words  and  idioms  in  abundance,  and  of  the 
best  kind ;  the  language  is  like  a  living  one  to  me,  so  that  if  it  were  possi- 
ble for  the  old  Romans  to  rise  again,  in  a  few  months  I  could  speak  it  like 
a  native,  as  fluently  as  I  do  English ;  yet  I  am  not  safe  from  the  critics, 
for  I  know  how  liable  one  is,  even  in  a  modern  language,  to  commit  faults 
here  and  there,  which  those  who  are  watching  for  them  are  quite  able  to 
perceive,  even  when  they  are  by  no  means  masters  of  the  language  them- 
selves. Now  we  must  see  if  there  are  any  MSS.  of  a  different  kind  to  be 
found.  This  is  very  uncertain,  and  even  if  some  old  treasures  should  still 
exist  here,  the  hitting  upon  them  is  a  matter  of  chance,  and  a  good  many 
artifices  are  necessary  before  you  can  gain  access  to  them.  I  have  quite 
won  the  hearts  of  the  people  at  the  Library  :  I  have  earned  this  respect 
and  good-will  by  notices  of  a  few  of  their  detached  MSS.  The  worst  is, 
however,  that  what  I  seek  is  not  marked  in  any  catalogue,  but  can  only 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1817.  341 

be  discovered  by  personal  researches Gretcb.cn  is  too  ill  to  write  to 

you  herself. 

CCXXVI. 

TO  8AVIGNY. 

ROMK,  161A  February,  1817. 

The  old  Greeks  were  pretty  near  the  mark,  when  they  pictured 

our  coasts,  i.  t.  those  of  Italy,  as  the  land  of  Cimmerian  darkness,  and 
fabled  Apollo  as  wandering  between  Delphi  and  the  noble  Hyperboreans. 
It  has  already  come  to  this  with  me,  that  I  feel  I  am  growing  as  superfi- 
cial and  ignorant  as  a  modern  Italian,  and  look  up  to  all  that  you  could 
send  me  with  sorrowful  humility ;  the  genuine  native  Italians  would  in- 
deed have  to  look  up  to  it  from  the  depths ;  those  here,  I  mean,  for  whom 
I  always  feel  angry  that  there  is  no  other  name  than  the  shamefully  pro- 
faned one  of  Romans ;  for  the  old  men  at  Venice,  Bologna,  and  Florence 
said  indeed  with  bleeding  hearts,  that  all  was  over  with  their  nation  and 
their  literature,  and  that  their  departed  greatness  was  but  an  agonizing 
remembrance 

I  rejoice  in  your  plenitude  of  life,  which  is  such  an  utter  contrast  to  my 
stagnation.  But  I  will  pain  you  no  longer  by  speaking  of  this,  for  I  know 
that  your  love  for  your  absent  friend  remains  unchanged ;  I  know  how 
thoroughly  you  realize  my  present  situation,  and  how  deeply  you  sympa- 
thize with  me.  I  will  only  tell  you  about  myself  and  ail  of  us  what  will 
give  you  pleasure,  and  speak  of  you.  Your  traveler  delivered  your  packet 
faithfully,  and  it  is  long  since  any  thing  has  so  delighted  and  interested 
me.  I  give  you  special  thanks  on  my  own  account  for  your  masterly  essay 
on  the  advocates  of  legislative  novelties,  which  is  as  just  in  thought  as  it 
is  powerfully  written.  My  Cassandra-spirit  says  indeed,  Alas,  it  will  be 
of  no  avail !  We  are  absolutely  powerless  to  turn  the  broad  shallow  cur- 
rent of  the  spirit  of  the  age  into  a  deeper  channel.  But  it  is  in  itself  a 
noble  thing  to  sacrifice  yourself  by  unwearied  exertions ;  and  more  merito- 
rious to  scoop  out  in  the  mud  a  bed  for  the  stream,  than  to  sustain  a  sub- 
lime conflict  with  wild  torrents.  I  can  not.  help  thoughts  of  this  kind  ;  it 
is  not  because  my  own  little  barrel  runs  thick,  but  because  every  where 
things  are  on  the  lees,  that  I  despair  of  the  age  and  of  posterity.  Brandis 
will  suffer  no  censure  to  be  passed  on  the  generation  of  his  contemporaries  ; 
he  himself  and  Bunsen  have,  from  their  own  character,  a  right  to  chal- 
lenge respect  for  their  generation.  I  am  well  aware  too,  how  many  excel- 
lent young  men  you  and  I  have  come  in  contact  with,  and  my  dear  young 
artists  are  miles  above  those  who  have  hitherto  borne  the  name.  But  it 
is  not  only  true  of  the  legislation  of  states,  that  the  virtue  of  the  nation 
can  do  no  more  than  modify  the  errors  of  their  rulers ;  the  same  thing 
holds  good  also  with  regard  to  the  legislation  of  opinion  and  sentiment  in 
such  difficult  times.  If  the  road  were  but  in  some  measure  traced  out 
and  leveled  for  us,  oh  then  the  danger  would  not  be  so  urgent  1  But  no- 
thing is  further  from  the  fact ;  and  even  if  we  were  willing  to  allow  that 
our  country  is  richer  in  young  men  of  ability  and  moral  worth,  now  that 
our  poetical  age  is  over,  than  in  the  times  of  our  fathers,  our  hopes  for 
the  future  would  not  be  thereby  assured,  if,  as  is  undeniable,  the  problem 
of  this  generation  is  a  hundred  times  more  difficult  of  solution.  We  want 
a  new  creation,  and  in  what  respect  are  we  prepared  for  this  work  ?  I 


342  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

see  the  Jacobinical  spirit  that  pervades  our  political  writings,  and,  at  the 
same  time  I  know  for  certain  that  thousands  of  our  youths,  without  any 
bad  intentions,  never  see  any  thing  else.  It  is  one  of  my  troubles  here, 
that  I  see  nothing  but  the  "Allgemeine  Zeitung;"  some  German  paper  is 
a  mental  aliment  I  can  not  deny  myself;  but  this  is  bread  from  which 
you  are  obliged  to  scrap  off  the  dirt.  Does  not  the  most  senseless  West- 
phalian  and  Rhine-league  spirit  display  itself  in  the  most  arrogant  manner 
in  that  journal,  especially  in  all  that  relates  to  France  ?  I  take  a  great 
interest  in  the  proceedings  in  France ;  I  read  the  "  Journal  des  Debats" 
from  beginning  to  end  every  post-day,  though  there  is  not  a  creature  here 
(except  the  French  embassador)  with  whom  I  can  talk  of  it.  I  do  not 
wish  to  rate  these  proceedings  too  highly,  but  in  my  opinion  it  is  saying  a 
great  deal  too  little  in  their  favor,  to  pronounce  that  we  should  manage 
things  much  worse  in  Germany.  But  this  by  the  way.  There  we  have 
a  ministry  which  I  rate  incomparably  above  any  other  in  Europe,  in  point 
of  intelligence,  ability,  and  good  intentions ;  a  ministry  honestly  attached 
to  the  throne  and  to  freedom ;  supported  by  a  party  adverse  to  all  revolu- 
tions ;  opposed  by  a  party  who  find  themselves  exactly  in  the  position  of 
the  Tories  under  George  I.  and  George  II. — a  faction  whose  heart  is  set 
upon  a  counter  revolution  which  can  not  take  place,  and  who  therefore 
constitute  the  most  wholesome  check  possible  upon  all  really  revolutionary 
tende'ncies. 

With  regard  to  the  cause  of  which  you  are  the  only  true  advocate,  I  have 
heard  from  Bunsen,  and  see  with  my  own  eyes,  that  the  opposite  party  have 
an  enormous  majority.  This  is  the  case  here  too.  A  new  code  is  to  be 
drawn  up.  The  French  had  annulled  all  the  municipal  constitutions.  It 
must  be  confessed  their  diversity  was  carried  to  a  great  extent.  Morelli, 
who  made  a  collection  of  them  in  the  library  of  St.  Mark,  brought  together 
more  than  three  hundred,  and  many  were  still  wanting.  Almost  every  city 
had  gradually  formed  its  own  civil  law,  and  this  may  partially  explain  the 
great  rarity  of  MSS.  of  the  Justinian  Code.  These  repealed  constitutions  are 
to  remain  repealed,  and  the  fundamental  decree  for  the  Papal  States,  of  the 
6th  of  July  in  last  year,  promises  a  new  three-fold  code  of  laws,  while  there 
is  beyond  a  question  infinitely  less  capability  for  such  a  work  here  even 
than  in  Germany ;  in  fact,  absolute  incapacity  with  no  individual  excep- 
tions. In  the  mean  time,  some  general  principles  are  promulgated. 
"What  serves  as  the  standard  of  law  in  the  meantime?"  I  asked  the  pres- 
ident of  a  High  Court  of  Appeal.  "That  is  a  great  difficulty  certainly," 
he  replied;  "the  old  Roman  Code  in  two  thick  volumes  forse  lo  conosce?" 
— An  advocate  sighed  yet  more  deeply  :  "  un  libro  grosso  cosi !  bisogna, 
facchini  per  portarlo,  he,  he,  he !"  This  advocate  has  composed  a  prelim- 
inary treatise  on  criminal  law,  which  is  by  itself  three  inches  thick  ;  for  the 
Italians,  with  their  utterly  vacant  minds,  delight  in  native  and  foreign 
verbiage  without  ideas.  Only  a  pregnant  solid  style  is  distasteful  to  them. 
He  completely  proves  his  vocation  according  to  one  of  the  criteria  which 
you  lay  down,  namely,  he  speaks  in  a  pamphlet  of  the  barbarity  of  the  old 
Roman  laws  on  debt.  These  belonged  to  the  jus  prcetoriale  which  was  the 
work  of  capricrio.  .  Even  the  Twelve  Tables  did  not  alleviate  the  barbarity 
of  the  abominable  jus  prcetoriale.  Appius  Claudius,  the  decemvir,  was 
himself  a  praBtor,  and  there  lies  the  root  of  the  matter.  • 

We  are  very  grateful  to  you  for  Goethe's  Life.     It  no  longer,  indeed,  re- 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1817.  343 

veals  to  as  the  golden  and  silver  ages  described  in  the  first  volume,  but  a 
very  iron  age,  where  even  his  joys  and  delights  are  a  fit  of  intoxication, 
which  the  spectator  neither  can,  nor  desires  to  share ;  a  strange,  to  me  for 
the  most  part  incomprehensible  kind  of  delirium,  in  which  he  often  neglects 
what  is  most  glorious ;  and  what  does  he  not  admire  ?  In  many  respects 
he  was  doubtless  infected  by  the  spirit  of  his  age,  and  in  this  way  his 
mention  of  the  Gallery  of  the  Caracci  in  the  Farnese  palace,  of  the  Bolognese 
school  in  general,  and  even  of  the  St.  Petronilla  of  Guercino,  must  be  ex- 
plained. I  remember  taking  pleasure  myself  in  Guercino,  and  even  in 
Guido,  but  my  liking  for  them  had  passed  away  before  I  could  venture  to 
express  an  opinion  on  such  subjects.  Our  friends  here  are  orthodox.  But 
I  could  never  have  spoken  coldly  of  Francesco  Francia,  and  at  the  same 
time  enthusiastically  of  Domenichino.  The  modern  Bolognese  themselves 
are,  indeed,  just  the  same.  The  Canon  Schiassi  was  obliging  enough  to 
take  me  into  chapels  not  generally  visited,  where  wonderful  master-pieces 
of  Francia  lie  forgotten,  but  he  smiled  at  my  Transalpine  folly.  It  seems 
to  me  to  be  the  same  with  Goethe  himself  as  with  many  others,  who  affect 
connoisseurship  on  subjects  for  which  all  true  feeling  is  denied  them.  I  am 
inclined  to  think  that  Goethe  is  utterly  destitute  of  susceptibility  to  im- 
pressions from  the  fine  arts  ;  that  is,  that  he  has  no  inward,  native  insight, 
which  reveals  to  him  what  is  really  beautiful  independently  of  the  taita  of 
the  age,  still  less  in  opposition  to  it ;  or  if  he  ever  possessed  this  gift  as  « 
young  man  at  Strasburg,  he  lost  it  during  the  unhappy  period — passed  over 
without  notice  in  his  narrative— of  his  court  life  at  Weimar,  before  his 
Italian  journey,  and  has  never  recovered  it ;  witness  his  "  Winckelmann 
and  his  Century,"  "  Hackert's  Life,"  the  "Propylsea,"  the  "^Esthetic 
Problems"  and  "  Essays  on  Art"  in  the  "  Litteratur-Zeitung,"  not  to  speak 
of  his  "  Rhein  und  Main."  This  is  one  thing ;  another  is,  the  whole  tone 
of  his  mind  during  his  travels  and  residence  in  Italy,  which  is  most  remark- 
able, and  would  alone  have  rendered  this  description  of  his  journey  more  in- 
teresting to  us  than  any  thing  else  you  could  have  sent  us ;  but  is  it  not 
enough  to  make  one  weep  ?  To  treat  a  whole  nation  and  a  whole  country 
simply  as  a  means  of  recreation  for  one's  self ;  to  see  nothing  in  the  wide 
world  and  nature,  but  the  innumerable  trappings  and  decorations  of  one's 
own  miserable  life ;  to  survey  all  moral  and  intellectual  greatness,  all  that 
speaks  to  the  heart,  where  it  still  exists,  with  an  air  of  patronizing  superi- 
ority ;  or,  where  it  has  been  crushed  and  overpowered  by  folly  and  corrup- 
tion to  find  amusement  in  the  comic  side  of  the  latter — is  to  me  absolutely 
revolting ;  perhaps  more  so  to  me  personally,  than  I  can  reasonably  expect 
it  to  be  to  others,  but  I  think  it  ought  to  excite  sentiments  similar  in  kind, 
if  not  in  degree,  in  every  breast.  I  am  well  aware  that  I  go  into  the  oppo- 
site extreme ;  that  my  politico-historical  turn  of  mind  can  find  full  satisfac- 
tion in  things  for  which  Goethe  has  no  taste,  and  that  I  could  live  content- 
edly without  feeling  the  want  of  art,  not  only  amidst  the  glorious  scenery 
of  the  Tyrol,  but  on  moor  or  heath,  where  I  was  surrounded  by  a  free 
peasantry,  who  had  a  history.  But  troth,  though  it  always  lies  between 
two  extremes,  does  not  always  lie  in  the  middle.  Goethe  too,  in  his  early 
life,  belonged  rather  to  the  Rome  of  the  fifth  century  of  the  city  than  to  that 
of  the  Caesars— rather  to  the  Florence  of  Dante  and  Boccaccio  than  to  that 
of  Ferdinand  the  Third — rather  to  the  Germany  of  Luther  and  Durer  than 
to  that  of  the  eighteenth  century — nay,  he  belonged  wholly  to  the  earlier 


344  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

period  when  he  wrote  "Faust"  and  "Gotz,"  and  his  Songs.  What  evil 
genius  inspired  him  with  the  notion  of  doing  justice  to  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury as  well  ?  From  these  "  Travels  in  Italy"  sprang  the  "  Grosscophta" 
and  those  other  productions,  in  which  all  that  was  holy  and  great  in  his 
nature  is  shrouded  from  view.  To  return  to  the  question,  I  maintain,  that 
it  is  absolutely  impossible  for  a  genuine  and  correct  taste  for  art  to  exist 
apart  from  historical  feeling,  because  the  arts  are  inseparable;  that  histor- 
ical feeling  will  manifest  itself  wherever  there  is  a  true  taste  for  art,  without 
any  erudition,  as  is  the  case,  for  instance,  with  Cornelius ;  that  even  Carlo 
Maratta  and  Mengs  are  not  without  relative  beauties,  corresponding  to  the 
times  in  which  they  lived ;  only  they  possess  no  intrinsic  value,  and  form 
part  of  an  absolutely  bad  whole.  Were  I  still  "  qualis  Przeneste  sub  alta," 
I  would  say  much  more  on  this  topic. 

When  I  recall  the  enthusiasm  of  Nicolovius  for  Italy,  and  compare  it 
with  the  delirium  of  this  book,  how  wide  is  the  interval  between  the  two  ! 
I  think  that  Nicolovius  saw  much  in  too  fair  a  light,  but  the  earth  and  the 
sky  enchanted  him,  and  he  delighted  to  his  very  heart  in  the  naivete  of  the 
people,  which  at  that  time  had  not  yet  ceased  to  exist ;  he  was  sincerely 
in  love  with  all  around  him. 

Goethe  likes  Venice ;  yet,  in  the  procession  of  the  Doge  and  the  Senate, 
he  sees — not  the  image  of  her  ancient  grandeur,  of  her  countless  great  and 
wise  men,  but  simply  a  theatrical  spectacle.  But,  throughout,  it  is  curious 
to  remark,  how  he  generally  leaves  the  finest  objects  unvisited,  or  if  he  sees 
them,  only  places  them  in  the  second  rank.  Thus  at  Padua,  for  instance, 
he  has  not  seen  the  Chapel  of  the  Annunziata,  where  you  ought  to  linger 
for  whole  days,  but  is  highly  pleased  with  the  wide,  marshy  Piazza  della 
Valle,  garnished  with  statues  so  miserable,  that  they  might  have  stood  in 
St.  Peter's ;  at  Venice,  he  does  not  see  San  Giovanni  e  Paolo,  which  con- 
tains Vivarini's  master-pieces,  and  the  tombs  of  the  heroes,  with  inscriptions 
that  speak  to  the  inmost  heart,  nor  yet  the  urn  of  the  general  who  was 
flayed  in  Candia ;  nor  San  Giobbe,  which  was  then  standing  in  all  its  glory. 
But  altogether,  how  incredibly  little  he  has  seen  in  Venice,  can  only  be  ap- 
preciated by  one  who  has  been  there  himself.  Yet,  even  those  who  have 
had  this  privilege,  will  be  disappointed  to  hear  nothing  of  the  Ducal  Palace, 
and  the  true  marvels  of  the  Place  of  St.  Mark.  Of  Florence  I  will  say  no- 
thing, not  even  wonder  how  any  one  could  hasten  through  it  in  such  a  way, 
nor  yet  of  his  omitting  to  see  the  water-fall  of  Terni.  I  say  all  this  merely 
to  prove  my  assertion  that  he  has  beheld  without  love. 

Italy  was  then  quite  another  country ;  now  she  is  despoiled  and  sick. 
I  can  enter  into  the  feelings  of  those  who  saw  her,  when  they  were  not 
made  miserable  by  the  sight  of  mortal  anguish,  of  wounds  that  can  not 
heal.  I,  had  I  seen  her  then,  would  doubtless  have  shared  the  transports 
of  those  who  did  behold  her  in  the  gladness  of  their  youth ;  though  even 
then  my  transport  would  have  been  mingled  with  sadness 

I  broke  off  on  the  previous  page,  having  continued  my  letter  yesterday 
(17th).  I  broke  off,  because  the  merriment  of  our  assembled  friends  was 
resounding  from  Brandis's  room,  and  we  did  not  want  to  shorten  our  even- 
ing unnecessarily.  Cornelius  of  Dusseldorf,  Platner  from  Leipzig,  Koch 
from  the  Tyrol,  Overbeck  from  Liibec,  Moseler  from  Coblentz,  and  Will- 
iam Schadow  from  Berlin,  were  assembled  in  Brandis's  apartment  with 
Bunsen.  In  different  ways  and  degrees  we  are  attached  to  them  all,  and 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1817.  345 

think  them  all  men  of  talent.  Their  society  is  the  only  pleasure  wo  derive 
from  human  beings  here,  and  they  have  already  performed  much  in  their 
art,  and  promise  more  for  the  future.  I  believe  confidently  that  we  are  on 
the  eve  of  a  new  era  of  art  in  Germany,  similar  to  the  sudden  bloom  of 
our  literature  in  the  eighteenth  century ;  and  that  it  only  need*  a  little 
encouragement  on  the  part  of  our  governments  to  render  us  the  participants 
of  this  beautiful  development.  Cornelius  and  Platner  are,  strictly  speak- 
ing, intimate  family  friends,  and  so  are  their  wives.  Roman  women,  of 
the  good  burgher  class,  are  great  favorites  with  Gretchen.  The  women  of 
this  class  are  here  incomparably  superior  to  the  men,  just  because  they 
have  a  natural  vocation,  and  show  great  zeal  in  fulfilling  its  duties ;  these 
two  are  agreeable  and  sincerely  kind-hearted.  Mrs.  Platner  is  very  like 
Mrs.  Reimer,  which  is  a  great  recommendation  to  us.  Next  to  these,  Koch 
and  Moaeler  are  our  most  intimate  friend*. 

In  the  morning  I  had  been  to  Cornelius  and  William  Schadow  with  the 
joyful  intelligence  that  Schukman's  letter  gave  hopes  of  the  fulfillment  of 
their  ardent  wish  to  paint  the  interior  of  a  church.  If  this  should  be  brought 
to  pass,  it  is  indispensable  that  their  labors  should  be  shared  by  their  insep- 
arable friend,  Overbeck,  for  both  of  them  do  homage  to  his  genius,  and  re- 
gard him  as  the  highest  artist  among  their  contemporaries.  For  my  own 
part,  1  must  confess  that  the  genius  of  Cornelius  appears  to  me  even  su- 
perior in  fertility,  while  his  power  of  drawing  is  certainly  more  wonderful. 
My  good  news  has  set  them  all  in  motion,  and  they  came  to  spend  a  merry 
evening  with  us.  They  were  followed  by  their  friend  and  fellow  artist, 
Ruschweyh,  from  Mecklenburg,  the  eminent  engraver,  who  is  likewise  a 
very  intelligent  and  estimable  man. 

We  were  all  in  high  spirits,  and  amused  ourselves  with  making  fun  of 
Platner,  who  has  something  of  the  Leipzig  politeness  still  about  him,  which 
we  are  determined  to  dispel  by  fair  means  or  foul,  and  he  is  therefore  un- 
dergoing a  regular  course  of  strict  moral  diet,  and  is  carefully  watched  if 
the  least  symptom  of  his  old  complaint  betrays  itself.  Koch,  who  has  a 
most  thorough  enjoyment  of  life,  was  chuckling  with  delight  over  a  some- 
what coarse  allegorical  representation  of  our  ministerial  and  government 
politics,  which  he  had  introduced,  after  the  manner  of  Shakspeare's  comic 
scenes,  above,  in  the  foreground  of  a  picture  of  Hofer  setting  out  on  his 
enterprise,  which  he  is  painting  for  the  Minister  Stein.  In  one  part  a  hiss- 
ing snake  wsjs  darting  on  the  Tyrolese— "  That  means  the  traitors  who 
robbed  the  country  of  its  freedom  at  Vienna."  Then  there  are  frogs  decor- 
ated with  orders,  and  a  centipede,  which  is  his  particular  favorite — "  Those 
are  the  useless  government  officers."  In  one  corner  of  the  foreground  lies 
the  jaw-bone  of  an  ass — "  That  is  for  me  to  fight  the  Philistines  with." 
After  looking  at  this,  we  went  on  with  our  reading,  where  we  had  broken 
off.  Koch  always  falls  asleep  over  the  reading,  unless  it  ia  something  to 
make  one's  hair  stand  on  end ;  so  he  slept  quietly  in  the  corner  of  the 
sofa.  When  we  came  to  the  passage,  where  Goethe  describes  how  the 
dead  are  summoned  forth  after  the  curtain  has  fallen,  Cornelius  called  to 
him — "  Koch,  the  curtains  have  fallen  with  yon  too !"  He  started,  and 
rubbed  his  eyes — "What  is  the  matter?" 

Cornelius  is  a  most  thorough  enthusiast  for  Goethe,  perhaps  none  more 
•o ;  at  least  no  man  has  owed  so  much  of  his  inspiration  to  Goethe.  He 
has  a  warm  heart,  and  a  fertile  and  profound  intellect.  At  every  spirited, 

p* 


346  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

life-like  description,  his  face  lighted  up  with  pleasure,  but  directly  that  was 
over,  resumed  its  expression  of  sadness  and  regret.  The  passage  about  the 
gondolier  songs  found  an  echo  in  all  our  hearts  and  from  every  mouth. 
But  when  we  closed  the  book  for  the  night,  and  we  men  still  stood  talking 
it  over  after  Gretchen  had  gone  to  bed,  before  we  sat  down  to  our  frugal 
supper,  he  broke  silence  to  say,  how  deeply  it  grieved  him  that  Goethe 
should  have  looked  on  Italy  thus ;  that  either  his  heart  must  have  been 
pulseless  during  that  period — that  rich  warm  heart  must  have  been  frozen 
Up — or  else  he  must  have  instantly  stifled  all  emotion,  so  completely  to 
keep  himself  aloof  from  the  sublime,  so  completely  to  divest  himself  of  re- 
spect for  the  venerable.  As  for  Palladio,  we  were  all  agreed  that  those 
of  our  party  who  had  been  in  Venice,  had  neither  at  Vicenza,  nor  at  St. 
Justina  at  Padua,  nor  in  San  Giorgio  and  the  other  churches  built  by  him 
in  Venice,  seen  any  thing  that  we  could  call  chaste  and  really  beautiful, 
and  that  it  was  quite  inconceivable  how  he,  who  had  been  the  first  to  do 
honor  to  the  manes  of  Erwin  von  Steinbach — he,  who  had  probably  directly 
or  indirectly  reawakened  in  all  our  souls  the  sense  of  the  beautiful,  should 
have  seen  in  the  works  of  Palladio  sublime  antiques,  and  never  so  much 
as  named  the  Cathedral  of  Ratisbon ;  that  the  cause  of  this  phenomenon 
must  perhaps  be  sought  in  an  unfortunate  mood,  and  obstinate  steeling  of 
his  heart  against  the  sense  of  power  in  the  works  of  others,  in  order  proudly 
to  hold  every  thing  he  saw,  as  it  were,  in  his  grasp— to  treat  it  as  his 
absolute  property,  and  to  depreciate  it  when  it  pleased  him ;  and  we  all 
lifted  up  our  voices  and  lamented  over  that  fatal  court  life  at  Weimar 
where  Samson  was  shorn  of  his  locks. 

All,  however,  will  allow  that  very  many  things  must  make  an  entirely 
opposite  impression  according  as  they  are  read  on  this  or  the  other  side  of 
the  Alps ;  and  hence  also,  we  trust  that  our  friends  will  allow  themselves 
to  believe,  that  if  they,  like  us,  had  seen  the  objects  he  describes  with 
their  own  eyes,  they  might  regard  in  the  same  light  as  we  do,  those  de- 
tached points  which  they  now  see  with  the  eyes  of  this  magical  writer, 
whose  very  brilliancy  (and  this  is  what  gives  the  edge  to  our  sorrow)  prob- 
ably conceals  something  from  their  view. 

To  one  whose  views  always  rest  upon  an  essentially  historical  basis, 
Goethe  and  his  works  are  so  entirely  a  part  of  history,  that  every  detail 
which  helps  to  throw  light  upon  his  own  personal  history,  whether  painful, 
or  inspiriting  like  the  story  of  his  youth,  is  in  the  highest  decree  interest- 
ing. Do  not  therefore  call  me  a  renegade,  dear  Savigny ;  I  have  not  for- 
given him  Sesenheim  either :  but  if  you  read  parts  of  this  letter  to  any  of 
my  friends,  for  all  of  whom  it  is  intended,  take  great  care  what  you  say 
to  our  friend  Madame  Goschen  lest  she  should  be  angry  with  me. 

. !. . .  .  .  The  artists  in  Rome  are  divided,  by  a  broad  line  of  demarkation, 
into  two  parties,  the  one  consisting  of  our  friends  and  their  adherents,  the 
other  of  the  united  phalanx  of  those  who  sit  around  the  burning  bush  on 
the  Blocksberg.  At  their  head  stand  the  R.,*  fellows  who  know  the 
world,  who  ingratiate  themselves  with  the  foreigners,  and  to  whom  our 
academical  colleague,  Goliath,"!"  pays  all  respect.  This  set  intrigue,  and 
lie,  and  backbite ;  they  intend  there  shall  not  be  light,  come  what  will. 
The  former  are  exemplary  in  their  life  :  the  latter  display  the  old  licentious- 
ness which  characterized  the  German  artists  at  Rome  thirty  years  ago. 
*  Riepenhaasens.  t  Hirt. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1817.  347 

Happily,  at  the  present  moment,  the  more  talented  of  the  new-comers 
range  themselves  on  the  side  of  the  former ;  the  latter,  too,  are  not  want- 
ing in  recruits.  It  is  significant,  however,  that  some  foreigners,  and  even 
Italians,  are  beginning  to  pay  attention  to  the  works  of  our  friends.  The 
Maichese  Maasimi  has  commissioned  Cornelius  and  Overbeck  to  paint  two 
apartment*  in  a  villa,  and  will  pay  them  handsomely.  Cornelias  means 
to  paint  a  series  of  subjects  from  Dante — Overbeck  from  Tasso. 

I  shall  cost  you  a  good  deal  in  postage,  dear  Savigny,  hat  I  will 

make  amends  for  it  by  sending  you  essays  from  time  to  time  for  your 
journal.* 

With  regard  to  myself,  I  have  often  had  thoughts  of  death  this  winter, 
and  Gretchen  too,  I  think.  Brandis  still  more  frequently  for  me.  I  have 
no  strength  at  all,  and  have  grown  excessively  thin ;  my  memory  has  suf- 
fered much,  which  is  natural  when  you  have  ceased  to  take  a  hearty  pleas- 
ure in  any  thing.  Only  what  the  mind  drinks  in  with  eagerness  becomes 
thoroughly  our  own,  so  as  to  form  part  of  our  life.  God  help  us ! 

The  carnival  mountebanks  are  bellowing  under  our  window,  though  it  is 
a  little  retired  street.  I  have  only  once  gone  to  see  the  horse-racing, 
where  the  barbarity  with  which  the  horses  are  treated  is  revolting,  and 
there  is  "nothing  to  be  seen  but  a  horse  which  springs  from  his  master  and 
rushes  wildly  away.  The  masks  are  a  wretched  buffoonery ;  dnli  carica- 
tures ;  wit  is  nowhere  to  be  seen  or  heard.  Of  course  we  have  not  once 
attended  the  masked  balls. 

We  have  taken  a  house  to  ourselves  from  the  1st  of  June.  It  is  a  very 
beautiful  place.  Houses  are  the  only  cheap  article  in  this  terribly,  incred- 
ibly dear  city;  where,  moreover,  the  prices  of  every  thing  required  in  house- 
keeping have  risen  one-third  since  our  arrival.  For  fifteen  rooms  on  the 
ground  floor,  most  of  them  large,  besides  bedrooms,  and  six  above,  we  are 
only  to  pay  300  scudi,  about  440  dollars  Prussian  currency ;  in  addition, 
to  these,  there  are  a  coach-house  and  stables  and  a  lovely  garden.  Nico- 
lovius  will  remember  the  theatre  of  Marcellus,  in  which  the  Savelli  family 
built  a  palace.  My  house  is  the  half  of  it.  It  has  stood  empty  a  consid- 
erable time,  because  the  drive  into  the  court-yard  (the  interior  of  the  an- 
cient theatre)  rises  like  the  slope  of  a  mountain  upon  the  heaps  of  rubbish  ; 
although  the  road  has  been  cut  in  a  zig-zag,  it  it  still  a  break-neck  affair. 
There  is  another  entrance  from  the  Piazza  Montenara,  where  a  flight  of 
seventy-three  steps  leads  up  to  the  same  story  I  have  mentioned ;  the  en- 
trance hall  of  which  is  on  a  level  with  the  top  of  the  carriage  way  through 
the  court-yard.  The  apartments  in  which  we  shall  live,  are  those  over 
the  colonnade  of  Ionic  pillars  forming  the  third  story  of  the  ancient  theatre, 
and  some,  on  a  level  with  them,  which  have  been  built  out  like  wings  on 
the  rubbish  of  the  ruins.  These  inclose  a  little  quadrangular  garden,  which 
is  indeed  very  small,  only  about  eighty  or  ninety  feet  long,  and  scarcely 
so  broad,  but  so  delightful !  It  contains  three  fountains — an  abundance 
of-  flowers ;  there  are  orange  trees  on  the  walls  between  the  windows,  jes- 
samine under  the  windows.  We  mean  to  plant  a  vine  besides.  From 
this  story,  you  ascend  forty  steps,  or  more,  higher,  where  I  mean  to  have 
my  own  study,  and  there  are  most  cheerful  little  rooms,  from  which  yon 
have  a  prospect  over  the  whole  country  beyond  the  Tiber,  Monte  Mario, 
and  St.  Peter's,  and  can  see  over  San  Pietro  in  Montorio,  indeed  almost  aa 
•  Zeitschrift  fur  hUtorische  Reclitawusentchaft. 


348  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHE. 

far  as  the  Aventine.  It  would,  I  think,  be  possible  besides  to  erect  a  log- 
gia upon  the  roof  (for  which  I  shall  save  money  from  other  things),  that 
we  may  have  a  view  over  the  Capitol,  Forum,  Palatine,  Colosseum,  and 
all  the  inhabited  parts  of  the  city.  You  may  fancy  the  immense  height 
of  the  walls  of  the  old  theatre,  when  I  tell  you  that  it  lies  in  the  valley 
between  the  Capitol  and  the  island.  You  see,  dear  friend,  that  there  is 
plenty  of  room  for  you,  according  to  our  promise,  if  you  will  keep  your 
promise  of  paying  us  a  visit.  I  am  quite  delighted  with  this  dwelling, 
though  I  had  some  scruples  in  hiring  it,  on  account  of  the  great  expense 
of  furniture,  and  the  probability  that  my  life  may  not  be  of  long  duration. 
We  are  all  lenging  to  remove  into  it ;  but  my  wife  must  have  quite  recov- 
ered her  strength  before  she  can  look  after  the  necessary  arrangements,  for 
which  I  should  be  absolutely  unfit.  Gretchen  is  very  clever  in  beating 
down  and  bargaining  with  these  people,  who  overcharge  their  customers 
shamefully.  She  can  converse  with  them  about  all  the  things  of  daily 
life,  which  I  am  utterly  unable  to  do. 

It  is  time  to  turn  now  to  our  literary  business 

My  constant  indisposition  has  hitherto  prevented  me  from  putting  the 
finishing  strokes  to  the  manuscript  of  my  inedita.  I  have  been  obliged  to 
supply  many  passages,  which  have  been  cut  out  of  the  fragment  of  the  Ra- 
biriana — I  hope  with  success — one  passage  only  is  doubtful.  To  the  Fon- 
teiana,  I  have  subjoined  the  evidences  of  the  Romans  having  used  double 
entry  in  book-keeping 

And  now,  as  the  Italians  say,  voglio  levarli  I 'incommodo  !  that  is  to  say. 
I  take  my  leave  of  you.  What  a  monster  of  a  letter  !  Best  love  from  ua 
both  to  you  and  your  wife.  Remember  me  to  all  my  friends ;  it  is  need- 
less to  name  them.  Give  my  special  thanks  to  Roeder  for  his  letter,  which 
I  shall  answer  shortly.  Farewell ! 

CCXXVII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

ROME,  8th  Marcli,  1817. 

The  day  before  yesterday  was  one  of  my  Milly's  festivals,  which 

she  never  neglected  to  celebrate.  It  was  the  day  on  which  I  visited  her 
and  your  parents  from  Meldorf,  before  I  went  to  Copenhagen.  It  was  in- 
deed a  happy  day.  How  inexpressibly  happy  I  was  at  that  period,  how 
cradled  in  the  lap  of  fortune !  I  clung  with  such  warm,  unreserved  at- 
tachment to  you  and  your  family,  and  your  friends.  Your  father  received 
me  so  kindly,  Milly  with  such  frank  sweetness  :  I  was  so  light-hearted, 
was  conscious  of  all  my  powers,  looked  out  into  the  world  with  curiosity 
and  bright  expectations.  The  day  before  yesterday  was  a  very  lovely  day 
here  ^  the  almond-trees  are  in  full  bloom,  and  the  peach-blossom  is  out ; 
with  the  violets,  which  have  been  plentiful  ever  since  December,  you  can 
now  pluck  hyacinths  in  the  deserted  gardens  ; — the  air  is  like  summer. 
On  that  day,  the  earth  was  covered  with  frozen  snow  ;  and  though  the  sun 
shone  clear,  there  was  an  icy  wind ;  but  what  has  north  or  south  to  do  in 
the  least  with  real  happiness  or  even  cheerfulness  ? 

I  expected  not  to  see  Schonborn  again.  There,  too,  has  a  fine  character 
been  rendered  almost  useless  by  the  force  of  circumstances;  there  was  more 
in  the  heart  of  the  tree  than  ever  appeared  in  its  foliage  and  blossoms.  . .  . 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1817.  349 

CCXXVIII. 

ROME,  Zd  April,  1817. 

The  trial  is  over,  and  a  fine  and  healthy  little  boy  is  born  to  us ;  but  it 
lias  been  a  terrible  trial 

The  boy  weighs  nearly  nine  German  pounds,  is  fat  and  large,  has  red 
cheeks,  yellow  hair,  and  blue  eyes.  How  Gretchen  rejoices  in  the  posses* 
sion  of  her  darling  child,  after  all  her  sufferings,  you  can  well  imagine. 
She  is  very  much  exhausted,  but  very  happy.  She  sends  you  a  thousand 
kisses.  She  received  and  read  your  welcome  letter  during  her  two-and- 
thirty  hours  of  suffering.  Her  patience  was  indescribable.  In  my  terrible 
anxiety  I  prayed  most  earnestly,  and  entreated  my  Milly,  too,  for  help.  I 
comforted  Gretchen  with  telling  her  that  Milly  would  send  help.  When 
she  was  at  the  worst,  and  she  leant  her  weary  head  against  me,  almost 
dying,  she  sighed  out — "  Oh,  can  not  Amelia  send  me  a  blessing  ?" 

I  have  already  told  you  what  our  boy's  name  is  to  be ;  but  he  shall  have 
a  Roman  one  in  addition,  either  Marcus  or  Lucius,  by  which  he  will  be  called. 
You  have  the  first  claim  to  be  his  sponsor ;  Behrens  is  one  of  course,  Savigny 
— his  guardian  if  I  die — likewise,  and  Nicolovius.  Should  Playfair  return, 
we  shall  beg  him  to  perform  the  ceremony  of  baptism,  as  he  was  formerly 
a  clergyman. 

I  had  so  much  to  say  to  you  on  this  occasion  from  the  very  depths  of 
my  heart,  but  I  am  not  calm  enough.  Besides,  I  am  ^uite  exhausted  by 
sleepless  -nights,  anxiety,  and  fatigue.  Your  heart  will  tell  you  all.  I  can 
not  say  any  thing  in  answer  to  your  letter  to-day.  You  shall  have  tidings 
of  us  punctually. 

Farewell.     Give  our  love  and  the  news  to  all  our  friends. 

CCXXIX. 

30th  April. 

I  was  absolutely  unable  to  write  to  you  on  the  last  post-day. 

The  child  is  full  of  health ;  he  looks  briskly  about  him,  and  already  be- 
gins to  take  notice.  1  can  handle  it  very  well ;  and  it  becomes  quiet  with 
me  directly. 

I  am  thinking  a  great  deal  about  his  education.  I  told  you,  a  little 
while  ago,  how  I  intended  to  teach  him  the  ancient  languages  very  early, 
by  practice.  I  wish  the  child  to  believe  all  that  is  told  him  ;  and  I  now 
think  you  right  in  an  assertion,  which  I  have  formerly  disputed,  that  it  is 
better  to  tell  children  no  tales,  but  to  keep  to  the  poets.  But  while  I  shall 
repeat  and  read  the  old  poets  to  him  in  such  a  way,  that  he  will  undoubt- 
ingly  take  the  gods  and  heroes  for  historical  beings,  I  shall  tell  him,  at  the 
same  time,  that  the  ancients  had  only  an  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  true 
God,  and  that  these  gods  were  overthrown  when  Christ  came  into  the 
world.  He  shall  believe  in  the  letter  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  and 
I  shall  nurture  in  him,  from  his  infancy,  a  firm  faith  in  all  that  I  have  lost, 
or  feel  uncertain  about.  He  shall  learn  to  perceive  and  to  observe,  and 
thus  grow  familiar  with  Nature,  and  nourish  his  imagination. 

ccxxx. 

ROMK,  18th  May,  1817. 

Gretchen  still  does  not  gain  ground  as  I  could  wish,  and  my 

everlasting  feverish  colds  are  continually  returning. 


350  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

On  Friday,  the  baby  was  christened  by  the  name  I  told  you.  I  stood 
proxy  for  you,  Brandis,  Bunsen,  Plainer,  Cornelius,  Schadow,  and  Overbeck, 
for  Savigny,  Behrens,  Jacobi,  Schon,  and  Nicolovius.  Madame  Von  Pobn- 
heim  was  his  other  godmother.  An  English  clergyman  performed  the  cer- 
emony according  to  the  solemn  ritual  of  the  Established  Church.  I  was 
deeply  affected,  and  repeated  the  TOWS  for  my  child  with  my  whole  heart. 
Even  the  Catholics  who  were  present  could  not  help  confessing  the  sub- 
limity of  this  liturgy.  The  baptism  was  followed  by  a  prayer  for  and  with 
the  mother,  which  is  repeated  kneeling.  I  held  the  child  in  your  name. 

He  is  coming  on  famously.  It  often  gives  me  a  melancholy  feeling, 
when  in  the  evening  he  stretches  out  his  arms  toward  the  light,  and 
makes  us  carry  him  to  the  window,  where  he  gazes  up  into  the  sky  with 
a  fixed,  bright,  serious  look ;  then  the  recollection  comes  over  me,  of  how 
Milly,  too,  gazed  up  into  the  sky  the  last  time  that  we  took  her  out.  I 
thank  Heaven  that  I  can  at  least  shed  tears  over  this  remembrance. 

With  my  old  friend,  Playfair,  I  have  renewed  the  times  of  my  youth, 
and  am  glad  to  find  that  there  are  some  in  Scotland  who  still  retain  an 
affectionate  remembrance  of  me.  The  dear  old  man  and  I  parted  with 
heavy  hearts.  The  Marquis  of  Lansdowne  regrets  that  I  am  not  embas- 
sador  in  London.  I  harmonize  very  well  with  the  English  nation,  and  am 
sure  that  I  should  soon  feel  at  home  among  them.  How  I  miss  writing  to 
my  father  now,  when  I  meet  with  people  from  distant  countries,  and  ask 
them  questions  !  I  have  made  the  acquaintance  of  an  intelligent  priest 
from  the  neighborhood  of  Nineveh,  an  Abyssinian  ;  and  of  an  Englishman 
who  has  lived  for  twenty  years  in  the  wilds  of  North  America. 

CCXXXI. 

FRASCATI,  ZQt/i  June,  1817. 

I  have  spent  yesterday  and  last  night  in  thinking  of  my  Milly,  and  this 
day,  too,  is  sacred  to  these  recollections.*  I  saw  her  a  few  days  ago  in  a 
dream.  She  seemed  as  if  returning  to  me  after  a  long  separation.  I  felt 
uncertain,  as  one  so  often  does  in  dreams,  whether  she  was  still  living  on 
this  earth,  or  only  appeared  on  it  for  a  transient  visit ;  she  greeted  me  as  if 
after  a  long  absence,  asked  hastily  after  the  child,  and  took  it  in  her  arms. 

Happy  are  those  who  can  cherish  such  a  hallowing  remembrance  as  that 
of  the  departure  of  my  Milly,  with  pious  faith,  trusting  for  a  brighter  and 
eternal  spring.  Such  a  faith  can  not  be  acquired  by  one's  own  efforts. 
Oh,  that  it  may  one  day  be  my  portion  !  Not  that  I  am  a  materialist ; 
you  know  well  that  no  one  can  be  further  from  that  than  I  am  ;  but  the 
possibility  of  an  existence,  of  which  we  can  form  no  distinct  conception,  is 
not  enough  for  me,  does  not  help  me  ;  other  and  opposite  possibilities  al- 
ways present  themselves.  I  well  know  what  is  that  faith  which  deserves 
the  name,  and  recognize  it  as  the  highest  good.  But  it  would  only  be 
possible  to  me  to  attain  it  through  supernatural  communication,  or  wonders 
and  signs  beheld  with  my  own  eyes  :  it  is  one  thing  to  respect,  and  not  to 
reject,  quite  another  really  to  believe,  as  in  one's  own  existence. 

What  I  hear  and  see  among  our  acquaintance  often  leads  my  thoughts 

to  the  subject  I  have  mentioned — faith,  and  its  true  nature.      Several  of 

them  have   a  very  earnest  belief,  though  their  belief  is  of  very  different 

shades  ;  there  are  others,  who  fully  imagine  they  possess  religion,  yet  to 

*  Amelia's  birth-day. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1817.  351 

whom  one  can  scarcely  attribute  more  than  a  self-delusive  assumption  of 
it.  I  associate  chiefly,  indeed  almost  exclusively,  with  the  artists  who 
belong  to  the  religious  party,  because  those  who  either  are  decidedly  pious 
or  who  strive  after  piety,  are  by  far  the  noblest  and  best  men,  and  also  the 
most  intellectual,  and  this  gives  me  an  opportunity  of  hearing  a  good  deal 
on  such  subjects.  Cornelius  alone  seems  to  have  grown  up  from  childhood, 
with  uniform  and  lasting  habits  and  convictions,  which  are  as  rooted  in 
him  as  the  facts  of  his  experience ;  and  his  Catholicism  is  at -bottom  no- 
thing more  than  the  creed  of  the  old  Protestants.  This  he  owes  to  the 
training  he  received  from  a  pious  and  by  no  means  bigoted  mother,  and  to 
his  completely  unlearned  education,  in  which  the  Bible  (though  in  a  Catholic 
family)  was  his  only  book.  The  case  appears  to  me  very  different  with 
those  who  are  born  in  the  Catholic  faith,  and  have  grown  up  in  indiffer- 
ence. Of  those  who  have  been  converted  to  this  religion,  O *  in  an 

enthusiast,  and  quite  illiberal ;  he  is  a  very  amiable  man,  and  endowed 
with  »  magnificent  imagination,  but  incapable  by  nature  of  standing  alone, 
and  by  no  means  so  clear-headed  as  he  is  poetical.  He  bends  easily  and 
naturally  under  the  yoke  which  another  of  our  intimate  friends,  who  haa 
taken  the  same  false  step,  has  constantly  to  impose  upon  himself  afresh, 
because  it  slips  off  him.t  Another,  who  is  in  the  Roman  college,  I  hope 
to  bring  back  to  Germany,  and  to  see  converted  to  Protestantism ;  he  is  a 
Jew,  baptized  on  full  conviction,  who  had  taken  a  violent  disgust  to  the 
modern  teachers  among  the  German  Protestants,  but  finds  every  thing  here 
BO  revolting,  that  he  has  been  almost  driven  into  insanity  by  his  despair. t 
Mournful  as  is  the  absurdity  of  going  over  to  the  Catholic  religion,  it  may 
be  accounted  for,  on  the  part  of  our  young  friends,  in  a  manner  which  does 
them  no  discredit ;  but  strikingly  shows  how  entirely  many  of  the  Protest- 
ant clergy  have  departed  from  all  positive  faith,  and  done  violence  to  their 
conscience ;  for  if  those  who  had  the  teaching  of  these  youths  had  instructed 
them  in  the  doctrines  of  Luther,  they  would  certainly  never  thus  have  gone 
astray.  It  was  because  they  missed,  in  what  they  had  been  accustomed 
to  regard  as  religion  in  their  homes,  that,  without  which  religion  is  mere 
ballast,  and  found  it,  in  words  at  least,  at  Rome,  that  they  have  been 
seduced  into  adopting  all  the  follies  of  Rome  as  well.  If  my  position  did 
not  forbid  it,  I  should  like  to  exhibit  to  the  world  the  present  state  of  the 
church  here ;  it  might,  perhaps,  be  of  use.  I  have  become  acquainted  with 
one  very  remarkable  man,  a  peasant  from  Troves,  who  came  to  Rome  to 
get  absolution  from  the  Pope  for  some  scruples,  but  has  met  with  a  very 
contemptuous  reception.  From  his-  example,  it  is  very  clear  that  the 
Romish  clergy  are  quite  right  with  their  views  in  prohibiting  the  reading 
of  the  Bible  ;  for,  by  diligently  reading  the  Scriptures,  he  had  become  no- 
thing else  than  a  very  warm  old  Protestant  pietist,  without,  however,  be- 
ing aware  of  it  himself.  He  insisted  boldly  that  the  Bible  alone  was  the 
source  of  faith,  and  that  differences  of  belief  could  not  affect  eternal  hap- 
piness. He  had  some  similarity  with  Jacob  Boehme  in  the  style  of  his 
mental  culture,  which  was  quite  uncommon,  and  in  the  persecutions  he 
had  undergone ;  was  like  him  an  enthusiast,  and  not  free  from  the  proud 
humility  of  the  pietists,  though  only  infected  with  this  to  a  slight  degree. 
I  felt  a  great  respect  for  him  personally,  and  I  hope  to  save  him  from  fui- 
ther  persecution.  His  history  and  character  veern  to  belong  to  quite  a 
"  Overbeck.  f  Plainer.  t  Dr.  Wolff. 


352  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

different  age.  His  case  has  rn&de  me  think  it  probable  that  if  the  Protest- 
ant clergy  still  retained  a  positive  belief,  and  the  Bible  were  circulated  in 
Catholic  Germany,  a  second  Reformation  would  not  be  at  all  impossible. 
I  told  you  before  that  Gretchen  was  ill ;  I  trust  that  it  is  not  a  fever, 
but  your  hopes  that  her  health  would  improve  after  her  confinement  have 
been  by  no  means  fulfilled.  We  came  hither  from  the  city,  because  I 
wanted  to  spend  these  few  days  quite  without  interruption 

CCXXXII. 

ROME,  12th  July,  1817. 

Your  welcome  letter  has  quite  relieved  my  anxiety  respecting  your  health. 
It  has  been  very  hot  for  the  last  few  days,  but  in  'our  noble  spacious 
rooms  I  bear  the  heat  better  than  I  expected.  Besides,  we  have  both  of 
us  improved  in  health,  and  therefore  in  spirits,  for  some  time  past.  Our 
sweet,  healthy,  lively  baby  has  also  had  its  share  in  this  change  for  the 
better.  I  delight  in  giving  myself  up  to  my  joy  and  pride  in  him,  nurse 
him  a  great  deal,  play  with  him,  and  am  rewarded  by  his  stniles  and  fond- 
ness for  me.  But  his  mother  is  still  the  favorite,  and  I  willingly  yield  her 
the  privilege ;  it  is  her  recompense  for  her  unspeakable  sufferings. 

I  wrote  to  you,  a  short  time  since,  about  my  little  work,  the  translation 
of  an  English  Essay.*  I  have  always  taken  a  great  interest  in  all  relating 
io  these  simple  duties  of  humanity.  I  thank  Heaven  I  have  often  had  it 
in  my  power  to  give  help  and  relief,  and  this  is  still  my  greatest  pleasure. 
If  I  could  choose  my  sphere  of  action  now,  it  would  be  that  of  the  most 
simple  and  direct  efforts  of  this  kind.  Since  I  can  not,  I  rejoice  in  all  that 
others  are  doing  in  this  way.  I  have  little  faith  in  the  introduction  of 
freer  institutions,  still  less  that  they  could  lead  to  good  results,  while  na- 
tions and  their  ideas  remain  what  they  are.  Our  evils  could  only  be 
removed  by  a  total  change  in  our  mode  of  life  and  habits,  by  the  discipline 
of  our  morals  and  manners,  by  an  increase  of  general  comfort,  and  by  the 
greater  simplicity  of  our  whole  life.  It  is  to  me  so  pitiful  and  disgusting 
that  men  should  quarrel  about  the  law-giving,  while  they  are  indifferent 
about  the  laws  themselves,  which  are  the  only  end  of  the  legislation ;  and 
I  find  no  other  better  object  than  this  among  any  of  those  who  write  on 
such  subjects  ;  the  high-sounding  phrases  of  liberty  disgust  me  :  not  that 
my  heart  does  not  beat  for  liberty,  more  warmly  perhaps  than  any  of 
theirs  who  so  mistake  her  true  nature  ;  hut  their  worship  of  her  is  exactly 
like  a  Roman  Catholic  service.  If  a  single  one  of  these  writers  would  but 
go  his  way,  and,  at  the  sacrifice  of  his  leisure  and  comfort,  teach  children, 
hold  out  consolation  and  a  helping  hand  to  the  poor  man  where  he  can  do 
no  more;  if  he  would  strive  by  his  advice  and  influence  to  obtain  land  for 
the  cotter,  property  for  the  peasant ;  if  he  would  first  divest  himself  of  the 
prejudices  to  which  he  is  a  slave ;  if,  in  these  and  other  ways,  men  would 
begin  to  combine  for  humble  and  laborious  objects  which  no  government 
could  hinder,  we  should  have  something  on  which  to  rest  our  hope.  But 
so  long  as  I  see  no  public  spirit,  no  public  virtue,  no  self-discipline — so 
long  as  I  see  nothing,  even  among  the  better  class,  but  the  idolatry  of 
wealth  (as  regards  the  commonwealth,  if  not  for  themselves),  and  the  de- 
lusive notion  that  you  can  produce  a  work  out  of  all  materials  alike — that 
figures  kneaded  out  of  clay  can  endure  like  those  hewn  out  of  marble — so 
*  An  Article  in  the  Quarterly  Review,  on  the  Poor.  Vol.  xv.  p.  187. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1817.  353 

long,  if  I  were  a  ruler,  should  I  give  little  satisfaction  to  the  clamorous, 
and  excite  a  terrible  outcry  because  I  would  not,  with  them,  begin  to  build 
from  the  upper  story  downward.  How  gladdening  is  it  to  see  the  humane 
efforts  made  by  such  numbers  in  England  for  really  good  objects,  for  the 
prosperity  and  education  of  the  people !  The  observations  on  these  sub- 
ject*, contained  in  the  article  I  have  mentioned,  are  as  if  written  from  my 
inmost  heart,  and  this  firtt  attack  upon  the  Mammon  system  is  so  entirely 
what  I  have  thought,  and  in  part  already  said,  that  I  should  like  to 
diffuse  it  as  widely  as  possible.  I  should  like  to  add  many  ideas  of  my 
own  to  it.  In  my  earliest  youth  the  longing  desire  arose  within  me  to 
spend  my  life  exclusively  within  the  precincts  of  a  narrow  circle,  teaching 
and  laboring ;  would  to  God  it  had  been  my  fate ! 

ecxxxin. 

FRASCATI,  20M  September,  1617. 

As  the  direction  of  this  letter  will  have  calmed  your  worst  fears  on  my 
account,  I  will  begin  at  once  with  the  announcement  that  I  am  decidedly 
improving.  I  am  indeed  still  writing  to  you  from  my  bed,  to  which  1  am 
confined  for  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  and  I  am  not  secure  from  the 
chance  of  a  relapse,  but  my  state  is  very  different  from  what  it  was  a 
week  ago.  Then,  I  scarcely  expected  to  write  to  you  to-day,  or  only  in 
order  to  prepare  you  for  my  departure.  I  thank  God  that  the  issue  has 
been  otherwise.  How  it  would  have  grieved  and  shaken  you  !  This  severe 
illness  seems  to  have  done  me  good  mentally.  The  inclination  to  study 
and  work  has  once  more  awakened,  and  many  ideas  which  I  could  never 
recall  before,  have  returned  with  full  distinctness  as  I  lay  upon  my  silent 
sick  bed.  God  grant  that  it  may  last !  I  shall  do  all  in  my  power  to 
promote  it.  My  weakness  is  still  far  too  great  to  allow  of  my  converting 
the  desire  to  work  into  actual  work.  Else  I  feel  as  if  I  might  yet  be  able 
to  redeem  my  promise  to  Milly  (to  continue  the  History),  and  to  meet  her 
eye  without  fear. 

During  most  of  the  time,  I  have  regarded  my  death  as  quite  certain,  and 
often  thought  it  near.  I  felt  it  sad  to  die  thus  in  a  foreign  land,  but  I  was 
indescribably  calm,  and  quite  peaceful  in  the  prospect  of  another  life.  My 
Milly  with  her  love  would  have  embraced  me  with  joy.  I  more  than  once 
chose  the  day  on  which  I  wished  to  die.  and  hesitated  between  the  8th  and 
9th  of  October ;  the  first,  the  day  of  our  (Milly 's  and  ray)  arrival  at  Berlin; 
the  second,  that  on  which  I  laid  her  in  her  grave  ;  where  I  shall  never  have 
the  ardently-desired  blessing  of  resting  by  her  side. 

By  this  time,  the  thought  of  death  has  nearly  forsaken  me;  though  I 
do  not  see  how  I  am  to  recover  fully ;  particularly  as  the  physicians  here 
know  no  tonic  but  quinine,  which  I  can  not  take  at  all. 

If  I  recover,  I  mean,  in  the  first  place,  to  write  a  treatise  on  the 

constitution  of  the  Greek  province!  and  cities  of  the  Roman  Empire,  up  to 
the  time  of  the  later  emperors ;  and  another  to  prove  that  an  oration  at- 
tributed to  Dion  is  not  his  work.  The  former  will  conduct  at  its  close  to 
an  investigation  into  the  constitution  of  the  Christian  communities.  From 
a  passage  in  Origen,  I  am  persuaded  that  they  were  formed  on  the  model 
of  the  political  communities,  and  must  therefore  have  differed  in  the  East- 
ern and  Western  churches,  which  throws  quite  a  new  light  upon  the  sub- 
ject. I  have  also  collected  some  decisive  proofe,  principally  from  the  style, 


354  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

that  the  author  of  the  African  war  is  not  that  of  the  Alexandrian.  Ques- 
tions of  Latin  philology  have  been  long  attracting  me,  and  I  hope,  if  I  live, 
that  I  may  yet  become  a  proficient  in  this  branch  of  learning.  In  pur- 
suing these  studies,  I  have  a  view  also  to  the  instruction  of  my  Marcus.  I 
hope  to  get  practice  in  speaking  from  Bekker,  whose  coming  is  a  very  joy- 
ful prospect  to  me  in  a  philological  point  of  view. 

My  poor  Gretchen  suffers  doubly  through  my  illness ;  both  mentally  and 
physically.  Marcus  is  a  very  lovely  child,  large,  fat,  full  of  life  and  very 
sociable.  Brandis's  kindness,  judgment,  and  amiability  are  not  to  be  ex- 
ceeded. 

CCXXXIV. 

ROME,  18<A  October,  1817 

Bekker's  arrival  has  given  me  great  pleasure ;   it  is  agreeable  at 

once  to  give  and  to  receive.  I  shall  spend  a  great  part  of  the  evenings  in 
grammatical  and  critical  readings  with  him.  We  mutually  know  what  we 
are  worth,  and  in  what  respects  one  excels  the  other,  while  neither  regards 
the  superiority  of  the  other  with  envy.  It  is  a  satisfaction  too,  especially 
when  your  own  heart  has  been  torn  with  sorrow,  to  feel  that  you  are  to  a 
distinguished  man,  what  few  can  be,  and  some  even  of  these  do  not  choose 
to  be.  Bekker  has  been  rudely,  and  even  cruelly  kept  down  and  oppressed 
from  his  childhood  upward  ;  and  it  has  made  him  morose  and  reserved ; 
with  us  he  is  already  beginning  to  expand,  is  becoming  open  and  confiden- 
tial. He  had  beforehand  told  others  in  Berlin,  that  I  was  the  only  person 
with  whom  he  could  become  so.  He  lives  with  us,  but  dines  out  of  the 
house 

ccxxxv. 

ROME,  \3tk  December,  1817. 

Ptome  is  altogether  an  unhealthy  place.  The  proportion  of  deaths 

to  births  is  as  three  to  two,  and  frequently  still  more  unfavorable.  It  is 
worthy  of  notice  that  this  was  not  the  case  under  the  French.  One  of  the 
physicians  here  accounts  for  this  by  the  superiority  of  their  sanatory  regu- 
lations. At  that  time,  the  children  were  obliged  to  be  vaccinated.  Last 
year  940  died  of  the  small-pox.  At  that  time,  there  were  workhouses ; 
now,  the  paupers  are  put  into  filthy  dens,  where  they  are  thinned  by  con- 
tagious disorders,  and  die  of  hunger. 

I  have  taken  up  a  study  which  bears  directly  on  the  Roman  history :  I 
am  traversing  the  desert  of  the  ancient  Latin  scholiasts.  I  did  not  ex- 
pect much  from  it,  but  I  have  found  things  of  quite  unhoped-for  import- 
ance, particularly  relating  to  ecclesiastical  law,  and  the  daily  life  of  an- 
cient times.  It  will  very  likely  be  possible  to  sketch  a  tolerably  complete 
picture  of  both,  though  the  separate  features  are  still  for  the  most  part  un- 
connected. I  should  like  to  re-write  many  passages  in  my  first  volume, 
by  which  the  whole  could  gain  much  in  force  and  precision. 

I  have  still  less  idea  how  any  improvement  is  to  be  brought  about  in 
religious  than  in  civil  affairs  ;  unless  we  have  a  new  revelation.  A  relig- 
ion in  which  people  can  not  stand  firmly  on  their  feet,  but  must  hold  on 
by  their  hands  while  their  feet  are  suspended  in  the  air,  can  not  long  main- 
tain itself. 

The  coarse  proceedings  on  the  Wartburg,  mingled  as  they  are  with  re- 
ligious comedy,  have  deeply  distressed  me.  They  exhibit  our  youth  as 
empty,  self-conceited  and  vulgar.  Freedom  is  quite  impossible  when  the 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1817.  355 

youth  of  a  country  are  devoid  of  reverence  and  modesty.  If  I  wrote  ac- 
cording to  the  dictates  of  my  heart,  they  would  burn  me  also  in  effigy,  and 
yet  I  know  that  all  the  genuine  republicans  of  all  ages  would  subscribe  to 
my  doctrines 

CCXXXVI. 

TO  8AVIONY 

ROME,  26/A  December,  1817. 

The  great  difference  between  this  and  the  previous  winter,  and  which, 
in  truth,  far  outweighs  every  thing  else,  is  the  possession  of  our  darling 
Marcuccio.  The  child  retains  his  perfect  health  and  beauty ;  is  always 
lively,  always  sociable,  and  favored  by  nature. 

I  am  sadly  pinched  for  want  of  books,  now  that  the  inclination  to  con- 
tinue my  History  has  re-awakened  during  my  illness  and  recovery ;  my 
courage  to  attempt  the  work  is  still  far  from  adequate.  I  have  been  study- 
ing the  Macedonian  history  (in  its  widest  sense)  subsequent  to  Alexander ; 
and  though  it  is  impossible  to  restore  the  whole  structure  of  this  history 
from  the  miserable  fragments  yet  remaining,  I  have  attained  a  subjective, 
intuitive  view  after  my  fashion,  of  the  vita  publica  et  prirata,  both  of  this 
kingdom  and  of  Greece,  during  the  period  for  which  we  have  no  continuous 
narratives,  so  that  I  think  I  should  be  capable  of  delineating  it,  when  I 
came  to  the  epoch  where  the  transmarine  policy  of  Rome  commences. 
These  investigations  introduced  me  to  that  extremely  interesting  arch- 
rogue,  Josephus,  whose  writings  are  a  mine  of  treasure  for  Macedonia, 
Syria,  and  Egypt ;  from  him,  I  went  on  to  researches  into  the  Jewish  con- 
stitution under  the  second  temple  (the  Sanhedrin)  ;  and  as  I  was  reading 
the  old  Testament  (with  which,  in  our  German  version,  I  believe  myself 
to  have  been  more  minutely  acquainted,  for  many  years  past,  than  ninety- 
nine  out  of  a  hundred  theologians)  afresh  very  assiduously  during  my  ill- 
ness, I  was  compelled  unawares  by  my  critical  good  or  evil  genius,  as  the 
case  may  be,  to  observe,  not  only  the  very  remarkable  character  of  the 
Mosaic  institutions,  but  also  the  difference  of  authorship  in  one  and  the 
same  biblical  book,  the  date  of  their  composition,  and  the  totally  mistaken 
views  prevailing — so  far,  at  least,  as  I  am  acquainted  with  the  various 
opinions  on  this  subject — with  regard  to  the  history  of  the  Hebrew  litera- 
ture, &c.,  &c.  These  arc  investigations,  however,  which  to  be  carried  out 
to  distinct  and  positive  results,  would  require  a  knowledge  of  the  innumer- 
able notoriously  worthless  writings  on  these  points,  and  the  few  sensible 
works  of  whose  existence  I  am  aware,  (or  believe  in  out  of  charity),  as 
well  as  an  array  of  oriental  philology,  which  I  am  too  old,  and  moreover, 
just  now,  too  much  occupied  with  Marcuccio  to  acquire.  Besides,  I  should 
probably  give  offense  to  some  whom  I  would  least  wish  to  offend,  and 
what  is  worse,  please  people  of  a  different  stamp.  For  the  former  would 
be  quite  wrong  in  taking  offense  at  me.  I  might  possess  a  much  firmer 
and  more  lively  faith  (I  only  know  an  historical  one)  than  from  the  circum- 
stances of  my  mental  history  is  now  possible  for  me  in  this  world,  and  /et 
hold  at  the  same  time  my  present  critical  views 


356  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 


1818. 

THE  events  which  took  place  in  Germany  and  France  during 
the  latter  half  of  1817,  recalled  Niebuhr's  attention  to  political 
affairs.  During  1816—17,  France  had  been  thrown  into  great  agi- 
tation, by  the  success  of  the  ultra-Royalist  party  in  obtaining  the 
disbanding  of  the  Imperial  army,  the  banishment  of  persons  con- 
nected with  the  Revolution,  the  re-enactment  of  the  laws  prohibit- 
ing divorce,  &c. ;  and  it  was  rumored  that  they  contemplated  no- 
thing less  than  the  restoration  of  landed  property  to  its  original 
owners.  Toward  the  close  of  1817,  the  Moderate  party  had 
come  into  office,  but  met  with  very  partial  success  in  their  efforts 
to  calm  the  storm  that  had  been  raised.  In  Germany,  what  was 
called  the  gymnastic  regime  had  been  in  vogue  since  1815.  A 
large  portion  of  the  professors  of  the  universities,  and  government 
officers,  and  nearly  all  the  young  men,  wished  to  advance  with 
rapid  steps  along  the  path  of  reform ;  'and,  as  one  means  to  this 
end,  organized  the  youths  in  the  schools  and  universities  into  as- 
sociations, called  Burschenschafts,  for  the  promotion  of  their  views. 

They  also  laid  great  stress  upon  physical  training,  which  should 
enable  each  individual  personally  to  struggle  for  the  good  cause, 
and  gymnastic  exercises  occupied  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
hours  spent  in  the  schools.  There  was,  however,  a  strong  party 
who  wished  to  suppress — by  violent  means  if  needful — the  devel- 
opment of  all  popular  institutions,  and  bring  things  back  to  the 
old  condition  existing  before  the  Revolution.  The  Tricentenary 
of  the  Reformation  was  celebrated  in  1817  throughout  Germany, 
on  the  18th  of  October,  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Leipsic,  so 
that  the  festival  was  at  once  a  commemoration  of  the  religious  and 
political  liberation  of  the  country,  and  naturally  gave  rise  to  con- 
templations of  the  present,  and  anticipations  of  the  future.  The 
Burschenschaft  of  Jena  resolved  to  celebrate  the  day  by  a  proces- 
sion to  the  Wartburg,  the  fortress  where  Luther  had  been  confined, 
to  which  they  invited  delegates  from  all  the  German  universities, 
excepting  those  of  Austria.  They  were  accompanied  by  the  au- 
thorities of  Eisenach  and  four  of  the  most  celebrated  professors  of 
Jena — Fries,  Oken,  Kieser,  and  Schweitzer.  In  the  first  instance, 
moderate  speeches,  exhorting  to  patriotism  and  virtue,  were  de- 


EMBASSY  TO  ROME.  357 

livered,  and  the  assembly  broke  up  and  returned  to  Eisenach, 
where  after  dinner  a  service  was  held  in  the  church.  In  the 
evening,  however,  when  they  formed  a  torch-light  procession  to 
the  Wartburg,  to  kindle  the  so-called  October  Fire  (the  bonfire 
still  customary  on  the  18th  of  October),  much  more  excited 
speeches  were  made ;  and,  at  last,  when  most  had  already  left 
the  mountain,  a  Berlin  student  appeared  with  a  bundle  of  books 
and  papers,  and  exclaimed — "  As  once  Luther,  by  the  burning  of 
the  papal  bull,  gave  the  signal  for  the  separation  from  the  Rom- 
ish chair,  so  shall  a  signal  be  given  here  by  devoting  to  the  flames 
the  writings  branded  with  the  contempt  of  the  German  nation  for 
their  un-German  tendencies,  and  their  opposition  to  the  spirit  of 
the  age."  And  amid  the  applause  of  the  spectators,  various 
works  of  an  anti-liberal  and  reactionary  character  were  thrown 
into  the  fire,  together  with  an  Austrian  corporal's  stick,  a  Hessian 
pig-tail,  and  a  Prussian  military  sash,  after  which  Charles  Pollen's 
celebrated  "Grosses  Lied"  was  sung.  Unhappily,  several  of  the 
works  thus  anathematized  were  the  productions  of  men  high  in 
the  Prussian  service,  Von  Kamptz,  Ancillon,  and  Schmalz  ;  and 
since  rumor,  as  usual,  greatly  exaggerated  the  occurrences,  the 
governments  of  Berlin  and  Vienna  took  up  the  matter,  caused  the 
ringleaders  in  the  affair  to  be  arrested,  and  instituted  inquiries, 
which  lasted  for  a  long  time,  on  the  supposition  that  a  revolu- 
tionary conspiracy  had  been  formed ;  but  it  was  finally  proved 
that  there  was  no  ground  for  such  an  idea.  Niebuhr,  as  will  be 
seen  from  his  letters,  agreed  with  neither  of  the  contending  par- 
ties.* 

This  festival  also  gave  rise  to  many  theological  productions, 
and  others  were  called  forth  by  the  speech  of  the  King  of  Prussia 
on  the  occasion,  whose  recommendation  of  a  union  of  the  Protest- 
ant Confessions  was  the  first  germ  of  the  efforts  that  finally  issued 
in  the  fusion  of  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed  Churches  throughout 
the  greater  part  of  Prussia.  Previous  to  this  date,  there  had  been 
in  many  sincerely  pious  Protestants,  who  were  disgusted  with  the 
rationalism  that  widely  prevailed  in  their  own  church,  a  disposi- 
tion to  fraternize  with  the  Catholics,  and  a  hope  that  something 
like  a  compromise  might  be  brought  about.  But  the  spirit  of  con- 
troversy evoked  by  this  celebrated  festival,  and  the  revival  of  the 
order  of  the  Jesuits  by  the  Pope,  widened  the  existing  religious 

*  See  his  letter*  of  13th  December,  1817,  and  10th  of  January,  1818. 


358  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

differences  of  every  kind,  and  produced  much  bitterness  between 
the  Catholics  and  Protestants. 

The  strong  interest  which  these  circumstances  excited  in  Nie- 
buhr,  suggested  to  him  the  idea  of  delineating  the  moral  and  in- 
tellectual history  of  Germany  since  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  but 
the  impossibility  of  procuring  the  necessary  materials  in  Rome 
prevented  the  execution  of  this  project. 

Incitements  to  research  in  other  directions  were  not  wanting, 
and,  among  other  things,  he  discovered  in  the  course  of  the  sum- 
mer the  key  to  the  Oscan  tongue,  and  succeeded  in  partially  de- 
ciphering an  inscription  in  that  language. 

In  July,  his  second  child,  a  daughter,  was  born. 

In  the  autumn,  he  had  to  regret  a  serious  loss,  in  the  departure 
of  Dr.  Brandis,  whose  health  was  much  injured  by  the  climate  of 
Italy,  and  who,  besides,  wished  to  devote  himself  exclusively  to 
those  philosophical  researches  which  have  since  raised  him  to  so 
eminent  a  position  among  the  scholars  of  Germany.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded as  Secretary  of  Legation  by  M.  Bunsen,  who,  however,  as 
he  was  already  married,  did  not  reside  in  Niebuhr's  house. 

During  this  winter  Niebuhr  obtained  the  appointment  of  a 
Protestant  clergyman  to  the  embassy — a  circumstance  which 
afforded  him.  much  satisfaction. 

Letters  written  in  1818. 

CCXXXVII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

ROME,  10th  January,  1818. 

I  was  frightened  at  the  prospect  of  composing  my  third  volume. 

and  the  disproportion  of  my  present  powers  to  the  work,  although  there 
are  many  interesting  materials  for  it. 

I  have  become  indifferent  to  the  reception  of  the  earlier  parts;  probably 
I  should  not  be  so  if  by  straining  all  my  powers  I  had  brought  forth  an- 
other from  my  inmost  soul.  Would  it  be  well  if  I  were  so?  No,  I  am 
convinced  that  this  philosophical  equanimity  is  real  death,  and  that  ihe 
most  vehement  emotions,  as  they  have  ever  been  the  companions  of  all 
greatness  and  beauty,  are.  also  necessary  to  their  existence.  Without  this- 
storm,  the  mind  will  not  sail  over  the  floods,  though  it  may  sink  in  them, 
and  now  perhaps  generally  does  sink.  I  also  look  forward  at  the  turn  of 
the  year,  with  gloomy  forebodings,  to  the  age  that  is  before  ns.  I  see 
nowhere  any  encouraging  signs ;  if  there  are  deficiencies  among  the  rulers, 
there  are  quite  as  many  among  the  governed.  It  is  utterly  impossible  to 
deny  that  our  youth  are,  on  the  whole,  declining  in  cultivation,  and  be- 
coming coarse  and  barbarously  indolent.  Under  the  gymnastic  regime 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1818.  359 

there  must  inevitably  be  an  end  of  science  and  literature ;  and,  indeed,  of 
all  that  is  noble,  quiet,  and  beautiful. 

Did  I  tell  you  that  my  correspondence  with  Stein  has  been  renewed  by 
a  friendly  letter  from  him  containing  commissions  ?  Stein  is  very  melan- 
choly and  hopeless. 

In  France,  there  is  a  dreadful  fennentation,  which  will  probably  lead  to 
fresh  calamities.  It  is  but  too  certain,  that  the  French  also  will  not  find 
the  right  path  again,  at  least  not  for  a  long  time  to  come ;  but  they  have 
gained  much  in  intelligence,  and  you  not  unfrequently  hear  thoughts  from 
them,  more  sound  and  weighty  than  any  which  reach  us  from  Germany. 
The  Germans  seem  to  be  reeling  in  a  beer  revel. 

We  have  scarcely  joined  at  all  in  society  hitherto,  but  that  will  not  do 
any  longer.  We  are  settled  in  our  house,  and  must  now,  from  time  to 
time,  give  large  parties.  One  is  awaiting  us  to-morrow.  With  the  French 
envoy  I  am  most  intimate.  I  am  very  friendly  with  the  old  Bavarian  em- 
bassador,  but  he  is  quite  decrepit. 

CCXXXVIII. 

ROME,  1th,  March,  1818. 

Your  last  letter,  written  out  of  the  regular  course,  was  a  refreshment  to 
me  such  as  I  have  not  had  for  a  long  time. 

It  has  always  given  me  a  sufficiently  fearful  idea  of  the  sufferings  of 
hell,  to  conceive  of  them  as  consisting  in  a  full  perception  (devoid  of  all 
consolation,  all  delusion,  all  intermission),  of  the  whole  misery  into  which 
we  have  been  plunged  by  sin— of  all  the  consequences  that  have  sprung 
from  it,  and  all  the  happiness  of  which  we  have  deprived  ourselves. 

Yesterday  was  always  a  festival  to  me  from  1798  to  1815;  that  is, 
ever  since  my  visit  to  your  parents  and  Milly  in  Heide.  The  day  of  my 
visit,  and  indeed  that  last  winter  that  I  spent  in  Kiel,  in  constant  inter- 
course with  you,  was  one  of  the  brightest  spots  in  my  life.  My  Milly 
always  kept  the  day,  sometimes  by  giving  me  little  presents,  always  with 
conversation,  and  a  holiday  dress.  Her  first  word  on  waking  in  the 
morning  was  to  remind  me  of  it.  I  believe  that  I  often  dream  both  of  her 
and  you ;  but  my  former  vivid  consciousness  of  my  dreams  has  passed 
away,  along  with  my  vivacity  in  all  other  respects.  Fate  has,  however, 
granted  me  the  festival  of  this  day  by  permitting  me  to  see  both  you  and 
Milly  in  my  dreams,  in  which  you  were  both  so  lively,  so  affectionate,  BO 
really  present  to  me,  that  I  awoke,  and  even  in  awaking  still  retained  a 
.sense  of  the  old  happy  days 

I  have  received  Harms'a  Theses,*  and  Falck's  article  on  them.     They 

*  Haras's  "  Ninety-five  Theses"  were  among  the  numerous  theological  pub- 
lications that  appeared  on  occasion  of  the  Tricentenary  of  the  Reformation. 
They  were  directed  against  the  rationalistic  tendencies  of  the  age,  and  main- 
tained the  old  orthodox  Lutheran  doctrines  of  the  utter  corruption  of  human 
nature,  and  the  necessity  of  a  correct  creed  to  salvation,  in  all  their  strictness. 
The  Theses  made  a  great  sensation,  and  called  forth  numerous  answers,  to  which 
Harms  replied  in  a  "  Defense  of  the  Theses''  and  a  pamphlet  entitled  "Demon- 
gtralration  of  the  Worthlcssness  of  the  Religion  of  Reason."  Harms  is  still 
preaching  with  all  his  wonted  vigor,  and  influence  upon  the  minds  of  his  bearers, 
in  Kiel,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three  (1851).  Although  he  ha*  been  blind  for  the 
last  two  yean,  he  has  lately  published  a  Letter  against  the  Kin-hen  Zeitnng, 
edited  by  Hengstenberg,  vindicating  the  one  hundred  pastors  who  have  been 
expelled  from  Schleswig-Holstein  by  the  tyrannical  Danish  government. 


360  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHB. 

have  occasioned  me  much  thought.  I  wrote  an  essay  on  them,  but  it  is 
too  bitter.  We  should  soon  come  to  an  understanding  with  each  other 
about  them  by  word  of  mouth.  I  agree  with  Harms  in  all  that  he  says 
about  the  irreligiousness  of  a  system  of  morals  on  an  independent  basis; 
and  further,  in  his  aversion  k»  a  Christianity  which  is  none,  and  I  even  ap- 
prove of  his  personalities  against  many  of  your  Holstein  theologians.  But 
I  consider  his  limitation  of  genuine  Christianity  to  the  symbolical  books,* 
and  his  zeal  against  the  union  of  the  Protestant  churches,  as  an  error. 
All  who  are  acquainted  with  church  history  know,  that  no  system  of  doc- 
trine respecting  redemption,  hereditary  sin,  grace,  &c.,  existed  for  at  least 
the  first  two  centuries  after  Christ ;  that  on  these  points,  opinions  and 
teaching  were  unfettered,  and  that  those  were  never  considered  as  heretics 
who  simply  accepted  the  Creed  (the  so-called  Symbolum  Apostolicum), 
kept  in  communion  with  the  Church,  and  were  subject  to  her  discipline. 
Now  certainly  this  test  would  be  amply  sufficient  to  exclude  those  hypo- 
critical pastors  who  only  nominally  belong  to  the  Church ;  for  such  can  not 
accept  this  Confession  of  Faith.  This  Creed,  together  with  a  simple  faith 
in  the  contents  of  the  New  Testament  as  the  revealed  word  of  God,  is  at 
once  sufficient  and  indispensable ;  but  I  do  not  see  why  we  should  desire 
to  impose  any  further  yoke.  The  orthodox  divines  of  the  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  centuries  subscribed  to  the  symbolical  books  with  a  fullness  of 
conviction  which  we  can  not  possess  now,  because  they  are  a  systematic 
body  of  doctrine,  and  the  systems  of  one  century  are  uncongenial  with  the 
mental  habits  of  another.  But  it  was  this  party  which  persecuted  the 
most  pious  men  of  those  times — Paul  Gerhard,  Franke,  and  Spener.  If 
the  golden  age  of  Christian  liberty  subsisted  within  the  limits  1  have  men- 
tioned, why  must  we  now  have  slavery  ? 

Next,  as  to  the  union  of  the  Churches. t  I  should  say  that  one  must  be 
a  Eutychian  to  lay  any  stress  upon  the  dogma  of  consubstantiation.  A 
pietist,  for  whom  I  have  a  great  regard,  delights  in  the  idea  of  union ;  for, 
he  says,  "  That  of  which  I  am  convinced  is,  that  the  Lord's  Supper  is  a 
promised  and  miraculous  means  of  conveying  strength  and  sanctification, 
but  all  that  simply  concerns  verbal  interpretation  is  very  unimportant  to 
me ;  and  the  form  of  the  ceremony,  and  the  theological  doctrine  respecting 
it,  are  as  indifferent  to  me,  as  it  was  to  the  blind  man  whether  his  eyes 
were  touched  with  clay  and  spittle,  or  with  any  thing  else.  But  it  is  not 
indifferent  to  me  whether  we  Protestants  remain  divided  or  not.  considering 
our  present  position  between  an  active  mysticism  and  Catholicism.  But 
for  our  divisions,  the  whole  of  Germany  would  have  become  Protestant, 
and  the  misfortune  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War  would  never  have  taken 
place."  Luther's  position  was  very  different  from  ours,  and  the  use  of 
historical  insight  is  to  show  us  clearly  how  a  thing  may  be  wise  at  one 
time  which  is  not  so  at  another.  After  all,  the  most  difficult  matter  is  to 
walk  in  humility,  and  to  govern  one's  self. 

*  The  Augsbnrg  Confession  of  Faith,  in  the  Lutheran  Chnrch,  to  which  Harms 
belonged ;  the  Catechisms  of  Heidelberg  and  Dordrecht  for  the  Reformed  Church. 
Since  the  union  of  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed  Churches  in  Prussia  and  most 
other  German  States,  the  symbolical  books  include  all  these  catechisms 

t  The  union  of  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed  Churches. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN   1818.  361 

CCXXXIX. 

ROME,  27 lh  March  1818. 

,  There  are  more  here  who  decidedly  like  me  than  who  aie  opposed 

to  me.  The  Pope  and  Cardinal  Gonsalvi  treat  me  with  real  cordiality, 
which  is  of  great  importance  in  a  place  where  every  thing  is  decided  by 
personal  feeling.  Thus,  if  I. had  available  instructions,  I  should  soon  be 
able  to  conclude  all  the  requisite  arrangements  with  the  greatest  iclvantage 
to  the  State  and  the  nation.  It  weighs  heavily  upon  my  mind  that  it  is 
not  in  my  power  to  accomplish  this,  but  that  1  am  only  putting  the  State 
to  a  large  and  useless  expense ;  with  your  strict  principles  you  will  quite 
enter  into  my  feelings.  I  can  give  you  proofs  that  I  do  not  deceive  my- 
self j  ray  mediation  in  the  case  of  Geneva  has  so  far  prevailed  that  its 
affairs  will  be  brought  to  a  successful  issue,  as  soon  as  a  preliminary  form 
has  been  gone  through  by  the  Genevese  government ;  and  if  the  deputies 
of  Berne  and  Lucerne  take  the  course  I  have  advised,  as  they  have  ex- 
pressed a  wish  to  do,  they  also  will  infallibly  obtain  their  object  in  spite 
of  all  the  difficulties  in  the  way,  which  their  governments  have  regarded 
as  almost  insuperable.  The  people  here  are  convinced  of  the  perfect  hon- 
esty of  my  intentions,  and  perceive  at  the  same  time  that  I  will  not  suffer 
myself  to  be  imposed  upon.  An  Italian  despises  those  whom  he  deceives ; 
but  when  he  can  not  succeed  in  deceiving  a  man,  he  respects  him,  and,  if 
he  finds  him  well-intentioned,  conceives  an  attachment  for  him  after  his 
fashion 

Every  now  and  then,  I  make  a  fresh  attempt  to  write  upon  these  sub- 
jects,* and  then  lay  down  my  pen  again,  when  I  consider,  that  although 
there  have  been  instances  in  which  political  pamphlets  have  led  to  the 
adoption  of  the  measures  recommended  in  them,  in  a  free  State,  there  is 
scarcely  any  example,  under  a  monarchy,  of  a  minister  having  carried  out 
any  measures  proposed  in  a  recent  pamphlet.  However,  I  know  that  no 
republican  can  ever  have  loved  his  nation  more  ardently  than  I  love  Prussia. 

A  tendency  toward  reformation  is  at  work  in  the  Catholic  Church  in 
Germany.  A  German  is  here  now,  who  is  a  sincerely  pious  man,  and  in 
leaving  Rome  in  a  state  of  indignation.  1  often  converse  with  him  about 
the  convulsion  that  is  inevitable,  but  must  proceed  from  below.  He  and 
others  like  him  have  chosen  the  motto  of  St.  Augustine  as  their  watchword : 
Unity  in  essentials,  liberty  in  the  rest,  and  brotherly  love.  It  will  be  seen 
that  this  alone  can  help  us. 

CCXL. 

ROME,  ll/A  April,  1818. 

Bunsen.  is  a  very  clear-headed  and  estimable  man.  Hardenberg  has 
promised  me  to  appoint  him  successor  to  Brandis.  I  am  very  glad  of  it  : 
on  my  own  account,  because  I  like  him ;  for  his  sake  and  the  State's, 
because  he  has  a  decided  talent  for  public  life,  and  will  distinguish  himself. 
Brandis  is  still  undecided  as  to  his  plans.  It  seems  likely  that  he  will 
receive  an  appointment  in  the  university  on  the  Rhine,  which  may  proba- 
bly be  established  next  autumn.  His  father's  book  upon  Magnetism  is  on 
the  way— one  hears  nothing  on  such  subjects  here.  An  extraordinary 
case  of  miraculous  cure,  which  happened  during  the  early  part  of  my  stay 
here,  made  a  .great  noise.  Perhaps  we  ought  not  to  attempt  to  give  a 
*  Political  and  ecclesiastical  relations  in  Prussia. 


362  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

philosophical  account  of  such  occurrences,  but  to  content  ourselves  with 
observing  them,  and  attempting  to  form  a  general  conjecture  as  to  the 
direction  of  the  forces  which  produce  them.  An  absolute  denial  of  so 
many  instances,  still  seems  to  me  unwarrantable. 

The  religion  prevailing  here  is  an  abomination  to  an  unprejudiced  person. 
A  Chaldean,  a  man  of  great  ability,  who  had  applied  to  me  for  money  to 
get  a  Bible  printed  here  in  his  native  language,  under  the  censorship  of 
the  Propaganda,  will  probably  be  banished  from  Rome.  I  had  hoped  to 
obtain  from  England,  America,  Russia,  and  our  King  the  money  required 
for  this  undertaking,  and  for  the  erection  of  a  printing-press  with  which  he 
wanted  to  print  other  works  at  home  afterward.  This  enterprise,  to  which 
I  expected  to  have  been  able  to  contribute,  is  one  of  the  things  with  which 
I  had  often  consoled  myself  in  moments  of  melancholy.* 

Cornelius  has  made  an  agreement  with  the  Crown  Prince  of  Bavaria, 
and  we  shall  lose  him.  I  am  quite  grieved  at  it. 

The  child  is  fair  and  flourishing.  He  is  growing  very  fond  of  me,  and 
begins  to  have  little  endearing  ways.  He  kisses  my  hand  without  being  bid. 

CCXLI. 

ROME,  1st  May,  1818. 

The  state  of  the  air  is  indescribably  oppressive.  Every  body  here 
believes  that  there  has  been  an  earthquake  somewhere.  The  sirocco  pre- 
vails uninterruptedly  ;  the  sky  has  been  dark  and  cloudy,  the  air  like  a 
furnace,  and  every  one  has  felt  wretched  and  ill.  At  such  times  you  are 
fit  for  nothing. 

With  regard  to  Harms' s  Theses,  let  us,  in  the  first  place,  settle  the 
points  on  which  we  agree  with  each  other  and  with  Harms.  In  my  opin- 
ion, he  is  not  a  Protestant  Christian,  who  does  not  receive  the  historical 
facts  of  Christ's  earthly  life,  in  their  literal  acceptation,  with  all  their 
miracles,  as  equally  authentic  with  any  event  recorded  in  history,  and 
whose  belief  in  them  is  not  as  firm  and  tranquil  as  his  belief  in  the  latter ; 
who  has  not  the  most  absolute  faith  in  the  articles  of  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
taken  in  their  grammatical  sense ;  who  does  not  consider  every  doctrine 
and  every  precept  of  the  New  Testament  as  undoubted  divine  revelation, 
in  the  sense  of  the  Christians  of  the  first  century,  who  knew  nothing  of  a 
Theopneustia.  Moreover,  a  Christianity  after  the  fashion  of  the  modern 
philosophers  and  pantheists,  without  a  personal  God,  without  immortality, 
without  human  individuality,  without  historical  faith,  is  no  Christianity  at 
all  to  me  ;  though  it  maybe  a  very  intellectual,  very  ingenious  philosophy. 
I  have  often  said,  that  I  do  not  know  what  to  do  with  a  metaphysical 
God,  and  that  I  will  have  none  but  the  God  of  the  Bible,  who  is  heart  to 
heart  with  us. 

Let  him  who  can,  bring  the  God  of  metaphysics  into  harmony  with  the 
God  of  the  Bible ;  and  he  who  can  accomplish  this,  will  be  authorized  to 
write  symbolical  books  that  shall  be  a  law  to  all  ages.  He  who  grants 
the  absolute  impossibility  of  solving  the  main  problem,  which  can  only  be 
approached  by  asymptotes,  will  not  grieve  over  the  inevitable  consequence, 
our  possessing  no  system  of  religion.  Many  passages  in  the  Bible  admit 
of  various  interpretations ;  are  these  made  a  matter  of  controversy  among 

*  This  Chaldean  was  afterward  banished  (along  with  Dr.  Wolff)  for  having 
accepted  assistance  from  the  Bible  Society  in  carrying  out  his  scheme. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1818.  363 

pioua  people  ?  There  is  a  remarkable  and  noble  passage  on  this  point  in 
Tertullian,  who  nevertheless  was  a  true  zealot. 

People  have  aimed  at  bringing  religion  into  an  absolute  system  in  imi- 
tation of  the  scholastic  philosophy,  and  in  behoof  of  church  government. 
In  so  far  as  the  sense  is  plain,  well  and  good.  But  where  it  is  doubtful—- 
and that  is  the  very  point  at  issue — who  is  to  decide  ?  The  Catholic 
Church  is  not  left  without  a  decision ;  she  claims  to  have  a  tradition,  and 
she  asserts  an  immediate  miraculous  influence  of  the-  Holy  Spirit  upon 
the  decisions  of  councils  and  popes.  We  have  seen  what  this  has  led  to, 
and  Luther  has  saved  us  from  that  misery.  Luther  himself  took  his  stand 
on  tradition.  He  sketched  no  new  outline ;  he  only  cleansed  the  be- 
smeared picture  from  what,  according  to  his  notion  of  the  original,  he 
recognized  as  defacing  additions.  Hence  sprang,  for  instance,  his  doctrine 
of  the  Eucharist.  The  Christianity,  the  faith  that  was  within  him,  not 
that  which  stood  before  him,  and  was  external  to  him,  was  the  material 
on  which  he  labored.  He  always,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  took  his 
stand  on  tradition.  Not  till  after  him,  came  the  Reasons  of  the  Orthodox, 
who  wanted  to  set  up  a  system.  In  the  eyes  of  these  Pharisees,  all  profound 
feeling,  all  glowing  devotion,  was  an  abomination. 

It  has  been  said  with  great  truth,  that  the  bull  Unigenitus  led  to,  and 
is  responsible  for  the  overthrow  of  religion  in  France ;  and  he  who  really 
knows  the  history  of  Germany  knows  the  injury  which  orthodoxy  has  done 
to  the  Protestant  religion.  It  is  only  an  indirect  consequence  of  it,  that 
its  obnoxiousness  has  occasioned  the  defection  of  numbers  to  the  Romish 
Church :  for,  if  you  oppose  authority  by  authority,  it  most  be  confessed 
that  that  of  the  councils  is  of  greater  weight  than  that  of  a  society  of 
doctors  and  pastors ;  we  have  always  left  this  objection  of  the  Catholics 
unanswered. 

In  the  symbolical  books,  there  are  doctrines  respecting  plenary  inspiration, 
and  the  connection  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,,  which  can  never 
come  into  force  again  ;  and  how  much  else  is  contained  in  them,  of  which 
the  early  church  knew  nothing  1  Let  any  one  only  try  whether  the 
standard  which  I  require  be  a  small  matter  or  a  great  one  ;  and  let  no 
one  secretly  substitute  for  it.  the  permission  to  explain  religion  into  a  hu- 
man doctrine,  and  its  historical  facts,  according  to  the  rules  of  ordinary 
occurrences  ;  seeing  that  I  demand  precisely  the  reverse. 

The  matter  will  remain  without  practical  influence  on  legislative  meas- 
ures. It  can  have  none,  and  the  controversy  will  die  away,  when  people 
have  once  fairly  got  to  hating  each  other.  Then  something  else  will  come 
up. — You  speak  of  the  morbid  tendency  to  innovation  in  our  times  :  I 
abhor  and  mourn  over  it  with  you,  but  the  controversy,  of  which  we  have 
been  speaking,  is  in  truth  one  form  of  it.  When  the  novel  part  of  any 
question  has  been  quite  worn  threadbare,  people  turn  to  the  old,  which  has 
then  become  new  again  ;  and  thus  the  ball  is  thrown  backward  and  for- 
ward. It  is  the  same  in  politics  and  in  literature.  How  many  changes 
of  fashions  have  I  not  witnessed  already,  and  I  may  say  witnessed  without 
changing  my  own  position !  In  my  youth  I  beheld  the  former  theological 
"enlightenment"  (with  disgust,  indeed,  although  from  a  distance),  during 
which  every  adherent  of  the  old  belief  was  an  object  of  contempt.  Oh  that 
men  would  build  up  1  Nothing  can  come  of  constraint  and  command  in 
these  matters.  Oh  that  men  strove,  in  simplicity  of  heart,  and  in  union 


364  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

with  those  likeminded  to  themselves,  to  attain  true,  fruit-bearing  faith, 
piety,  and  love ! 

Do  not  fancy  me  unqualified  to  give  my  voice  on  this  subject.  I  know 
that  I  am  qualified,  by  possessing  a  fully  adequate  knowledge  of  the  history 
of  the  church,  and  even  of  her  system,  of  which  I  know  more  perhaps  than 
you  give  me  credit  for.  Here,  where  it  is  of  importance  to  guard  young 
men  against  the  seductions  of  the  Catholic  priests,  I  have  ample  induce- 
ment to  turn  my  attention  to  theology. 

So  you  think  my  unfavorable  remarks  on  the  Italians  too  severe.  Be- 
lieve me,  the  longer  I  live  here,  the  more  they  are  confirmed.  I  have 
become  acquainted  with  one  exception  (and  how  should  there  not  be  some 
such?),  a  man  of  great  talent,  upright  and  honorable — the  painter  and  re- 
storer, Palmaroli ;  and  his  history  and  own  testimony  are  again  a  confirma- 
tion of  all  I  have  said.  Persecuted  with  a  refinement  of  malice  by  envy, 
neglected  and  slighted  by  the  •  government,  all  his  efforts  have  been  a 
struggle  to  produce  works  of  art,  and  to  save  magnificent  old  paintings. 
This  man  says  that  his  heart  expands  only  in  the  society  of  Germans. 

CCXLII. 

TO  NICOLOVIUS. 

ROME,  6th  June,  1818. 

I  will  send  you  by  Ranch  a  pamphlet  that  has  been  published 

here,  intended  expressly  for  the  conversion  of  the  young  Germans.  If 
Schmieder  comes,  he  must  bring  Luther's  works  for  me  (or  send  them  by 
sea),  and  the  writings  against  Popery.  It  can  not  be  expressed  how  dis- 
gusting these  proceedings  become  the  more  you  see  of  them.  At  this  mo- 
ment, the  proselyters  have  S .*  one  of  the  ablest  young  artists,  on 

their  bait.  Dear  Nicolovius,  the  whole  life  that  the  artists  lead  here  is 
worse  than  useless  ;  it  is  essentially  injurious.  They  are  in  a  completely 
false  position  ;  they  associate  as  equals  with  people  of  rank — they  get  a 
distorted  view  of  all  the  relations  of  the  world,  and  grow  vain  and  preju- 
diced. For  Heaven's  sake,  do  not  dream  of  allowing  any  of  them  to  stay 
here  too  long.  It  is  only  in  a  diversified  civil  society,  comprising  a  variety 
of  classes,  that  an  artist  can  remain  a  healthy-minded  man,  unless  he  be  a 
miracle,  like  Cornelius.  That  Cornelius  is  a  healthy-minded  man,  I  will 
give  you  a  proof.  The  evening  after  Bunsen's  child  was  baptized,  we  and 
several  more  were  at  his  house.  Bunsen  lives  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
Palazzo  Cafarelli,  and  over  the  Palatine  ;  as  we  were  standing,  after  mid- 
night, on  the  loggia,  we  saw  Jupiter  sparkling  as  if  he  were  looking  down 
on  Ws  Tarpeian  rock.  We  were  drinking  healths.  I  said  to  Thorwaldsen, 
"  Let  us  drink  to  old  Jupiter  !"  "  With  my  whole  heart,"  he  replied,  with 
a  voice  full  of  emotion.  Some  were  startled  :  Cornelius  touched  our 
glasses  and  drank  it 

CCXLIII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

ROME,  2Qth  June,  1818. 

The  negotiations  at  Frankfort  are  spoiling  every  thing.     They 

*  Schadow. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1818.  365 

imagine  themselves  able  to  make  a  reformation  in  the  church,  because  they 
have  a  hankering  after  novelty,  and  never  dream  that  such  undertakings 
can  only  succeed  when  hearts  are  lifted  np  in  their  behalf,  as  in  Luther's 
time,  whereas,  they  themselves  have  no  feeling  about  the  matter  ;  and,  in- 
deed, no  one  can  have  any  feeling  in  connection  with  the  mere  ordering  of 
external  relations.  They  may  perhaps  be  instruments  of  good,  but  their 

way  is  as  false  as  Luther's  was  correct 

I  shall  write  to  you  again  next  week.  I  could  not  let  this  day  pass 
without  a  letter.  Read  the  soul  of  its  writer.  In  those  old  times  too  we 
clung  to  each  other.  May  we  be  restored  to-  each  other  in  another  life  1 

CCXLIV. 

TO  SAVIGNY. 

HOME,  °Qth  June,  1818. 

Brandis  and  Bekker  are  going  to  Florence  the  day  after  to-mor- 
row, and  Cornelius  will  leave  at  the  latest  in  autumn  ;  it  is  uncertain 
whether  for  Munich  or  Dus.seldorf. 

The  proselytizing  spirit  here  is  at  last  causing  complete  divisions  among 
us.  No  one  can  have  judged  these  absurd  proceedings  more  leniently  in 
insulated  cases  than  myself,  or  with  more  kindness  and  endeavor  to  enter 
into  the  weaknesses  and  peculiar  circumstances  of  individuals.  But  when 
these  men  take  high  ground,  and  seek  right  and  left  to  make  proselytes ; 
when,  not  satisfied  with, kind  indulgence,  they  attempt  to  make  their  ignor- 
ance and  narrow-mindedness  pass  current  for  a  higher  insight,  it  does,  and 
it  ought  to  make  one  indignant  at  heart.  A  little  hand-book,  by  one  Abb£ 
Martin,  has  appeared  here,  which  is  full  of  the  most  scandalous  lies  respect- 
ing Luther,  and  the  shallowest  defense  of  Popery,  and  attacks  upon  us,  and 
it  is  put  into  the  hands  of  every  young  man  on  his  arrival. 

The  proof  sheets  of  the  Gaius  have  thrilled  me  like  an  electric  spark.  If 
Goschen  is  not  inclined  to  the  revision  at  present,  he  need  not  be  afraid  to 
put  it  off  for  a  time.  In  a  good  mood  he  can  do  it  admirably,  and  it  must 
be  done  admirably.  Be  sure  to  send  me  all  the  proof  sheets  as  they  are 
printed.  What  does  the  postage  signify  ?  It  was  once  intended  that  I 
should  receive  a  copy  in  small  writing  on  fine  paper ;  if  there  is  such  a. copy 
made,  be  so  good  as  to  give  it  to  Beneke,  to  be  forwarded  to  me.  I  should 
much  like  to  append  some  emendations,  not  so  much  for  the  public,  as  for 
your  consideration  and  use,  if  you  can  turn  them  to  any. 

The  mention  of  the  privileges  of  the  Flamen  Dialis  in  this  proof  sheet, 
has  accidentally  (as  is  generally  the  case)  thrown  a  light  in  upon  my  mind. 
Why  did  he  emerge  from  the  paternal  authority  without  capitii  diminutio; 
why  were  his  relations  in  so  many  ways  strange  And  abnornal  ?  Because 
his  inauguration  was  a  kind  of  arrogatio,  whereby  he  entered  the  gent  of 
the  gods,  at  any  rate  became  their  client.  I  find  the  proofs  extremely  in- 
teresting. They  appear  to  be  extracted  from  the  part  which  has  been 
twice  written  over,  and  I  bow  in  wonder  before  the  skill  of  Goschen  and 
Hollweg.  The  double  rescription  proves  the  inadequacy  of  our  palaeo- 
graphical  definitions.  Such  a  chance  is  inconceivable,  as  that  the  rem- 
nants of  the  half-effaced  MS.  should  have  been  left  untouched  for  centuries, 
then  taken  up,  then  erased  again,  and  then  by  accident  used  for  the  same 
purpose  over  again.  But  unquestionably  thii  was  the  true  state  of  the 


366  ' '  -  -MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

case ;  the  transcriber  began  to  write  the  Epistles  of  St.  Jerome  in  large 
uncial  characters  ;  it  struck  him  afterward  that  this  would  make  the  book 
too  cumbrous,  so  he  erased  what  he  had  done  and  wrote  in  italics.  Or 
perhaps  the  calligrapher  who  could  write  the  uncial  characters  died,  or  re- 
moved, so  that  they  were  obliged  to  take  another.  The  character  in  the 
codex  of  the  Gaius  is  the  base  of  the  Anglo-Saxon ;  consequently  this  was 
in  use  so  early  as  the  seventh  century.  I  much  wish  this  opportunity  may 
be  embraced  to  give  a  brief  elucidation  of  the  affinity  of  these  characters. .  .  . 

What  do  you  say  to  the  Bavarian  constitution  ?  what  a  mauvaise  plai- 
santerie  effrontee  !  Particularly  the  law  on  the  freedom  of  the  press.  That 
on  ecclesiastical  relations  is  sensible  and  praiseworthy ;  but  how  does  it 
agree  with  the  Concordat  ? 

I  wish  there  were  any  form  in  which  I  could  write  about  politics ;  and 
that  we  were  not  so  certain  that  to  print  any  opinions  would  be  in  itself  a 
reason  for  the  adoption  of  contrary  measures.  The  government  order  re- 
specting Coblentz  has  pained  me  to  the  heart.  Gorres'  pamphlet  is  the 
best  thing  of  the  kind  that  I  have  read  from  his  pen,  and  much  better  than 
we  could  have  expected.*  It  shows  a  capacity  for  sound  views.  If  I  were 
in  Berlin,  I  would  write  what  alone  is  true,  and  no  one  should  be  able  to 
take  exception  to  it.  There,  too,  I  could  write  the  history  of  the  moral  and 
intellectual  changes  of  our  nation  since  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  the  key  to 
all  else;  here,  naturally,  I  can  write  nothing. 

You  will  receive  through  Rauch  the  copy  of  Ulpian  that  has  been 

collated  by  Brandis.  There  has  been  scarcely  any  thing  to  alter  in  it. 

CCXLV. 

TO  JACOBI. 

26^  June,  1818. 

Roth's  letter,  (rich  in  cheering  news  of  you),  and  your  own,  to  both  of 
which  I  intend  this  as  an  answer,  found  me  recovering  from  a  severe  illness, 
a  state  such  as  you  know  and  have  described ;  one  which  comes  near  to  a 
rejuvenescence,  and,  like  youth,  opens  the  whole  soul  to  all  that  speaks  to 
the  heart  and  the  intellect. 

The  spring  began  here  a  day  earlier  than  Pliny  has  fixed  for  its 

commencement,  namely  on  the  6th  of  February ;  the  air  was  soft  and  re- 
freshing, but  there  were  no  leaves  nor  singing  birds.  This  was  followed  by 
cold,  and  heavy  showers,  and  now  all  at  once  it  is  as  hot  as  in  the  dog-days. 
Even  in  the  early  morning,  you  have  scarcely  any  sense  of  coolness  in  rooms 
where  the  windows  have  been  open  all  night.  Still,  every  thing  is  bearable 
when  the  sirocco  does  not  blow.  But,  in  April,  there  were  days  when  we 
kll,  Gretchen,  Brandis,  Bekker,  and  myself,  lay  half  dead  each  in  our  own 

*  Gorres,  who  was  at  this  time  decidedly  liberal  in  his  views,  and  edited  the 
"  Rheinische  Merkur"  with  great  ability,  presented  an  address,  on  occasion  of  the 
visit  of  Hardenberg  to  Coblentz  in  the  spring  of  1818,  praying  for  various  political 
reforms,  which  was  followed  by  other  addresses  of  the  same  nature  from  Mayence, 
Treves,  &c.  Hardenberg  held  out  hopes  of  their  wishes  being  attended  to ;  but 
the  King  was  highly  incensed  that  the  people  should  take  upon  themselves  to 
dictate  the  measures  necessary  to  be  adopted,  instead  of  waiting  to  see  what  re- 
forms he  thought  fit  to  grant  them;  and  Gorres,  who  had  taken  the  lead  in  the 
matter,  found  it  necessary  to  retire  to  Frankfort.  Several  other  expressions  will 
be  found  in  the  following  letters  of  Niebuhr  referring  to  these  proceedings. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1818.  367 

room.  It  can  not  have  been  so  in  ancient  times,  or  it  would  not  have  been 
an  honor  to  the  Romans  to  have  overlooked  that  the  habitable  world  began 
with  the  Alps. 

About  the  Italians  you  will  have  heard  R.'s*  testimony,  and  we  Protest- 
ants can  leave  it  to  him  to  paint  the  clergy  and  the  state  of  religion  in  this 
country.  In  fact,  we  are  all  cold  and  dead  compared  to  his  indignation. 
His  society  has  been  a  great  pleasure  to  us  all,  even  to  our  reserved  friend 
Bekker,  who  in  general  turns  pale  at  the  very  thought  of  Popery,  and  finds 
me  far  too  indulgent.  With  an  enthusiast  so  full  of  heart  as  R.,  you  can 
get  on ;  between  such  a  luxuriance  of  fancy,  and  the  unshackled  reason, 
there  is  much  such  an  analogy  as  subsists  between  science  and  art ;  while, 
on  the  contrary,  the  slavish  subjection  to  the  Church  is  ghastly  death.  The 
most  superficial  prophet  of  so-called  enlightenment  ean  not  have  a  more 
sincere  aversion  to  enthusiasm  than  the  Roman  priesthood ;  and,  in  fact, 
their  superstition  bears  no  trace  of  it.  Little  as  the  admirers  of  Italy  care 
for  my  words,  I  know  that  I  am  perfectly  correct  in  saying,  that  even  among 
the  laity  you  can  not  discover  a  vestige  of  piety.  The  life  of  the  Italian  is 
little  more  than  an  animal  one,  and  he  is  not  much  better  th;m  an  ape 
endowed  with  speech.  There  is  nowhere  a  spark  of  originality  or  truthful- 
ness. Slavery  and  misery  have  even  extinguished  all.  acute  susceptibility 
to  sensual  enjoyments,  and  there  is,  I  am  sure,  no  people  on  the  face  of  the 
earth  more  thoroughly  ennuye,  and  oppressed  with  a  sense  of  their  own  ex- 
istence, than  the  Romans. 

Their  whole  life  is  a  vegetation,  and  when  we  who  live  here,  recall 
apologies  made  by  a  partiality  which  even  excuses  their  indolence,  it  is  im- 
possible to  repress  a  feeling  of  indignation.  While  whole  families,  not  to 
speak  of  the  servants,  sleep  round  the  charcoal  pans  in  winter,  and  often 
get  suffocated  out  of  pure  idleness,  the  nobles  carry  on  conversazioni  which 
are  not  much  better,  and  in  which,  besides,  most  are  neither  speakers  nor 
listeners.  The  universal  knavishness  and  love  of  pilfering  are  also  the  effect 
of  laziness  ;  people  must  eat  and  cover  themselves ;  and  this  must  be  made 
possible  without  interruption  to  their  laziness. 

The  present  government  have  undertaken  the  task  of  introducing  tolerable 
civil  security  by  police,  in  the  rnidst  of  ever-increasing  wickedness  and  de- 
gradation— a  system  of  constraint  and  terror  that  may  impose  fetters  upon 
the  wild  passions  of  the  animal  man. 

They  never  so  much  as  think  of  securing  at  least  his  physical  comfort ;  he 
may  sink  into  deeper  and  deeper  misery,  but  he  shall  fear  blows  and  the 
galleys  more  than  he  cares  for  his  own  instincts.  Surrounded  by  an  omni- 
present espionage  of  police,  conscious  how  he  himself  would  be  ready  to 
accuse  and  betray  any  other  man  for  a  certain  reward,  Dread  shall  be  his 
supreme  deity.  In  the  metropolis,  this  has  succeeded  to  astonishment,  and 
crimes  of  violence  upon  the  person  are  rarer  than  in  other  capitals,.  -The 
cavaletto,  or  flogging  machine,  is  nearly  permanent,  and  during  the  carnival 
literally  so.  The  police  regulations  for  the  carnival,  for  the  theatres1  which 
are  open  then,  and  for  all  public  festivities,  sound  revolting,  and  they  are 
carried  into  execution.  There  is  no  criminal  code  at  all,  but  the  punish- 
ments are  quite  arbitrary.  One  of  the  most  scandalous  crimes  is  punished 
very  mildly,  why  ?.....  .^  .^;., 

*  Ringgeis,  a  physician  who  had  accompanied  the  Crown  Prince  of  Bavaria  to 
Rome,  and  wo*  a  zealous  and  pious  Catholic. 


368  MEMOIR  OF  NlEBTJHR. 

The  execrable  Cardinal  Ruffo*  is  dead,  and  an  historical  character,  who 
is  not  inferior  to  any  commissioner  of  the  Convention,  relates,  chuckling 
with  delight,  what  his  Calabrians  did  with  the  towns,  and  even  the  con- 
vents, that  had  been  Jacobinical.  Even  the  murder  of  a  wife  is  very  leniently 
punished.  I  have  extracted  the  castts  in  terminis  from  the  lists  of  sentences, 
because  no  one  will  believe  what  I  say  on  these  points.  The  effect  of  this 
severity,  however,  is  seen  in  the  absolute  lifelessness  of  the  common  people. 
The  nobles,  who  have  nothing  to  fear,  are  equally  apathetic  from  their  utter 
inaction,  and  the  gratification  to  satiety  of  the  lowest  desires. 

Dear  Jacobi,  I  could  not  venture  to  say  openly  to  our  German  patriots, 
what  I  do  not  hesitate  to  write  to  my  government,  that  the  overthrow  of 
Bonaparte's  rule  has  been  the  greatest  calamity  to  Rome,  and  the  restora- 
tion of  the  old  government  the  greatest  sin  against  the  nation.  They  could 
no  longer  proceed  in  their  old  careless  routine ;  they  were  forced  either  to 
adopt  wiser  or  more  ruinous  measures,  and  the  former  course  was  impossible. 

God  knows  whither  their  present  course  is  tending,  since  there  is  no 
prospect  of  reform  and  alleviation.  Did  not  Woldemar,t  who  lived  in  a 
golden  age  compared  to  the  present,  declare  that  he  knew  not  how  a  change 
was  to  come  without  a  deluge  or  a  miracle.  The  Jeremiades  on  the  misery 
of  Rome  under  Bonaparte  are  the  stupid  twaddle  of  ignorant  artists.  To 
extirpate  priestcraft,  such  as  it  was  and  is,  was  a  necessary  amputation, 
and,  on  the  whole,  it  was  performed — my  friends  may  cry  out  against  me 
as  they  will — with  discretion,  forbearance,  and  moderation  ;  the  people  were 
employed  and  cared  for.  The  population  of  the  city  was  suddenly  dimin- 
ished, but  those  who  remained  would  soon  have  found  themselves  much 
better  off,  and  all  things  would  have  been  brought  into  a  natural  course. 
The  number  of  births  increased  rapidly,  the  priests  were  no  longer  able  to 
command  or  permit  abortion ;  the  number  of  deaths  diminished  incredibly. 
The  conscription  was  disliked,  but  was  wholesome  for  the  people  ;  a  French 
regiment  was  a  school  of  honor  and  morality  to  an  Italian,  as  much  as  it  is 
of  corruption  to  a  German.  Some  life  was  awakened  among  the  higher 
classes  ;  they  began  to  take  some  interest  in  things,  and  very  much,  perhaps 
all  that  is  possible,  would  be  gained  for  the  Romans  if  they  were  to  recover 
animation.  There  were  a  pretty  good  number  of  criminals  executed  without 
the  attendance  of  a  priest,  consequently  condemned  to  eternal  damnation : 
while  now,  in  the  opinion  of  the  common  people,  every  criminal  who  is  ex- 
ecuted goes  fully  absolved  into  heaven.  The  officials  set  the  Romans  a  pat- 
tern of  liberality  and  conscientiousness,  and  the  fournisseurs  were  models 
of  strict  integrity  and  humanity,  to  the  managers  of  hospitals.  All  this 
you  will  not  misunderstand. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  fiscal  avarice,  and  the  idolatry  of  so-called 
property,  stood  in  the  way  of  a  radical  reform.  It  would  have  been  neces- 
sary to  compel  the  great  nobles  to  give  heritable  leases  on  their  estates,  and 
to  divide  the  ecclesiastical  property  viritim  ;  and  this  indeed  would  never 
have  been  done.  The  imposts  are  heavier  now  than  in  1813. 

What  it  must  be,  to  an  honorable  and  public-spirited  man,  to  live 
among  such  a  people,.!  leave  you  to  imagine.  It  is  an  utterly  false  idea 
to  suppose  that  any  relics  of  antiquity  have  been  preserved  in  manners, 
customs,  &c. ;  in  the  country  there  may  be  some  isolated  instances  of  the 

*  He  had  been  the  leader  of  the  counter-revolution  in  Naples. 

t  Woldemar  was  the  title  of  a  novel  written  many  years  previously  by  Jacobi. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1818.  369 

land ;  but  you  can  not  penetrate  into  the  interior  on  account  of  the  robbers. 
To  you  I  may  venture  to  say,  without  disparagement  to  my  interest  in  the 
works  of  our  German  artists,  that  I  am  sickened  of  art  as  I  should  be  of 
sweetmeats  instead  of  bread.  But  there  is  no  one  here,  particularly  since 
Braiidi.-i  and  Bekker  have  left,  with  whom  I  can  converse  upon  the  subjects 
that  lie  nearest  to  my  heart,  mutually  giving  and  receiving  information. 
Colonel  Fischer,  one  of  the  deputies  from  Berne,  made  a  transient  excep- 
tion, which  was  invaluable  to  me.  Still  I  could,  if  need  be,  do  without 
learned  conversations ;  but  to  have  no  one  with  whom  I  can  hold  a  rational 
conversation  upon  the  affairs  which  concern  mankind  in  general,  upon  the 
events  occurring  in  England,  Germany,  and  France,  is  positive  death. 
Whether  the  Disputa,  or  the  Heliodor,  be  the  more  perfectly  painted,  &c., 
&c.,  leaves  me  not  only  indifferent,  but  in  the  long  run  becomes  insupport- 
ably  tedious.  Besides,  it  is  not  improving  to  be  always  limited  to  talking 
on  subjects  that  you  understand  imperfectly,  and  on  which  you  are  always 
obliged  to  take  a  very  inferior  position  to  the  persons  with  whom  you  con- 
verse, without  any  fault  of  your  own. 

However,  this  is  not  the  only  evil  in  our  German  society.  Our  young 
artists  are  not  uncontaminated  by  their  contemporaries ;  without  learning, 
without  reflection,  they  are  extremely  dogmatical,  and,  on  all  points,  quite 
look  down  on  those  who  are  not  of  their  confraternity.  Some  who  are 
here  exhibit  astonishingly  fine  talents,  and  no  one  perhaps  is  more  zealoua 
than  myself  in  furthering  their  development.  Truly  a  new  day  has  dawned 
upon  art,  and  Goethe  has  sinned  greatly  in  denying  the  fact.  To  speak 
without  a  ridiculous  modesty,  my  mission,  in  other  respects  so  useless,  has 
in  this  probably  been  of  most  essential  service.  Your  Crown  Prince  may 
do  more ;  but  his  stay  here  has  so  far  done  more  harm  than  good.  He  has 
made  the  young  men  arrogant,  and  turned  their  heads  ;  their  prudent  friend 
no  longer  satisfies  them,  because  he  does  not  worship  them,  and  places  art, 
in  the  usual  narrow  sense  of  the  word,  far  below  wisdom,  and  that  art  of 
which  it  is  the  embodiment 

Your  countryman  Cornelius,  who  will  bring  you  a  letter  in  a  few  months, 
makes  a  glorious  exception  among  our  artists  :  he  is  the  Goethe  of  the 
painters,  and  has  in  every  respect  an  open  and  powerful  intellect,  free  from 
all  limitation. 

Your  Constitution  is  an  important  event.  It  will  give  you  an  idea  of 
Rome,  when  I  tell  you  that  no  one  hat)  any  thing  to  say  about  it;  the 
name  of  a  constitution  is  enough  for  the  Germans,  and  more  especially  the 
freedom  of  the  prets.  I  do  not  ask  for  a  perfectly  unconditional  freedom  of 
the  press,  but  where  such  a  law  exists  I  would  still  avail  myself  .of  the  prof- 
fered advantage  of  the  censorship  for  my  security.  This  law  appears  to  me 
the  least  good  of  the  whole  series,  and  that  on  religious  institutions  the  best. 

In  your  Constitution  it  is  very  remarkable  what  trouble  has  been  taken 
to  find  business  for  the  Estates  to  perform.  They  are  only  auditors  of  ac- 
counts with  greater  solemnity.  Meanwhile,  I  congratulate  you  sincerely  ; 
though  I  would  rather  have  had  something  different  and  better.  For  as  I 
adhere  to  the  principles  of  Mbser  and  Fievee,*  I  care  little  for  a  worshipful 
asscmblee  legislative,  unless  it  be —  but  that  would  lead  me  too  far. 

*  This  refers  to  their  advocacy  of  communal  and  municipal  freedom.  Fievee's 
letters  on  the  history  of  the  French  Legislative  Assembly,  in  1815  and  1816,  had 
just  come  out.  In  his  general  principles,  Fievee  trod  in  the  footsteps  of  Torgot. 

«* 


370  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

It  frets  me  to  be  out  of  Germany,  and  therefore  unable  to  say  any  thing 
about  important  national  questions,  on  which  Gorres,  to  my  astonishment, 
has  come  pretty  near  the  truth.  In  this  long  letter,  I  will  not  enlarge  upon 
the  various  details  of  your  elective  forms,  in  which  I  am  sorry  not  to  see 
all  the  former  imperial  towns  represented  separately,  as  is  the  case  with 
the  mediatized  princes.  On  the  whole,  however,  every  amelioration  gives 
me  pleasure,  even  if  it  is  imperfect. 

Farewell,  dear  friend.  Give  our  kindest  remembrance  to  Roth  and  your 
sisters.  Gretchen  and  I  kiss  your  fatherly  hand. 

CCXLVI. 

TO   SAVIGNY. 

ROME,  1st  September,  1818. 

I  must  have  already  told  you  more  than  once,  dearest  Savigny,  that 
your  letters  operate  upon  me  like  blood  upon  spectres,  whom  it  nourishes. 
The  time  and  space,  that  separate  me  from  a  better  life,  disappear  for  the 
moment ;  images  and  recollections  rise  up  with  vividness,  and  thoughts, 
which  there  has  been  nothing  in  the  dead  vacuum  of  Hades  to  excite,  form 
themselves  once  more  into  shape.  This  simile  is  more  elegant,  and,  at  all 
events,  more  worthy  of  your  letter  than  another,  which  has  perhaps  still 
more  truth  with  regard  to  myself.  I  might  compare  myself -to  a  dead  frog, 
in  which  movements  that  bear  the  resemblance  of  life  are  produced  by  the 
touch  of  metal. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  your  letters  instantly  excite  in  me  a  desire  to  answer 
them,  and  when  I  received,  about  three  weeks  ago,  yours  of  the  end  of 
July,  I  replied  to  it  immediately ;  but  the  intense  heat  which  had  pre- 
vailed almost  without  intermission  for  nearly  two  months,  and  had  been 
rendered  unusually  intolerable  by  a  constant  sirocco,  had  had  such  a  de- 
pressing effect  upon  me.  that  I  did  not  like  to  send  you  my  grumbling  epis- 
tle, and  I  became  still  less  willing  to  do  so,  after  it  had  once  been  laid 
aside  that  it  might  be  replaced  by  another.  This  latter  was  never  written, 
owing  to  very  sad  circumstances.  You  know  already  that  Gretchen  has 

been  confined  again. probably,  also,  that  the  child  was  very  delicate. 

Added  to  this,  the  summer  months  are  very  trying  here  for  children.  We 
know  the  style  of  the  medical  treatment  at  Rome.  The  child  would  cer- 
tainly have  been  lost,  had  not  a  young  physician  from  Berlin  been  here, 
and  adopted  reasonable  measures.  The  infant  has  certainly  now  made 
some  progress  toward  recovery,  but  is  still  far  from  well,  and  its  possession 
is  an  extremely  precarious  blessing. 

Gretchen's  health  has  received  a  severe  shock,  owing  to  the  anxiety  from 
which  she  has  scarcely  been  free  for  a  day  since  the  birth  of  the  child,  and 
her  unspeakable  anguish  since  it  became  seriously  ill 

I  was  not  made  ill  by  the  excessive  heat,  because  I  constantly  vegetated 
in-doors ;  but  I  was  very  much  exhausted,  and  the  sudden  change  of  tern 
perature  brought  on  an  attack  of  dysentery,  which  has  been  removed,  how 
ever,  by  instant  attention.  Marcus  alone  has  stood  the  heat  with  unabated 
vigor,  and  never  felt  the  change  of  weather  in  the  least.  He  is  such  a 
happy,  sprightly  child ;  always  full  of  mirth  and  laughter.  Probably  his 
overflowing  health  is  the  reason  that  his  teeth  are  developed  so  slowly. 
His  making  no  attempt  to  speak  yet,  may  partly  result  from  his  being  able 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1818.  371 

to  make  himself  understood  about  every  thing,  partly  from  the  mixture  of 
the  two  languages  which  he  hears  buzzing  about  him.  Every  body  loves 
him,  from  the  women,  to  an  old.  Franciscan  of  Ragusa,  who  often  pays  us 
a  friendly  visit ;  and  his  nurse,  who  has  no  very  warm  attachment  to  hei 
own  children,  tells  her  fellow-servants  that. she  weeps  when  she  thinks 
how  soon  she  shall  have  to  leave  him.  The  happy  time  is  now  not  far 
distant,  when  he  will  be  able  to  listen  to  stories ;  and  this  will  make  Rome 
and  my  life  here  tolerable  to  me,  even  if  I  should  be  compelled  to  renounce 
entirely  a  wider  sphere  of  action.  The  more  disordered  the  state  of  the 
world,  the  more  needful  is  education;  in  an  age  that  is  growing  old  and 
decrepit,  a  simple  world  of  ideas  must  be  created  for  the  child,  in  which 
its  mind  may  grow  up  strong  and  unclouded.  A  clear  understanding  can 
least  of  all  be  dispensed  with,  when  the  confusion  of  ideas  and  half-truths 
is  greatest ;  it  is  exactly  at  such  a  -time,  that  principles,  which  have  been 
early  implanted  and  carefully  watched  over,  so  as  to  gain  all  the  strength 
of  a  prejudice,  confer  extraordinary  power,  both  over  the  world  within  and 
that  without.  He  who  begins  his. course  thus  armed,  fights  with  a  weap- 
on which  is  wanting  to  those  around  htm.  Moreover,  the  mass  of  things 
to  be  learnt,  which  oppresses  and  confuses  the  brain  when  you  have  no 
guidance,  may  be  wonderfully  simplified  by  a  teacher,  and  yet  the  child 
may  be  fed  on  marrow  instead  of  dry  bones.  It  will  be  a  great  blessing 
for  the  child,  if  the  King's  promise  is  fulfilled,  that  a  chaplain  to  the  em- 
bassy here  should  be  appointed 

The  difficulty  of  governing  in  these  times  is  immense.  Superficial  opin- 
ions have  diffused  themselves  on  all  sides,  and  acquired  authority.  No 
change  in  the  forms  can  give  birth  to  a  higher  wisdom,  the  rarity  and  im- 
potence of  which  is  the  worst  disease  of  our  age.  In  the  rest  of  Germany, 
things  are  no  better,  and  in  most  parts  still  worse  than  in  Prussia,  though 
the  malice  of  our  enemies  has  the  craft  to  avert  censure  from  themselves 
and  direct  it  on  us.  The  Bavarian  constitution  is  a  genuine  child  of  the 
age ;  hence  it  will  be  extolled  far  and  wide. 

The  Austrian  administration  of  finance  has  been  unvailed  to  the  initiated, 
by  the  invaluable  documentary  evidence  set. forth  by  its  panegyrists. 

As  I  have  often  told  you,  I  can  execute  no  learned  work  here.  Neither 
have  I  been  able  to  avail  myself  of  the  Library  this  winter,  because  the 
only  two  librarians  who  were  obliging  and  knew  where  books  were  to  be 
found,  have  been  occupied  in  replacing  books,  that  had  been  collected  and 
ranged  in  new  mahogany  cases  with  splendid  plate-glass  fronts,  for  a  few 
hours,  by  express  command,  that  the  Pope  might  have  the  satisfaction  of 
surveying  them.  Then,  too,  I  did  not  begin  to  keep  a  carriage  till  March, 
and  1  live. about  two  miles  from  the  Library.  Now  Mai  is  coming  here, 
and  then  every  thing  of  the  kind  is  out  of  the  question 

Do  you  know  that  I  have  some  prospect  of  becoming  a  citoyen  de 
Geneve  ?  And  that  I  have  earned  this  title  by  my  services  ?  If  I  do,  I 
must  certainly  write  something  one  of  these  days  with  all  my  titles  and 
dignities  after  my  name.  We  have  had  a  Swiss  embassy  here,  whose 
intellectual  head,  Colonel  Fischer  of  Beme,  was  one  of  the  most  sagacious, 
noble-minded  and  estimable  men  whom  I  know.  He  and  I  became  great 
friends,  and  his  departure  pained  me  as  if  we  had  lived  together  for  years. 
I  find  that  I  have  still  got  a  frightful  quantity  to  tell  you,  and  have  neither 
•pace  nor  time  left.  To-morrow  (I  ain  ending  this  on  the  4th),  we  ire 


372  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

going  to  Genzano,  where  we  shall  live  under  the  same  roof  with  Madame 
von  Schlegel.  Curious  !  Our  little  one  is  rather  better ;  the  country  air 
will  very  likely  benefit  her  and  her  mother.  What  a  pity  it  is  that  we 
can  scarcely  stir  beyond  the  walls  of  the  towns  for  fear  of  the  banditti  ! 
I  mean  to  observe  the  mode  of  husbandry  there.  The  peasants  are  not  so 
bad,  if  the  poor  creatures  had  but  a  little  property.  But  the  barons  and 
the  clergy  have  swallowed  up  every  thing;  so  late  as  1590,  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Aricia  were  lords  of  a  great  number  of  small  estates  in  the  valley 
(though  the  Savelli  had  already  got  many  of  them  into  their  own  hands 
by  confiscation)  ;  at  that  time  there  came  a  dreadful  famine,  and  these 
barons  took  every  thing  the  people  had,  in  exchange  for  com,  which  they 
sold  to  them  at  the  rate  of  forty  piastres  for  the  rubbio,  which  in  ordinary 
years  now  costs  ten.  There's  a  sacred  right  of  property  for  you  !  Tb.3 
peasant  women,  whom  we  know  most  of,  are  honest  people  and  capable 
of  attachment ;  only  their  avarice  must  be  gratified,  which,  however, 
happily  is  possible.  But  the  higher  classes,  the  clergy,  the  so-called  citi- 
zens— no,  dear  Savigny,  you  can  form  no  idea  of  such  a  pack  of  vagabonds. 
Farewell !  Our  hearty  love  to  you  and  your  wife. 

Yours,  NIEBTJHR. 

CCXLVII. 

TO    MADAME   HENSLER. 

ROME,  1st  September,  1818. 

We  are  going  into  the  country  to-morrow  for  a  month,  to  Genzano,  a 
very  pleasant  place  above  the  beautiful  Lake  of  Nemi,  where  the  shade 
and  fine  trees  make  the  country  very  charming  to  us  Germans,  when  we 
compare  it  to  the  bare  desert  about  Rome 

It  is  a  subject  of  great  satisfaction  to  me,  that  the  King  has  acceded  to 
my  proposal  that  a  chaplain  to  the  embassy  should  be  appointed,  and  that 
the  choice  will  most  likely  fall  on  a  very  excellent  young  clergyman  from 
Saxony,  a  great  friend  of  K.  Rocder's.  According  to  the  testimony  of 
Professor  Heubner,  he  must  be  all  that  one  could  wish  in  a  teacher  of  re- 
ligion for  our  child.  It  is  my  most  ardent  wish  that  Marcus  may  be  sin- 
cerely and  earnestly  pious.  I  can  not  inspire  him  with  this  piety  ;  but  I 
can.  and  will  support  the  clergyman.  His  heart  shall  be  raised  to  God  as 
soon  as  he  is  capable  of  a  sentiment ;  and  his  childish  feelings  shall  be  ex- 
pressed in  prayers  and  hymns  ;  all  the  religious  practices  that  have  fallen 
into  disuse  in  our  age,  shall  be  a  necessity  and  a  law  to  him. 

Hemsterhuis  says,  that,  even  as  a  golden  age  subsisted  in  the  uncon- 
scious innocent  contentedness  of  man,  favored  by  nature  like  a  child  by  a 
mother,  so  must  the  race  by  manifold  wanderings  arrive  at  a  state  of  clear 
understanding,  in  which  man  will  cultivate  and  govern  the  desert  for  him- 
self. I  by  no  means  share  in  this  dream,  but  for  the  individual  it  is  pos- 
sible, as  regards  the  understanding  and  intellect,  if  instruction  is  brought 
to  the  aid  of  natural  talent.  That  intensity  of  conviction  and  of  feeling 
on  which  all  else  depends,  may  be  attained  by  cultivation.  But  whether 
a  strong-minded  and  clear-thinking  man  may  not  find  himself  continually 
more  and  more  a  stranger  and  an  outcast  among  his  contemporaries,  is 
another  question  ;  for  the  age  on  the  whole  is  declining  intellectually. 

You  know,  perhaps,  that  Savigny  and  I  have  taken  up  the  idea  of  the 
continuance  of  the  Roman  municipal  institutions  under  the  barbarians ;  I 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1819.  373 

have  definitively  discovered  their  transition  into  the  republican  institutions 
of  the  middle  ages,  and  am  certain  that  I  have  found  the  key  which  will 
enable  us  to  understand  the  old  German  civil  liberty  and  equality. 

In  the  country,  I  shall  occupy  myself  with  agriculture,  in  order  fully  to 
understand  that  of  the  Romans.  I  shall  also  try  bow  far  it  is  possible  to 
get  toward  the  old  Latin  cities  in  the  opposite  range  of  hills ;  i.  e.  if  the 
robbers  are  not  too  near ;  for,  though  less  numerous,  they  are  worse  than 
ever.  Their  chief  is  as  if  maddened,  since  his  whole  family  has  been  mur- 
dered. Now,  he  murders  every  one  he  can  get  hold  of,  and  the  govern- 
ment has  set  a  price  upon  his  head,  and  promised  a  pardon  to  any  one 
who  may  deliver  him  up,  in  the  hope  of  seducing  some  one  of  his  comrades 
to  do  so.  Every  thing  that  occurs  betokens  a  horrible  degeneracy  of  the 
whole  nation. 

CCXLVIII. 

TO   8AVIGNY. 

ROME,  1st  October,  1818. 

We  have  already  returned  to  town,  dear  Savigny,  contented  with  having, 
by  our  visit  to  the  country,  avoided  the  pestilence  of  September,  which,  this 
year,  haa  certainly  been  sufficiently  antique  in  its  character.  It  is  a  very 
expensive  affair  -to  stay  in  the  country  during  October ;  for  all  who  have 
contrived  to  remain  in  Rome  during  the  unhealthy  months,  when  you  are 
condemned  to  utter  idleness  by  the  heat  and  the  weight  of  the  air,  stream 
out  into  the  country  as  soon  as  the  atmosphere  begins  to  cool,  and  the 
vegetation  to  revive.  By  this  time,  it  often  begins  to  be  very  eoW  among 
the  hills,  but  in  Rome  it  is  a  mild  after-summer ;  while  through  the  sum- 
mer, the  air  on  the  mountains  is  temperate  and  elastic.  It  is  not  even  the 
vintage  which  attracts  the  people ;  to  their  taste,  the  theatre  in  Rome  is 
more  interesting.  But  such  is,  once  for  all,  the  established  usage,  and  when 
a  number  of  people  are  thus  crowded  together  in  small  places,  equipages 
and  dress  attract  more  attention.  In  spite  of  the  threatening  cold,  I  left 
Genzano  with  reluctance.  It  afforded  me  a  thousand  times  more  enjoy- 
ment than  the  oppressive  city.  I  should  have  liked  extremely  to  see  the 
vintage,  and  the  wine-pressing,  but  it  was  too  expensive  for  us,  after  all 
the  disbursements  of  the  summer 

It  is  no  easy  task  to  German  parents  to  bring  up  children  here ;  you  must 
have  them  almost  constantly  with  you,  for  it  were  better  to  see  them  dead 
than  that  they  should  grow  up  like  the  people  around  them.  No  one  can 
fully  appreciate  this  without  personal  experience,  and  I  beg  you  will  not 
shake  your  head  at  what  I  say.  If  you  were  only  here  a  week,  as  a  resi- 
dent, and  as  the  father  of  a  family,  you  would  see  what  is  the  state  of  a 
people  without  reason  and  conscience,  in  whom  all  selfish  impulses  are  let 
loose.  The  only  difference  is,  whether  these  impulses  are  kindly  or  malig- 
nant, and  whether  they  can  be  brought  into  some  degree  of  equilibrium  and 
harmony  among  themselves.  You  see  here  what  the  human  being  becomes 
under  the  combiflkd  influences  of  a  wretched  superstition,  and  utter  inca- 
pacity for  piety ;  in  Naples,  by  all  accounts,  matters  are  still  worse,  because 
the  people  are  by  nature  more  passionate  and  more  malignant.  The  char- 
acter of  the  passions  there,  and  what  you  see  of  them  here,  is  as  unpoet- 
ical  as  possible,  they  rise  to  savage  fury  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  Con- 
fession, and  absolution,  and  indulgences  may  work  well  among  a  conscien- 


374  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

tious  and  deep-hearted  people  like  the  Tyrolese.  Here,  they  open  the  door 
to  utter  abasement.  All  this  seems  the  strangest  to  me,  when  one  looks 
back  to  the  old  Romans,  who  were  governed  by  a  religion  of  the  strictest 
veracity,  fidelity,  and  honesty.  If  it  should  ever  be  in  my  power  to  con- 
tinue my  History,  I  shall  venture  to  demonstrate  how  this  religion,  which 
was  something  quite  different  from  Stoicism,  was  the  foundation  on  which 
the  greatness  of  the  old  republican  time  was  reared,  and  how  the  whole 
life  of  the  constitution  depended  on  it.  It  was  not  the  splendid  balance  des 
pouvoirs,  but  that  the  balance  was  suspended  among  a  virtuous  people. 

Your  explanation  of  the  unfriendly  feeling  toward  us,  which  is  so 

prevalent,  and  which  I  perceive  only  too  distinctly  among  the  young  Ger- 
mans in  Rome,  is,  to  a  certain  extent,  incontestably  correct.  But  you  must 
also  take  other  causes  into  the  account,  to  which  your  benevolence  will 
hardly  attach  sufficient  importance,  but  which  nevertheless  exist.  In  small 
States  it  is  not  so  much  a,  fear  of  the  mightier  State  belonging  to  the  same 
nation,  as  wounded  vanity.  Ever  since  he  lost  his  simple  greatness  of 
character,  the  German  has  been  by  nature  fond  of  slander  and  detraction, 
by  no  means  candid,  and  still  less  loving.  For  some  time  after  our  war  of 
liberation,  they  were  forced  to  be  silent,  and  respect  us  :  but  respect  is,  to  a 
German,  a  terribly  oppressive  feeling.  I  think  it  possible  that,  at  that  time, 
great  men  might  have  founded  an  enduring  respect  for  us.  Let  us  remem- 
ber how  Athens  saved  the  liberties  of  Greece  in  the  Persian  war,  and  that 
Thebes,  &c.,  betrayed  her.  The  moral  condition  of  Athens  was  not  much 
more  praiseworthy  than  that  of  the  other  States ;  still  we  know  now,  after 
the  lapse  of  two  thousand  years,  that  Athens  had  a  very  different  intrinsic 
value  from  them,  notwithstanding  the  Cleons  and  Hyperboluses.  But  envy 
excited  hatred  and  ingratitude  toward  Athens,  and  the  cowards  and  trait- 
ors were  the  genuine  Greeks. 

CCXLIX. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

ROME,  7th  November,  1818. 

"We  have  had  a  busy  season  of  court  festivities,  which  I  have 

been  obliged  to  attend — a  wearisome  kind  of  life  to  me.  Still  there  were 
occasionally  some  beautiful  spectacles,  and  if  the  aspect  of  political  affairs 
were  different,  one  could  feel  some  amusement  as  a  looker-on  at  such  a 
festival,  in  spite  of  its  emptiness.  But  when  the  people  are  wasting  away 
with  famine,  when  the  money  that  is  squandered  is  taken  from  the  neces- 
sitous, when  dissatisfaction  or  apathy  reign  every  where,  you  feel  inde- 
scribably melancholy  at  an  entertainment,  where  you  do  not  even  see  a 
single  happy  face. 

One  plague  of  the  winter  is  the  ever-increasing  swarm  of  travelers  of 
rank.  I  have  a  number  of  them  on  my  hands  just  now. 

The  proselytizing  tract  of  the  French  ecclesiastic  is  not  in  the  book 
shops.  If  I  can  get  you  one  copy  you  will  have  enough  of  it ;  for  it  will 
not  bear  a  second  reading ;  it  is  a  shallow  thing.  I  think  you  are  correct 
in  saying  that  Stolberg's  life  of  St.  Vincent  would  better  serve  the  purpose 
of  these  proselytizers,  because  in  that,  words  and  example  speak  to  the 
heart ;  for  truly  not  even  an  uninstructed  man  will  allow  himself  to  be 
caught  by  controversial  writings  ;  and  if  Seeker's  work  against  Catholicism 
bo  put  into  hia  hands,  he  has  .not  the  shadow  of  an  excuse.  But  if  such  a 


LETTEES  FROM  ROME  IN  1819.  375 

beautiful  picture,  which,  though  a  true  representation  of  the  individual,  IB 
completely  defective  as  applied  to  the  class,  had  an  undue  influence  on  an 
ardent  mind,  you  ought  to  refer  such  an  one  to  the  biographies  of  pious 
Protestants— of  Franke,  Paul  Gerhard,  and  so  many  others,  who  are  cer- 
tainly not  inferior,  in  point  of  self-sacrifice,  energy,  and  warmth,  to  those 
isolated  instances  of  saints  with  human  feelings  in  the  Romish  Church. 
There  is  one  Italian  whom  I  should  like  you  to  know,  Paul  Sarpi,  who, 
while  acting  as  a  lay-brother  in  a  monastery,  was  a  genuine  Protestant. 
You  will  easily  be  able  to  procure  an  account  of  him.  One  appeared  as  a 
pamphlet  about  ten  years  ago,  by  Ferdinand  Delbruck,  and  is  said  to  be 
very  well  written.  I  have  read  an  Italian  life  of  him  lately,  written  by  a 
Venetian,  his  contemporary.  If  any  one  wishes  to  know  how  the  Papists  be- 
have, when  they  want  to  disseminate  opinions  respecting  those  who  think 
differently  from  themselves,  let  him  read  in  this  book  the  reports  spread  by 
the  Court  of  Rome  about  the  death  of  this  saint,  and  the  infamous  lies 
about  Luther  in  Bellarmine's  Catechism. 


NIEBUHR  had  now  been  more  than  two  years  in  Rome,  yet  the 
instructions,  that  were  to  form  the  basis  of  his  negotiations  with 
the  Papal  Court,  were  still  delayed.  He  was  further  annoyed  by 
rumors — which,  however,  were  not  realized — that  the  Prussian 
government  intended  to  associate  Bartholdy,  the  consul  at  Florence, 
with  him  in  the  negotiation.  Niebuhr  was  decided  to  take  his 
leave  should  this  prove  to  be  the  case. 

In  this,  and  the  following  years  of  his  residence  in  Rome, 
Niebuhr  passed  the  months  of  May,  September,  and  October,  at 
Tivoji  or  Albano.  His  principal  literary  production  this  year  Was 
an  Essay  on  the  Historical  Advantages  to  be  derived  from  the 
Armenian  Version  of  the  Chronicle  of  Eusebius,  occasioned  by  the 
recent  publication  of  the  Armenian  version,  discovered  in  the  con- 
vent of  St.  Lazarus,  at  Venice,  and  edited  under  the  auspices  of 
Mai.  This  Essay  was  written  for  the  Academy  of  Sciences  in 
Berlin.  He  also  edited  the  Fragments  of  Livy,  which  he  had  only 
delayed  so  long  because  he  did  not  choose  to  submit  his  work  to 
the  censorship  of  a  Dominican,  from  the  necessity  of  which  his 
high  position  dTcl  not  exempt  him,  while  it  would  have  given 
offense  in  Rome  to  have  published  it  elsewhere.  He  now  waived 
this  objection,  because  he  feared  that  Mai  who  was  just  appointed 
librarian  at  the  Vatican,  would  publish  a  bad  edition  of  them,  if 
not  forestalled  by  a  better.  They  appeared  in  the  spring  of  18530. 


376  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

In  July,  partial  instructions  at  length  arrived,  but  the  general 
ones  were  still  kept  back,  which  vexed  him  all  the  more  as  he 
was  now  beginning  seriously  to  think  of  returning  to  Germany,  on 
account  of  his  wife's  ill  health,  and  extreme  dislike  to  Italy.  For 
his  own  part,  his  health  had  been  better,  after  the  first  year,  than 
at  any  former  period  of  his  hife. 

Letters  written  in  1819. 
CCL. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

ROME,  \lth  April,  1819. 

You  are  decidedly  against  Gretchen's  traveling  without  me,  and  con- 
sider such  a  separation  as  a  voluntary  renunciation  and  slighting  of  the 
nearest  relationships.  I  should  think  it  as  wrong  as  you  do,  unless  it  were 
justified  by  the  weightiest  reasons,  and  you  may  well  conceive  that  I  could 
not  suffer  Gretchen  and  the  children  to  travel  alone,  without  the  greatest, 
anxiety,  or  be  separated  from  them  without  a  great  sacrifice  on  my  part. 
But  her  state  of  health  is  not  only  very  unsatisfactory  in  general ;  she  is 
unquestionably  threatened  with  amaurosis.  In  fact,  the  effects  of  this  cli- 
mate on  a  nervous  constitution  are  something  of  which  you  can  form  no  idea 
out  of  Italy,  and  of  which  a  person  utterly  ignorant  of  medicine,  who  has 
personally  seen  and  observed  them,  has  a  much  clearer  comprehension  than 
the  greatest  physician  can  have  who  has  never  visited  Italy.  Would  the 
father  of  our  Brandis  ever  have  believed  that  traveling  in  the  mountains 
could  be  beneficial  to  his  son  ?  And  again,  others  who  also  are  suffering 
from  chest  disorders,  would  be  destroyed  by  living  at  the  height  of  600  feet 
above  the  sea;  while  others  die  in  a  few  weeks  in  the  sea  air  of  Naples, 
to  which  they  have  been  ordered  by  German  and  English  physicians,  to 
keep  off  consumption.  The  physician  who  accompanies  Prince  Metternich 
on  his  travels,  a  very  clear-headed  and  well-informed  man,  finds  himself 
quite  at  sea  in  all  the  cases  that  come  under  his  notice  here.  The  number 
of  Germans  who  suffer  from  mental  disorders  in  Rome,  is  at  least  from 
ten  to  twenty  times  greater  than  in  Germany  among  persons  of  the  same 
rank,  and  occupied  by  the  same  classes  of  ideas.  In  one  house,  which  is 
always  let  to  G  ermans,  five  occupants  in  succession  have  become  insane  with- 
in the  last  sixteen  years.  In  another  country  how  can  you  form  the  slightest 
conception  of  the  effects  of  the  smells,  or  the  sirocco?  It  is  utterly  im- 
possible ;  and  therefore  you  are  unable  to  estimate  the  effect  of  this  climate 
upon  a  delicate  constitution,  from  your  knowledge  of  that  constitution  in 
your  own  country;  hence  it  is  that  natives  and  foreigners  unite  in  urging  a 
removal  from  Italy,  as  soon  as  a  foreigner  finds  his  health  declining.  For 
my  own  part,  I  have  ransomed  my  health  with  a  year  of  suffering,  and  now 
I  should  never  think  of  changing  my  residence  on  my  own  account;  only  I 
find,  as  all  others  do  without  exception,  that  one  can  get  through  incom- 
parably less  work  here  than  in  Germany. 

16th.  I  laid  my  sheets  aside  yesterday  to  dress  for  one  of  the  court  parties 
that  are  taking  place  almost  daily  here  just  now.  You  can  easily  conceive 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1819.  377 

with  what  heart  I  can  be  there,  when  I  leave  my  invalid  in  a  solitude 
which  she  can  not  enliven  by  any  employment,  but  can  only  brood  over 
her  own  sad  thoughts  and  fears. 

I  shudder  at  what  we  see  and  hear  of  things  in  Germany.  Kotzebue's 
murder,  what  an  utterly  insane  act !  la  the  perception  of  what  is  right  and 
wrong,  lawful  and  atrocious,  really  so  perverted  in  Germany,  that  voices  can 
be  raised  in  defense  of  such  a  deed  ?  And  even  putting  that  aside,  can  the 
men  be  blind  to  the  consequences  of  a  deed  so  pregnant  with  calamity  ? 
Are  they  become  so  short-sighted  ?  Can  not  they  foresee  the  impression 
that  it  will  produce  on  the  governments?  Yet  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
say  this  to  the  deluded  men  without  being  regarded  as  a  blockhead,  and 
proscribed. 

CCLI. 

Tivoo,  Zltt  May,  1819. 

There  would  be  many  advantages  in  passing  the  summer  here ; 

bat  Gretchen  can  not  get  baths ;  the  walks  (with  the  most  glorious  pros- 
pects) are  without  shade  ;  and  I  should  be  obliged  to  leave  her  alone  some 
days  in  every  week,  which  would  be  very  dull  for  her,  as  she  can  employ 
nerself  so  little. 

Bemstorf  gives  me  a  furlough  of  six  or  eight  weeks.  His  letter  n  very 
friendly. 

The  inhabitants  of  Tivoli  are  the  most  most  arrant  beggars  on  the  face 
of  the  earth.  They  beg  with  laughing  faces,  attack  the  stranger,  and  abuse 
him  violently  if  he  gives  them  nothing.  I  have  made  the  acquaintance  of 
the  richest  man  in  the  place;  he  is  a  usurer  and  a  miser.  The  priests 
here  seem  to  be  certainly  not  better  than  the  rest.  I  have  met  with  one 
man,  however,  who  is  a  fresh  proof  that  the  Italians  might  be  raised,  if  they 
could  be  made  small  proprietors.  He  is  a  yeoman,  who  inherited  from  his 
father  a  house,  a  vineyard,  and  an  olive-garden,  but  with  debts  far  exceed- 
ing the  market-price  of  his  possessions  ;  for  small  estates  fetch  such  low 
prices,  that  the  produce  of  a  single  year  will  often  reach  the  half,  or  more, 
of  the  market-price;  the  land  requires  so  much  labor,  that  he  who  culti- 
vates it  by  hired  laborers  can  scarcely  make  both  ends  meet,  in  spite  of  the 
extraordinary  proportion  which  the  prices  of  products  bear  to  the  price  of 
land  here. 

This  honest  man  has  so  far  extricated  himself,  by  extraordinary  industry 
and  energy,  that  he  has  now  only  a  few  hundred  dollars  still  owing  of  his 
debts,  and  can  look  forward  to  the  time  when  he  shall  have  worked  them 
all  off.  "  When  I  had  earned  a  hundred  dollars  by  the  harvest,"  said  he, 
"  I  was  obliged  to  give  up  eighty,  and  wept  with  my  children."  He  mort- 
gaged his  olive-garden  for  ten  years  to  a  usurer,  who  'takes  the  whole  pro- 
duce, which,  in  good  years,  is  equal  to  the  capital  lent,  and  receives  besides 
ten  per  cent.,  which  the  poor  fellow  has  to  get  from  his  other  pieces  of  land. 
What  a  state  of  society !  And  believe  me,  that,  at  mostv  I  do  not  know 
more  than  one  Roman  who  would  be  shocked  at  such  facts  as  these.  If 
the  man  can  not  pay  the  two  hundred  dollars  next  year,  his  vineyard  will 
be  forfeited.  If  it  is  at  all  within  my  power  1  shall  lend  him  the  money. 
Wherever  you  find  hereditary  farmers,  or  small  proprietors,  there  you  also 
find  industry  and  honesty.  I  believe  that  a  man  who  would  employ  a 
large  fortune  in  establishing  small  freeholds,  might  put  an  end  to  robbery  -hi 


378  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

the  mountain  districts.  The  Italians  are  still,  as  in  the  time  of  the  Romans, 
adapted  simply  and  solely  for  agriculture.  They  are  as  little  a  poetical 
nation  as  the  old  Romans  were  ;  on  the  contrary,  they  are  prosaic,  and 
not  even  lively,  as  the  Germans  are  in  some  districts.  No  nation  can  be 
less  musical ;  they  have  only  a  ritornel  melody,  which  is  most  unpleasant, 
and  no  national  songs  at  all.  The  wisdom  of  the  old  Romans  is  strikingly 
displayed,  among  other  things,  with  respect  to  the  size  of  the  separate 
estates,  which  was  determined  by  law.  Seven  jugers  are  amply  sufficient 
to  feed  and  clothe  a  large  family.  On  this  extent  they  can  perform  all  the 
tillage  themselves,  of  which  much  more  is  needed  than  with  us.  The 
corn  requires  weeding.  This  work  occupies  the  whole  year,  and  there  is 
no  winter  month  when  there  is  nothing  to  do  in  the  fields.  A  larger  estate 
is  no  benefit  to  an  Italian,  and  he  who  lets  his  piece  of  land,  and  lives 
without  work  is  a  lost  man,  as  well  as  the  poor  fellow  who  can  get  no 
work.  The  mere  day-laborer  is  also  in  a  pitiable  condition,  and  this  class 
are,  for  the  most  part,  a  bad  set;  but  it  is  from  destitution.  The  great 
farmers  hire  them  by  the  job,  and,  in  order  to  save  a  little,  many  of  them 
work  themselves  to  death :  in  the  summer,  at  least,  the  hospitals  are  al- 
ways crowded  with  them.  The  rich  learn  nothing,  and  take  no  interest 
in  any  thing.  There  is  HO,  strictly  speaking,  burgher  class  at  all;  and 
nothing  is  rarer  than  to  find  artisans  who  understand  their  trade  and  are 
industrious.  The  priests  are  generally  very  poor  and  incredibly  wicked. 
In  Rome  there  are  parish  priests  who  go  about  begging.  The  monks  are 
certainly  nearly  all  good  for  nothing,  though  I  know  one  very  estimable 
Franciscan.  Learning  and  literature  are  at  a  lower  ebb  than  perhaps  in 
any  other  country.  The  devotion  is  merely  external,  and  this  has  very 
much  diminished.  I  have  been  assured  by  Italians  themselves  that  the 
younger  people  have  scarcely  any  faith  at  all.  From  the  greatest  to  the 
least,  all  unite  in  hating  and  despising  the  government ;  but  at  Rome  there 
are  none,  or  very  few,  who  cling,  as  so  many  in  the  other  parts  of  Italy 
do,  to  the  very  pardonable  chimera  of  the  unity  of  Italy.  I  was  conversing 
here  with  an  intelligent  landowner  about  the  city  and  the  inhabitants,  and 
he  drew  a  frightful  picture  of  one  after  another  of  the  most  influential  men, 
which  had,  however,  quite  an  air  of  truth.  As  he  had  previously  been 
blaming  the  government — -unhappily  with  only  too  much  justice — I  asked 
him  how  any  good  could  be  done  then,  if  those  who  would  come  into  power 
on  the  fall  of  the  priestly  domination  were  so  bad  ?  He  acknowledged 
that  no  amelioration  at  all  could  be  anticipated.  The  small  holdings  are 
swallowed  up  year  by  year,  and  thus  the  number  of  vagabonds  in  the 
towns  is  constantly  increasing. 

If  one  could  but  penetrate  further  into  the  retreats  of  the  agricultural 
population !  It  is  only  among  them  that  any  addition  to  our  knowledge 
of  antiquity  could  be  obtained. 

Bunsen  and  his  wife  have  been  with  us  about  ten  days.  He  and  I 
have  been  visiting  ruins  that  no  stranger  has  ever  visited  before,  and 
which  are  very  remarkable. 

CCLII. 

TO  NICOLOVIUS. 

ROME,  3d  July,  1819. 
From  Schmeider's  official  letter  and  mine,  you  will  see,  dear  Nicolovius, 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1819.  379 

that  our  evangelical  worship  has  been  happily  commenced,  and  truly  "  in 
God's  name."  The  27th  of  June  •will  be  a  notable  day  henceforward  in 
church  history ;  for  what  Protestant  worship  there  had  been  in  Rome 
previously,  was  destitute  of  all  spiritual  power. 

That  ours  will  prosper  under  such  an  excellent  clergyman  is  certain.  I 
think  I  have  always  known  what  a  genuine  pastor  must  be,  who  should 
in  our  days  raise  up  a  church,  and  -infuse  into  her  a  new  life,  but  I  had 
never  seen  such  a  one  till  we  became  acquainted  with  Schraieder.  I  can 
not  tell  you  how  we  all  love  and  reverence  him. 

It  will  not  occasion  offense;  I  spoke  to  the  Pope  after  the  first  Sunday, 
when  he  had,  no  doubt,  been  informed  of  all  that  passed,  and  he  was  as 
friendly  as  ever ;  I  had  a  favor  to  request  for  a  friend  of  mine  from  the 
Secretary  of  State,  but  he  declined  saying  any  thing  to  the  Pope  about  it, 
and  told  me  that  I  had  better  apply  to  him  myself,  he  would  certainly  not 
refuse  me  ;  and  he  did  not. 

The  pretraille  do,  indeed,  cavil  much  at  our  burial-ground.  The  most 
perplexing  circumstance  to  us  will  be,  if  apostates  chould  want  to  return 
to  us ;  one  has  announced  his  intention  of  doing  so  already ;  you  may 
rely  upon  it  that  we  shall  act  with  due  forethought  and  circumspection. 

I  only  wish  that  Schmieder  had  his  wife  with  him.  As-  he  will  receive 
200  dollars  increase  of  salary,  and  the  congregation  can  do  something 
for  him,  she  must  come.  He  is  so  made  to  be  happy  and  to  confer  hap- 
piness, that  he  ought  not  to  be  subjected  to  this  cruel  separation.  We 
shall  do  what  we  can  toward  the  expenses  of  traveling  and  removal ;  as 
I  shall  now  remain  here  till  next  March,  I  shall  be  able  to  spare  something 
toward  it.  But  the  200  hundred  dollars  may  be  regarded  as  certain  if  hia 
wife  comes. 

I  earnestly  entreat  an  answer  by  return  of  post  if  possible.  I  can  not 
tell  you  how  I  long  for  freedom.  Here  I  have  been  too  long  compelled  to 
be  on  friendly  terms  with  despicable  men,  for  the  sake  of  the  service,  and 
the  relations  which  it  involves  ;  and  I  grow  more  and  more  acutely  sensi- 
ble that  these  gentlemen  despise  all  that  is  good  in  me,  and  despise  me 
myself  on  account  of  the  evil  that  is  not  in  me. 

CCLIII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLEB,. 

ROME,  llth  July,  1819. 

You  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  I  have  gained  courage  and  energy 

to  undertake  an  historical  work  of  tiome  magnitude,  and  that  I  have  near- 
ly brought  it  to  a  conclusion.  Namely,  I  have  made  a  collection  of  the 
previously  unknown  facts  and,  dates  occurring  in  the  fragments  of  the  Ar- 
menian translation  of  the  Chronicles  of  Eusebius,  which  have  been  recently 
discovered,  and  collated  them  with  others  already  known,  but  frequently 
very  obscure.  By  ^is  process,  the  history  of  the  earliest  periods  of  the 
Babylonian  empire,  that  of  the  Assyrian  empire,  and  that  of  the  Mace- 
donian dynasties  after  Alexander,  will  in  many  parts  gain  considerably  in 
clearness  and  extent.  The  light  thus  thrown  on  many  points,  completes 
the  refutation  of  those  who  maintain  that  Herodotus  only  knew  history  as 
an  assemblage  of  unconnected  legends,  and  had  no  definitely  arranged 
chronological  outline  before  his  eyes ;  the  new  facts  furnish  the  greater 


380  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBITHR. 

part  of  the  materials  necessary  for  a  work  on  all  the  races  and  states 
standing  in  connection  with  Rome — a  work  which  can  not  be  incorporated 
into  the  continuation  of  the  Roman  History,  but  must  be  present  to  my 
thoughts  in  a  distinct  shape.  I  do  not  so  completely  despair  of  this  con- 
tinuation, since  I  have  found  that  I  can  writet  and  in  a  much  more  im- 
pressive style  than  in  better  times,  although  very  slowly.  But  it  is  terri- 
bly laborious  to  write  here,  because  you  not  only  have  to  go  to  the  public 
library  for  every  book  which  you  do  not  yourself  possess,  but  have  to  con- 
tend with  the  indolence  of  the  Italians,  as  soon  as  you  require  several  books 
in  order  to  look  out  single  scattered  passages.  Until  lately,  I  had  very  sel- 
dom had  occasion  to  visit  the  library  where  the  printed  philological  works 
are  generally  to  be  found,  and  the  regular  librarian  does  not  know  who  I 
am;  hence,  he  has  lately  treated  me  with  great  ill-humor  for  giving  him 
so  much  trouble.  The  librarians  are  Dominicans  one  of  the  most  repulsive 

of  the  monastic  orders 

Schmieder  lives  and  boards  with  us,  and  will  continue  to  do  so  until  his 
wife  comes,  which  will  probably  be  in  the  autumn.  It  is  my  earnest  wish 
that  this  noble-minded  man  may  enjoy  the  happiness  which  he  deserves. 
I  have  at  last  received  partial  instructions.  I  fear,  however,  that  the 
Pope  is  near  his  end,  and  then  it  will  be  again  impossible  to  do  any  thing. 
In  that  case,  the  instructions  could  not  be  executed  in  their  present  form, 
and  I  have  in  the  first  place  to  report  this  to  my  government. 

CCLIV. 

ROME,  I3(k  August,  1819. 

No  intelligence  has  reached  me  since  the  unhappy  occurrences  in  Berlin.* 
Here  we  have  only  very  confused  accounts  of  the  arrests,  and  the  search 
after  papers.  The  seizure  of  Reimer'st  will  have  made  you  uneasy  on  my 
account  also.  Not  that  you  would  think  me  capable  for  a  moment  of  har- 
boring criminal  designs  against  the  State,  or  rash  ones  against  the  existing 
ministry.  But  you  will  fancy  the  possibility  of  strong  expressions  of  vexa- 
tion. It  will  set  you  at  ease  when  I  tell  you  that  I  have  not  written  to 
Reimer  at  all  for  more  than  a  year,  that  I  have  at  no  time  written  fre- 
quently to  him,  and  that  my  letters  were  always  short  and  of  no  political 
importance.  Neither  my  wishes  nor  my  hopes  were  in  unison  with  his. 

To  Schleiermacher  and  Arndt  I  have  never  written. t  I  am  ready  to 
take  oath  that,  according  to  my  full  belief,  not  one  of  these  three  is  con- 
nected with  any  thing  that  could  be  reasonably  called  a  secret  association, 
still  less  a  conspiracy.  Reimer  may  have  used  unwarrantable  expressions, 
and  has  made  himself  bitter  enemies  by  his  never-ending  squabbles  with 
the  censorship. 

*  This  refers  to  the  investigations  which  were  set  on  foot  after  the  mnrder  of 
Kotze"bne,  by  Sand,  to  discover  the  revolutionary  conspiracy  with  which  his 
deed  was  supposed  to  be  connected.  It  was  afterward  fully  proved  that  he 
had  acted  under  the  impulse  of  maddened  fanaticism  without  any  external  in- 
stigation ;  but  the  government,  at  this  time,  fancied  that  the  whole  Burschen- 
schaft  was  a  secret  association  which  aimed  at  the  overthrow  of  the  existing 
authorities,  and,  therefore,  all  those  who  were  in  any  way  connected  with  it 
were  called  to  account. 

t  Reimer  was  u  publisher  in  Berlin,  and  an  intimate  friend  of  Niebuhr'g.. 

:f  Schteiermacher's  papers  were  soou  restored  to  him  ;  but  Arndt  WAS  less 
fortunate.  He  was  suspended  from  his  professorship,  and  his  papers  were  de- 
tained for  several  years. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1819.  381 

Schleiermacher  may  have  said  unsuitable  things  on  unsuitable  occasions, 
but  he  has  never  been  an  advocate  of  revolution  any  more  than  Arndt,  and 
•  I  remember  his  saying  to  my  Hilly  and  me,  when  all  these  ideas  were  first 
beginning  to  ferment,  that  he  shuddered  to  think  of  them.  As  far  as  his 
papers  are  concerned,  I  am  quite  easy  about  him.  I  am  less  so  about 
Reimer's  ;  I  fear  misinterpretation  (firmly  as  I  am  convinced  of  his  inno- 
cence), because  he  often  formed,  connections  for  a  time  with  Tiot-headed 
men,  till  he  perceived  that  there  was  nothing  to  be  done' with  them.  Still, 
nothing  can  be  brought  to  light  worthy  the  name  of  a  crime.  •  Hi.s  credit 
may,  however,  be  seriously  injured  by  such  an  affair  and  such  an  interrup- 
tion to  his  business. 

Whether  there  exists  any  sort  of  conspiracy  among  the  young  men,  I  do 
not  know ;  it  does  not  seem  to  me  impossible  j  at  all  events  there  is  a 
fanatical  political  sect,  which  is  more  dangerous  than  a  conspiracy,  because 
it  has  roots  that  can  not  be  destroyed  except  by  plowing  up  the  soil  itself 
— a  course  not  to  be  expected  of  governments  which  have  allowed  the  evil 
to  grow  up  under  their  own  eyes,  without  counteracting  it  by  wisdom  and 
virtue.  And  this  would  have  been  possible.  In  1814,  the  ground  was 
cleared  and  ready  to  bear  fruit ;  but  no  seed  was  sown,  and  so  of  course 
weeds  shot  up  in  rank  luxuriance.  Nothing  can  exonerate  those  who 
neglected  their  duty  at  that  time  from  the  blame  of  these  results.  Then, 
love  dwelt  in  every  heart,  and  all  were  ready  to  welcome  whatever  was 
noble  and  good.  Now,  the  tone  of  public  feeling  has  degenerated,  and 
God  knows  how  it  is  to  be  raised.  To  me,  our  democrats  are  as  hateful 
as  lackeys  aping  the  ways  of  a  despot. 

CCLV. 

ROME,  Z8lk  Avguit,  1819. 

Since  I  wrote  to  you  this  day  week,  your  missing  letter  has  come  to 
hand,  after  a  week's  delay.  Even  the  communications  which  I  have  re- 
ceived from  the  ecclesiastical  authorities,  have  been  opened  without  cere- 
mony and  detained  on  the  road,  of  which  I  have  made  bitter  complaints 
to  my  minister.  I  conjecture  that  it  takes  place  at  Frankfort. 

You  say  that  a  life  in  Germany  would  now  afford  me  little  that  was 
cheering,  and  I,  too,  clearly  perceive  this.  In  fact,  I  should  unquestiona- 
bly remain  here  in  spite  of  all  that  I  risk  by  doing  so  (about  which  I  wrote 
to  you),  if  there  were  any  hope  that  Gretchen's  health  could  be  re-estab- 
lished, or  even  improve  in  this  country.  Whether  this  will  be  the  case  in 
Germany,  we  do  not  know,  but  we  must  make  the  experiment.  I  believe 
that  you  yourself  will  pronounce  me  in  the  right,  if,  after  a  full  considera- 
tion of  all  the  reasons  against  this  step,  I  decide  to  take  it  as  a  duty  to- 
ward my  poor  Gretchen.  Indeed  I  assure  you  that  I  could  not  do  it  with- 
out great  sacrifices  on  my  part,  consequently  am  in  no  danger  of  being 
seduced  by  inclination.  I  have  gained  access  here  to  papers  which  are 
preserved  in  a  building  where  you  can  not  work  in  winter ;  believe  me,  I 
should  resign  them  very  unwillingly,  and  all  the  more  so,  as  it  may  be 
anticipated  that,  since  they  have  lain  there  for  eighty  years suntroubled, 
they  may  probably  remain  unnoticed  forever,  unless  I  profit  by  them. 
They  are  critical  collections  of  extracts  from  manuscripts  of  Cicero's  Ora- 
tions, with  the  criticism  of  which  I  have  been  busily  engaged  ever  since 
the  winter,  and  of  which  with  these  aids  I  should  be  able  to  publish 


382  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

regular  edition.      I  have  acquired  a  taste  for  critical  researches  into  lan- 
guage, which  formerly  I  was  far  from  possessing. 

The  aspect  of  things  in  Germany  is  certainly  in  every  respect  unfriendly 
and  discouraging.  You  can  not  unite  with  any  party,  and  a  man  of  clear 
and  correct  views  finds  enemies  on  every  side.  I  really  look  upon  it  as  a 
blessing  that  I  am  not  in  Berlin  at  this  moment ;  that  is,  if  the  unhappy 
circumstances  which  have  occurred  there  could  not  have  been  averted,  of 
which,  however,  I  am  not  so  fully  convinced,  if  I  could  have  taken  a  part 
in  public  affairs.  Unfortunately  our  men  do  not  perceive  that  in  this  case 
no  coercive  measures  can  avail ;  indeed  nothing  can  do  good  but  a  govern- 
ment whose  wisdom  and  virtue  should  put  the  deluded  to  shame,  and  win 
over  and  appease  the  universities.  My  dispatches  have  often  given  me  an 
opportunity  of  expressing  my  views  respecting  the  inward  disease  of  all 
States  ;  and  while  no  man  can  find  so  much  as  a  pretext  for  denouncing 
me  as  an  adherent  of  revolutionary  sentiments,  I  have  openly  expressed 
my  sense  of  the  deficiencies  of  our  government. 

I  have  sought  to  make  it  intelligible  that  they  are  presuming  and  seek- 
ing for  a  conspiracy  where  there  is  a  sect.  The  latter  is  perhaps  more 
dangerous  than  the  former,  but  it  can  not  be  crushed,  even  if  composed  of 
men  of  a  different  stamp  from  those  who  took  part  in  this  hazardous  enter- 
prise among  us ;  a  crusade  against  them  is  as  fruitless  as  against  a  relig- 
ious sect.  Much  has  been  done  in  ignorance ;  did  the  governments  take 
the  right  course,  they  would  rule  over  loving  subjects,  and  a  few  fiery 
heads,  such  as  always  exist,  would  find  no  materials  on  which  to  work. 
Now,  when  the  sect  has  acquired  firmness  and  consistency,  the  only  pru- 
dent course  is  to  soothe  them  by  adopting  wise  and  good  measures,  neither 
yielding  to  them,  nor  yet  directly  irritating  them.  There  has  never  yet 
been  a  sect  which  did  not  contain  some  grain  of  truth,  and  this  grain  is 
what  we  must  seek  to  appropriate ;  if  we  do  so,  the  residuum  of  folly  and 
perverseness  will  fall  to  pieces  of  itself  before  a  firm  yet  kind  opposition ; 
but  if  you  attack  it,  just  as  it  stands,  you  often  find  it  invincible,  and  at 
all  events  place  yourself  in  a  very  dangerous  position.  I  do  not  by  this 
mean  to  deny  that  there  may  be  some  actual  plotters  behind  the  scenes ; 
but  the  number  of  such  can  not  be  great,  and  they  will  no  doubt  know  how 
to  keep  themselves  concealed. 

I  am  again  throwing  myself  with  full  energy  into  all  kinds  of  occupation, 
and  to  a  certain  extent  with  success.  In  fact  by  this  means  I  grow  calm- 
er, and  more  able  to  forget  the  annihilation  of  all  bright  visions  in  the  so- 
cial world.  I  have  finished  my  treatise  on  the  historical  acquisitions  afforded 
by  the  Chronicles  of  Eusebius,  which,  among  other  things,  contains  the 
account  of  a  whole  period  of  the  history  of  the  Seleucidse.  It  has  almost 
grown  into  a  small  book. 

This  is  a  very  unhealthy  season.  Thank  God  we  keep  free  from  the 
prevailing  distempers.  The  numerous  cases  of  sickness  keep  our  dear, 
active  Schmieder  fully  .employed.  There  are  many  German  artisans  here, 
particularly  from  Switzerland,  with  their  wives  and  families.  Their  misery 
at  such  a  time  is  inconceivable,  and  hitherto  they  have  often  taken  these 
poor  creatures  into  the  hospitals,  and  when  there,  if  they  refused  to  change 
their  religion,  have  left  them  for  days  together  without  attention  or  food. 
The  establishment  of  our  Church  will  remove  a  part  of  this  misery  ;  it 
will  procure  the  means  of  help,  and  the  poor  will  know  to  whom  they  may 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1819.  383 

look  for  assistance.  I  can  not  say  too  much  of  Schmieder's  conduct  in 
this,  as  in  every  other  work.  I  feel  much  more  happy  in  my  own  mind 
since  he  haa  been  here.  You  see  in  him  what  genuine  piety  in  any  form 
makes  of  a  noble  spirit 

CCLVI. 

ROME,  nth.  September,  1819. 

I  did  not  write  to  you  this  day  week,  because  I  was  ill,  and  did  not 
know  whether  it  might  not  become  serious ;  but  I  have  been  restored  by 
prompt  remedies. 

I  do  not  know  whether  you  have  heard  that  a  pamphlet  has  appeared 
in  Paris,  upon  the  so-called  secret  associations  in  France,  which  is  written, 
in  a  very  good  spirit,  but,  to  judge  from  the  extracts  hi  the  newspapers, 
contains  many  errors  and  inaccuracies,  as  to  matters  of  fact.  My  name 
is  mentioned  in  it,  but  with  respect.  Although,  however,  it  does  not 
speak  of  me  as  belonging  to  the  Tugendbund,  it  is  very  unpleasant  to  me  to 
find  it  stated,  that,  in  1813.  Gneiuenau,  Ilumboldt,  and  I  gave  our  appro- 
bation to  the  principles  of  this  society.  Now  as  I  can  stake  my  life  upon 
it  that  I  never  was  connected  with  any  association,  and  malicious  persons 
could  easily  take  occasion  from  it  to  represent  my  former  declarations  as 
falsehoods,  I  felt  much  tempted  to  insert  a  letter  on  the  subject  in  the 
French  newspapers.  I  gave  up  the  idea  afterward,  because  the  ill-inten- 
tioned, who  have  always  some  misinterpretation  at  hand,  would  imme- 
diately have  said  that  I  sought  to  exculpate  myself  through  fear,  and 
because,  in  my  position,  I  can  not  openly  exprass  ray  feelings  about  the 
state  of  affairs. 

.  And  besides,  even  if  I  had  not  been  held  back  by  my  position  as  a  serv- 
ant of  the  State,  other  obstacles  would  have  been  in  the  way.  Much  as  I 
disapprove  of  the  course  that  has  been  taken,  I  could  not  publicly  acquit 
many  of  my  friends  of  having  acted  so  that  appearances  were  against 
them,  nor  of  cherishing  very  perverted,  although  not  guilty  sentiments. 

This  opens  a  mournful  prospect  for  me  if  I  return  to  Germany.  A  sober 
man  among  drunkards  is  in  a  horrible  position.  Now  my  convictions  are 
still  the  same  as  those  which  I  expressed  many  years  ago,  and  by  which 
I  drew  down  upon  myself  such  absurd  and  venomous  attacks  from  the 
Liberal  party — that  the  change  of  forms  which  is  necessary,  and  would 
save  us,  can  not  properly  affect  the  sovereignty,  but  only  the  administra- 
tion ;  that  the  evils  from  which  we  are  suffering,  so  far  as  they  are  the 
work  of  the  executive  power,  are  not  connected  so  exclusively  with  the 
persons  of  those  who  are  now  in  office,  but  that  we  should  be  certain  to 
experience  the  same  again,  or  others,  after  the  introduction  of  any  repre- 
sentative system  whatever ;  that  the  source  of  our  maladies  lies  in  our 
national  manners  and  tone  of  thought.  Each  man  wants  to  govern,  and 
thinks  he  can  do  it  extempore ;  if  you  doubt  his  capacity,  he  feels  himself 
insulted.  But  no  onfris  ready  to  bear  burdens  for  the  community.  Every 
where  men  make  the  most  unreserved  claims  to  a  comfortable  life  at  the 
cost  of  the  State  ;  and  this  is,  in  fact,  with  most  the  source  of  their  desire 
for  change,  coupled,  however,  with  a  different  and  far  more  innocent  mo- 
tive, namely,  such  p  long  familiarity  with  scenes  of  violent  change  and 
excitement,  that  their  minds  have  grown  habituated  to  them.  ..... 


384  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

CCLVII. 

TIVOLI,  1st  October,  1819. 

To-day  I  have  some  news  to  tell  you,  which  is  of  no  slight  importance 
to  me.  I  have  received  an  official  announcement  that  my  instructions  are 
about  to  be  sent  off.  This  renders  it  nearly  impossible  for  me  to  carry  out 
my  proposal  of  requesting  my  recall  in  December.  Had  I  not  to  consider 
Gretchen's  health,  it  might  and  would  give  me  much  gratification  to  find 
myself  at  last  engaged  on  more  important  business ;  for  a  life  in  Germany 
to  me  would  now  be  scarcely  the  shadow  of  my  old  life  there.  1  look 
upon  myself  as  one  forgotten  in  my  own  country ;  while  here,  the  Pope 
and  the  Cabinet  show  me  the  most  marked  respect,  kindness,  and  confi- 
dence. My  health  has  improved  ;  my  powers  have  been  refreshed  by  the 
work  I  have  just  gone  through ;  and  I  am  ready  at  least  to  make  an  at- 
tempt to  resume  my  History.  If  this  attempt  should  not  prove  as  success- 
ful as  formerly,  it  will  not  be  wholly  fruitless  ;  and  I  shall  have  eased  my 
conscience  by  the  endeavor  to  fulfill  a  sacred  dirty  toward  my  Milly.  I 
have  no  fear  of  finding  myself  unable  to  conduct  the  negotiation  well 
and  skillfully ;  but  now  comes  one  great  drawback;  people  in  Germany 
make  such  absurd  demands  on  the  results  of  such  a  negotiation,  that  it  is 
utterly  impossible  to  satisfy  them ;  and  when  the  affair  is  brought  to  the 
only  practicable  conclusion,  I  shall  be  decried  without  mercy.  They  im- 
agine that  if  we  only  set  to  work  in  the  right  way,  we  might  succeed  in 
driving  the  Roman  Court  to  renounce  its  principles  and  its  pretensions, 
and  to  leave  the  bishops  so  free  that  they  could  regulate  the  Church  ac- 
cording to  their  own  pleasure ;  and  that,  failing  in  this,  the  governments 
ought  to  break  off  all  connection  with  Rome,  and  take  the  whole  settle- 
ment of  the  Church  into  their  own  hands.  But  such  people  do  not  reflect 
that  only  a  very  small  party  among  the  Catholics  would  agree  to  such  a 
course ;  and  that  in  many  districts,  particularly  in  the  Rhenish  provinces 
and  Westphalia,  nothing  would  so  infallibly  excite  discontent  and  disaffec- 
tion among  the  King's  subjects  as  this  compulsory  emancipation;  for, 
though,  doubtless,  there  would  be  no  lack  of  persons  willing  to  undertake 
the  office  of  bishops,  yet  as  such  bishops  would  be  schismatic,  all  true 
Catholics  would  consider  every  rite  performed  by  them,  or  by  any  priest 
consecrated  by  them,  as  unlawful,  nay,  criminal.  But,  however  difficult  it 
may  be  to  content  both  parties,  this  negotiation  is  indispensable ;  and  if  it 
be  at  last  brought  to  a  happy  conclusion,  so  many  evils  will  be  obviated, 
that  from  this  higher  motive  I  shall  derive  satisfaction  from  it,  though  it 
may  occasion  much  that  is  unpleasant  for  me. 

But  Gretchen's  health  ! 

CCLVIII. 

HOME,  20th  October,  1819. 

We  returned  to  town  again  on  Saturday,  and  it  was  well  we  did,  for 
the  autumn  rain  has  been  pouring  down  in  torrents  ever  since.  The 
severe  and  premature  cold  weather  almost  spoiled  our  stay  on  the  slopes 
of  the  Apennines.  Gretchen  has  been  obliged  to  give  up  the  grape  cure. 
The  children  grew  quite  robust  there.  Amelia  has  at  last  taken  courage 
to  go  alone ;  she  speaks  much  earlier  than  Marcus.  The  dear  fellow  is 
not  at  all  jealous,  and  readily  gives  way  to  his  sister  ^  he  fondles  her  with 
intense  delight,  and  calls  her  jima  mia  !  He  is  a  remarkably  good  child. 


EMBASSY  TO  ROME.  385 

The  Carlsbad  decrees  *  have  made  a  most  mischievous  impression  on 
the  Germans  here,  who  are  mostly  young  men,  and  many  of  them  pos- 
sessed  by  wild  dogmas ;  from  this  we  may  easily  gather  the  effect  they 
will  produce  in  Germany.  A  favorable  impression  they  can  not  make  on 
any  unbiased  mind.  It  is  equally  severe  and  unjust  to  have  recourse-  to 
severe  and  coercive  measures  against  a  sect,  which  your  very  violence 
converts  into  a  party,  without  in  the  least  leforming  your  own  proceedings, 
without  redressing  a  single  real  grievance.  How  utterly  without  love, 
without  patriotism,  without  joy — how  full  of  discontent  and  grudge  must 
life  be,  where  this  is  the  relation  between  the  subjects  and  the  govern- 
ments !  Our  rulers  do  not  perceive  that  Prussia  can  only  subsist  upon  a 
moral  and  spiritual  basis.  I  know  very  well  whose  spiritual  children  the 
democrats  are ;  I  know  that  you  can  not  allay  the  wild  clamor,  however 
well  you  govern,  unless  yon  do  them  the  favor  of  adopting  their  senseless 
plans ;  but  they  would  be  detached  from  the  people  at  large,  if  the  latter 
found  that  they  were  governed  wisely  and  well. 


1820. 

IN  July,  1820,  Niebuhr  at  last  received  his  instructions,  after 
having  waited  for  them  four  years.  They  arrived  at  a  moment 
very  unpropitious  for  negotiation,  for  the  revolution  in  Naples 
broke  out  on  the  7th  of  July,  and  it  was  rumored  that  on  the  17th, 
a  similar  rising  was  to  take  place  at  Rome,  in  accordance  with  a 
plan  previously  concerted  with  the  insurgents  of  Naples.  The  ex- 
pectation of  an  Austrian  intervention  prevented  the  revolt  in  Rome 
from  coming  to  a  head,  but  it  could  not  secure  the  inhabitants 
from  the  risk  of  a  sudden  incursion  of  the  bands  of  robbers  who 

*  During  the  agitation  occasioned  by  Kotzebue's  murder  and  the  investiga- 
tions to  which  it  gave  rise,  Mettemlch  and  Hardeuberg  agreed  to  fill  up  the 
chasms  left  in  the  Act  of  Confederation  of  1815,  and,  for  this  purpose,  to' hold 
ministerial  conferences  at  Carlsbad,  to  which  plenipotentiaries  from  all  the 
German  states  were  invited.  The  conferences  began  toward  the  end  of  July. 
Their  results  were  communicated  to  the  Frankfort  Diet,  and  the  measures 
based  upon  them  were  all  brought  in  and  accepted  unanimously  hi  one  day. 
They  consisted — 

I.  Of  the  appointment  of  a  commission  to  watch  over  the  execution  of  the 
decrees  of  the  Diet,  which  were  to  supersede  the  existing  authorities  in  any 
Geroian  state,  in  case  of  an  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  latter. 

II.  Measures  were  to  be  taken  to  watch  over  the  universities,  and  pat  down 
any  indication  .of  a    revolutionary  spirit   among  either  the  -students  or  the 
professors, 

III.  A  rigid  censorship  of  the  press  was  to  be  established. 

IV.  The  appointment  of  a  Central  Committee  for  the  investigation  of  all 
democratic  attempts  was  decreed.    This  committee  sat  at  Mayence,  and  had 
power  to  cause  the  arrest  of  persons  on  suspicion,  in  any  part  of  Germany,  and 
have  them  brought  to  Mayence,  and  detained  there  as  long  as  might  be  found 
necessary. 

E 


386  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

had  been  collected  and  organized  in  large  bodies  by  the  Neapolitan 
Carbonari.  There  were  very  few  troops  in  Rome,  and  none  whose 
fidelity  could  be  relied  on. 

Under  these  painful  circumstances  Madame  Niebuhr  was  con- 
fined of  a  daughter  on  the  9th  of  August. 

Niebuhr's  position  was  very  trying,  as  he  could  neither  leave 
Rome  so  long  as  the  Pope  remained  there,  nor  send  his  wife  and 
children  away  without  him,  while,  in  the  city,  they  lived  in  con- 
stant fear  of  being  attacked  by  brigands  and  plundered,  or  carried 
off  as  hostages.     At  the  same  time,  it  was  necessary  to  proceed 
with  the  negotiations,  for  which,  however,  the  Roman  government 
had  little  attention  to  spare  at  such  a  moment.    This  state  of  anx- 
iety lasted  till  the  arrival  of  the  Austrians  in  the  February  following. 
During  this  autumn,  Niebuhr  was  also  involved  in  some  very 
unpleasant  literary  disputes.    His  edition  of  the  fragments  he  had 
discovered  in  the  Vatican  in  1816,  had  come  out  in  May.     About 
the  same  time,  a  Codex  was  discovered  by  Peyron  in  Turin,  which 
confirmed  the  arrangement  of  the  fragments  of  Cicero's  Oration 
for  Scaurus,  to  which  Niebuhr  had  been  led  by  his  own  study  of 
them.     The  Abbe  Mai,  who  could  not  forgive  Niebuhr  for  having 
found  so  many  defects  in  his  edition  of  Fronto,  and  of  the  Armen- 
ian Eusebius,  and  regarded  him  with  envy  as  a  fortunate  rival  in 
the  path  of  discovery,  accused  him  in  a  public  journal  of  having 
learnt  from  the  Turin  MS.  what  he  had  put  forth  as  an  original 
conjecture.     Niebuhr  was  about  to  publish  an  indignant  defense, 
when  Mai  was  persuaded  by  his  friends,  who  represented  to  him 
the  consequences  of  his  proceeding,  to  retract  and  apologize  for  his 
statement  in  the  same  journal.     On  this  Niebuhr  agreed  to  take 
no  further  notice  of  the  matter.     The  same  charge  was,  however, 
repeated,  and  in  a  much  more  malignant  manner,  soon  after,  in 
the  "  Bibliotheca  Italiana."    This  he  could  not  leave  unanswered, 
and  therefore  printed  a  pamphlet  in  which  he  refuted  the  state- 
ment by  the  clearest  proofs.     In  January  1821,  Niebuhr  received 
a  letter  from  Peyron,  stating,  that  though  he  had  discovered  the 
fragments  in  question  in  the  previous  March,  he  had  not  found  the 
key  to  their  arrangement,  which  was  the  subject  of  the  accusa- 
tion, until  September ;  consequently,  not  until  three  months  after 
Niebuhr's  edition  had  been  in  print.     Peyron  announced  his  in- 
tention of  inserting  this  letter  in  a  Roman  journal ;  the  permission 
to  do  so  was  at  first  refused  out  of  consideration  to  Mai,  but  Nie- 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1820.  387 

buhr  succeeded  at  length  in  extorting  it  from  the  government, 
which  he  would  hardly  have  accomplished  but  for  his  official  po- 
sition. 

In  spite  of  the  unsettled  state  of  political  affairs,  the  concourse 
of  foreigners  at  Rome,  in  the  winter  of  1820,  was  unusually  large. 
Prince  Henry  of  Prussia,  Prince  Christian  of  Denmark,  and  the 
Crown  Prince  of  Bavaria,  with  many  other  distinguished  person- 
ages, spent  the  winter  there.  This  rendered  it  necessary  for  Nie- 
buhr  to  enter  into  society  so  much  more  than  he  had  done  hitherto, 
that  he  was  scarcely  able  to  carry  on  his  studies  at  all.  He  had, 
however,  the  great  pleasure  of  receiving  a  visit  from  Stein  and  his 
two  daughters  in  December,  and  conversing  once  more  with  the 
great  statesman  upon  the  political  topics  that  still  lay  nearest  to 
his  heart. 

Letters  vrritten  in  1820. 

CCLIX. 
TO  MADAME  HENSLEE. 

ROMZ,  l$l  January,  1820. 

I  can  not  allow  the  coincidence  of  the  New  Year  and  the  post-day  to  pass 
without  sending  you  a  greeting.,  although  it  must  be  very  short ;  for  to  us 
this  New  Year  begins  like  the  last,  with  a  severe  illness  of  Gretchen's.  She 
bears  it  with  admirable  patience,  but  it  is  a  great  calamity  to  us  all.  I  do 
not  think  that  she  is  in  any  danger,  but  what  a  life  it  is  that  she  leads, 
and  for  me  too  ?  And  what  comfort  have  the  poor  children  of  their  mother  ? 

Thus  our  immediate  prospects  on  entering  the  New  Year,  are  but  gloomy ; 
gloomy  like  our  sky,  in  which  the  sun  has  seldom  appeared  for  the  last 
three  months.  As  concerns  the  world  at  large,  I  shut  my  eyes  to  the  fu- 
ture. I  have  never  deviated  from  the  straight  path  since  the  times  have 
grown  so  difficult  any  more  than  I  did  previously,  and  I  shall  continue  to 
walk  in  it  with  unswerving  footsteps.  So  long  as  two  months  ago,  I  ex- 
pressed my  sentiments  directly  and  openly  to  the  King,  on  occasion  of  the 
well-known  circular;*  I  wrote  unreservedly  to  the  minister  when  the  first 
arrests  took  place ;  since  then  I  have  expressed  myself  with  equal  freedom 
to  the  Crown  Prince — I,  whom  the  revolutionists,  no  doubt  call  an  enemy 
of  freedom.  And  I  shall  continue  to  act  with  the  same  openness,  and 
leave  the  consequences  in  God's  hand. ...... 

I  most  conclude,  because  my  Marcus,  who  has  been  waiting  patiently 
for  nearly  an  hour,  is  now  begging  me  with  tears  to  come  and  play  with 
him.  Let  me  commend  my  dear  angel  children  to  your  affection. 

CCLX. 

ROME,  22d  January,  1820. 

The  deadening  influence  of  th«  climate  of  modern  Rome  is  not 

common  to  many  places  in  Italy,  but  wherever  there  in  a  similar  climate, 

*  A  circular,  by  which  the  different  embassadors  were  called  upon  to  state 
their  views  with  regard  to  the  general  political  condition  of  Germany. 


388  MEMOIE  OF  NIEBUHR. 

wherever  this  sirocco  prevails,  you  see  the  same  intellectual  results.  I  will 
not  remind  you  of  the  fact  that  Rome  remained  quite  barbarous  up  to  the 
fifteenth  century,  but  the  stagnation  of  mind,  and  the  incapacity  for  all 
deeper  insight  and  classical  thought,  which  has  displayed  itself  in  later 
times  is  by  no  means  to  be  ascribed  exclusively,  or  even  chiefly  to  the 
government  and  its  form.  From  that  time  to  this,  Rome  has  produced  no 
poet  no  great  author  of  any  description,  not  even  artists,  with  one  excep- 
tion •  only  one  great  philologist,  and  he  has  written  no  connected  work  of 
magnitude.  Pisa  has  just  such  a  climate  as  Rome,  and,  while  at  Flor- 
ence the  human  mind  was  exhibiting  the  greatest  activity  and  life  in  every 
direction,  no  man  of  intellect  has  arisen  at  Pisa,  and  all  the  great  works 
of  art,  which  the  wealth  of  that  city  has  called  into  existence,  have  been 
executed  by  foreigners 

I  think  you  will  not  hear  without  interest,  that  the  republic  of  Geneva 
has  sent  me  the  freedom  of  the  city.  With  a  good  deal  of  trouble,  I  had 
succeeded  in  obtaining  a  papal  decree  separating  the  Catholic  community 
of  Geneva  from  the  diocese  of  Chambery,  and  transferring  it  to  the  bishop- 
ric of  Freiburg,  in  spite  of  the  violent  opposition  of  the  court  of  Turin. 
Trifling  and  insignificant  as  the  matter  must  appear  to  those  unacquainted 
with  the  circumstances,  you  would  not  easily  find,  even  among  the  most 
intricate  negotiations,  one  beset  with  greater  difficulties.  .  This  title  of 
citizenship  gives  me  quite  a  different  sort  of  pleasure  from  any  honor  that 
could  flatter  my  vanity ;  though  we  shall  all  probably  think  very  differently 
now  of  him  who  gave  celebrity  to  the  title  citoyen  de  Geneve,  from  what 
we  did  thirty  years  ago.  They  also  offered  me  a  present  of  8000  francs, 
which  I  declined  on  the  spot.  Do  not  let  us  question  whether  this  decision 
might  not  possibly  arise  from  an  impure  motive,  instead  of,  as  I  think, 
from  a  pure  and  disinterested  sentiment  of  honor ;  I  really  only  know  that 
it  seemed  to  me  unbecoming  to  accept  such  a  recompense  and  to  sell  my 
services.  You,  who  know  me  so  thoroughly,  will  believe  me  when  I  say 
this. 

Wha.t  do  people  say  now  to  the  state  of  things  in  France  ?  I  have  the 
sheets  still  by  me,  in  which  I  exposed  the  absurdities  and  inevitable  con- 
sequences of  the  electoral  law,  and  experience  has  justified  every  one  of 
my  predictions. 

If  you  can  find  a  German  translation  of  the  History  of  the  Revolution 
in  Naples,  in  1799,  read  it.  From  that,  you  will  see  with  your  own  eyes, 
what  hopeless  ruin  is  brought  about  by  the  want  of  sound  practical  sense, 
even  in  good  men,  who  have  been  embittered  by  a  bad  government  and 
are  filled  with  chimeras.  I  know  nothing  more  excellent  of  its  kind. 

Snow  has  lain  on  the  ground  for  two  days.  Such  an  occurrence  puts 
the  Romans  beside  themselves.  AH  the  schools,  libraries,  &c.  are  closed. 
Marcus  is  full  of  glee  at  this  strange  sight,  and  plays  with  it,  as  the  chil- 
dren do  with  us. 

CCLXI. 

ROME,  5th  February,  1820. 

The  detention  of  your  letter  beyond  the  limits  of  the  long-past  interval 
of  delay  assigned,  is  not  only  a  subject  of  regret  to  me  this  time,  but, 
coupled  with  the  unceremonious  opening  of  your  last,  it  makes  me  uneasy 
on  several  accounts.  In  the  first  place,  I  fear  lest  those  whose  office  it  is 
to  inspect  letters  at  Frankfort,  should  suppress  yours  entirely,  of  which 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1820.  389 

there  have  been  instances ;  in  the  next,  that  by  twisting  the  sense  they 
may  use  it  as  a  corpus  delicti.  Let  us,  however,  be  rather  more  cautious 
in  the  exposition  of  our  feelings  and  views,  and  thus  avoid,  for  God's  sake, 
the  interruption  of  a  correspondence  without  which  I  can  not  live. 

[After  repeating  his  reasons  for  leaving  Rome, 'he  thus  pro- 
ceeds :] 

I  hope  that  you  too  will  see  that  I  could  not  act  otherwise.  I  am  well 
aware  of  what  I  sacrifice  if  I  go ;  ray  health  has  improved,  &c.  Do  not 
fancy  either,  that  I  imagine  that  in  another  climate,  and  under  different 
personal  relations,  my  intellect  would  once  more  become  what  it  was. 
That  depended  upon  other  conditions.  I  am  now  a  lopped  tree,  which 
may  put  forth  green  boughs  again,  but  whose  glory  has  departed  with  its 
spreading  branches. 

That  I  look  forward  to  the  decision  with  an  anxious  and  heavy  heart,  you 
will  conceive.  And  besides  that,  there  are  so  many  other  things  to  make 
me  feel  anxious  and  sad.  A  storm  seems  gathering  on  the  frontiers  of 
Germany ;  and  though  I  have  rejoiced  that  in  France  a  man  had  found 
the  place  which  Nature  called  him  to  occupy,  and  have  hoped  it  would  be 
possible  to  arrest  the  spirit  of  Revolution  which  an  ambitious  man  had 
called  up,  in  order  to  keep  the  reins  of  a  power  for  which  he  had  no  voca- 
tion, a  short  time  longer  in  his  hands  ;  I  fear  now  that  the  destroying  fates 
will  triumph  in  that  country.  And,  however  deeply  we  must  abhor  the 
tyranny  in  Spain,  no  immediate  redemption  can  be  expected  from  a  revolt, 
followed  by  the  proclamation  of  the  most  senseless  constitution  that  was 
ever  hatched,  but  only  misery  and  civil  war. 

I  am  an  anti-revolutionist,  and  from  principle;  but  I  am  so  likewise 
from  my  antipathy  to  revolutionary  ideas,  which  would  be  in  themselves 
repugnant  to  me,  such  as  they  are  when  conceived  in  shallow  brains,  even 
if  they  led  to  no  results  whatever.  At  the  same  time,  however,  I  hope 
you  will  give  me  credit  for  the  most  decided  hatred  to  despotism,  though  I 
would  not  attempt,  nor  do  I  think  it  possible,  to  counteract  it  by  evoking 
the  demon  of  revolution.  Dreaming  will  do  no  good ;  we  must  think  ; 
and  we  must  rather  resign  ourselves  to  an  evil,  than  wish  the  gates  of 
hell  to  open  upon  us.  But  believe  me,  I  am  not  so  unfair  as  to  condemn 
those  who  merely  dream,  and  wish  this  in  their  dreams,  though  I  could 
weep  tears  of  blood  that  such  errors  should  be  possible.  I  know  that  noble 
minds  may  be  thus  led  astray  ;  but  when  the  confusions  they  excite  deprive 
us  all  of  the  modicum  of  liberty  still  left  to  us,  I  have  a  right  to  be  indig- 
nant. I  am  not  now  referring  to  the  bad  men  who  form  the  ringleade»s  ; 
they  are  morally  criminal ;  wisdom  would  not  treat  them  as  politically 
criminal,  even  if  some  among  them  are  so,  on  which  I  will  not  decide,  for 
if  you  touch  them,  you  make  martyrs  of  them.  The  only  salvation  would 
be  to  rule  with  conscientiousness,  virtue,  and  love  ;  and  by  this  means  the 
goal  would  Infallibly  be  reached ;  and  on  our  side,  to  become  better,  more 
virtuous,  and  more*contented.  No  government  could  succeed,  in  the  long 
run,  in  carrying  out  pernicious  measures  against  a  strong  people",  inspired 
by  good  and  noble  sentiments,  and  fulfilling  its  duties  faithfully  and  con- 
scientiously. To  wish  to  bring  about  a  better  state  of  things  by  revolu- 
tions, which  generally  owe  their  origin  to  the  base  motives  of  their  leaders, 
and  in  which  bad  means  are  invariably  resorted  to,  is  to  pay  homage  to 
the  Jesuitical  maxim,  that  it  is  lawful  to  make  use  of  bad  means  to  ac- 


390  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

complish  a  (supposed)  good  object.  I  shall  adhere  to  these  principles,  al- 
though I  foresee  that  malice  will  persuade  folly,  on  the  one  side,  that  I  am 
a  revolutionist,  on  the  other  hand,  that  I  am  a  foe  to  freedom.  Strange  ! 
that  I  am  not  misunderstood  in  France  and  England,  where  I  am  daily 
becoming  better  known. 

Not  to  conceal  from  you  the  good  qualities  of  Rome,  I  must  tell  you  that 
the  spring  is  already  so  far  advanced,  that  at  this  moment,  some  hours 
after  sunset,  a  knot  of  the  common  people  are  singing  under  the  windows 
of  my  room  (in  which  I  have  no  fire)  with  the  guitar  :  the  Carnival  has 
begun,  and  does  impart  some  vivacity  to  these  inanimate  Italians. 

I  am  very  tender-hearted  to-day ;  I  have  had  an  affecting  dream,  which 
transported  me  to  past  times  with  such  vividness,  that  their  scenes  have 
been  floating  before  me  all  day  with  a  half  reality 

CCLXII. 

ROME,  25th  March,  1820. 

This  time,  too,  the  apprehensions  aroused  by  the  non-arrival  of  your 
dear  affectionate  letter  have  been  happily  dispelled. 

I  could  wish  that  our  authorities  would  make  it  a  maxim,  as  much  as 
possible,  to  promote  the  sons  of  landed  proprietors  in  the  army  in  prefer- 
ence to  others.  This  is  not  a  question  of  the  possession,  or  absence,  of 
noble  birth,  but  of  a  particular  species  of  fixed  and  independent  property. 
For  people  who  possess  a  fixed  and  independent  income,  the  army  is  a 
worthy  occupation,  which  they  may  resign  without  becoming  a  burden  on 
the  State,  and  then  live  with  dignity  in  the  country.  It  is  in  this  way, 
and  by  filling  offices  like  those  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  England,  that 
the  gentry  becomes  respectable ;  with  a  genuine  gentry  all  depends  upon 
these  characteristics,  not  upon  what  we  generally  understand  by  the  term 
nobility.  The  war  has  left  us  far  too  many  young  officers  without  property, 
many  of  whom  have  been  withdrawn  from  other  professions.  The  great 
point  is,  that  each  should  have  a  fixed  mode  of  life,  an  appropriate  calling; 
so  that  the  people  at  large  may  not  wander  from  the  manifold  paths  of 
human  activity,  and  throw  themselves  on  the  one  road  of  governing.  On 
questions  respecting  the  State,  and  the  highest  subjects  of  this  high  art — 
for  which  there  is  a  peculiar  talent,  and  an  aptitude  for  cultivation  just  as 
much  as  for  the  other  arts,  and  which  is  just  as  rare  as  other  talents — 
dogmas  are  now  enunciated  with  an  arrogance,  and  a  superficiality  which 
must  provoke,  or  grieve  all  men  of  penetration.  People  praise  and  decry 
without  knowledge  of  mankind,  without  insight  into  political  science,  with- 
out understanding  the  aims,  the  means,  or  the  difficulties  of  their  rulers. 

That  people  should  form  a  correct  judgment  respecting  persons  and  cir- 
cumstances with  which  they  never  come  in  contact,  no  one  can  demand ;  but 
we  have  a  right  to  demand,  that  those  who  have  not  the  means  of  seeing 
to  the  bottom,  should  express  their  opinions  modestly.  Under  the  terror 
of  wild  revolutions,  all  Europe  is  congealing  into  an  iron  despotism,  and 
Germany  is  drifting  toward  foreign  servitude. 

Spain,  likewise  !  For  King  Ferdinand  no  punishment  can  be  too  severe  ;* 
but  remember  my  prophecy ;  the  constitution,  if  really  carried  out,  can  not 
subsist  six  months  :  such  a  monster  of  anarchy  !  A  great  part  of  the  coun- 

*  A  military  insurrection  in  the  January  of  this  year  had  proved  successful, 
and  Ferdinand  had  been  compelled  to  swear  to  the  constitution  of  the  Cortes. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1820.  391 

try,  nay,  whole  provinces,  have  not  the  least  wish  for  it ;  and,  in  this  in- 
stance, too,  no  higher  wisdom  has  been  recognized  than  the  idol  of  smooth 
uniformity,  to  which  millions  are  required  to  sacrifice  their  feelings  and 
their  freedom  !  In  such  •»  case,  nothing  but  a  military  government  can 
exist,  and  even  under  such  a  rule  one  leader  must  contend  with  another, 
until  one  gains  the  victory,  and  in  his  turn  comes  to  be  overthrown. 

We  are  tending  toward  that  condition  in  the  Roman  Empire,  when  ab- 
solute sovereigns  reigned  without  hereditary  succession.  Our  hereditary 
monarchies  are  a  blessing,  which  will  be  recognized  when  it  is  lost.  Not 
that  every  hereditary  dynasty  is  so — in  Spain,  for  instance,  it  has  greatly 
sinned.  But  that  any  sudden  catastrophe  is  the  greatest  misfortune,  I 
feel  with  the  fullest  conviction. 

CCLXIII. 

ROME,  6/A  May,  1820. 

I  think  you,  too,  would  allow  that  one  could  hardly  find  a  better  and 
more  amiable  child  than  Marcus.  He  wins  all  hearts — his  openness,  his 
joyous  sensibility,  and  the  absence  of  all  disagreeable  ways,  give  every 
body  a  steady  liking  for  him.  His  little  outbreaks  of  self-will,  which 
never  go  so  far  as  ill-temper,  and  the  reproofs  for  them,  which  he  receives 
with  tears,  are  always  followed  by  remarkably  good  behavior.  He  is 
quite  free  from  the  ugly  fault  of  covetousness.  He  daily  shows  indications 
of  a  good  heart,  which  make  me  love  him  more  and  more.  I  trust  that  he 
will  grow  up  a  very  simple  character,  without  show  and  pretension-  May 
God  preserve  his  present  fine  and  noble  nature  !  I  have  not  seen  in  him  a 
single  "spihtuel"  trait,  and  it  may  be,  perhaps,  that  my  father  may  in  all 
respects  live  over  again  in  him.  He  will  have  very  good  abilities  for  learn- 
ing and  retaining.  He  knows  his  letters.  He  does  not  yet  take  much  in- 
terest in  stories;  but  all  the  more  in  seeing  things,  and  when  I  walk  with 
him  I  tell  him  the  names  of  every  thing,  of  buildings,  &c.  His  perceptive 
powers  are  excellent.  Thus,  for  instance,  he  distinguishes  marble  from 
travertine  very  correctly,  and  the  latter  often  from  peperine.  The  less 
lively  his  imagination  is,  so  far,  the  less  need  I  hesitate  in  reading  the 
poets  aloud  to  him,  as  soon  as  he  tikes  to  hear  them.  On  this  account, 
however,  it  is  a  pity  that  he  is  so  backward  in  German,  and  that  there  is 
no  readable  Homer  in  Italian ;  else  it  must  familiarize  a  child  much  more 
with  the  ancient  poets,  and  bring  them  nearer  to  him,  to  be  able  to  show 
him  the  statues  in  the  museums.  I  shall  for  the  present  direct  the  whole 
course  of  his  instruction  mostly  to  visible  and  living  objects. 

You  ask  about  Spain,  and  I  think  I  can  give  you  a  very  decided  answer. 
The  constitution  deserves  all  the  evil  that  in  said  of  it,  and  is  as  wretched 
and  shallow  a  piece  of  parchment,  as  has  seen  the  light  any  where,  since 
it  has  been  the  fashion  for  people  to  employ  their  odd  hours  in  framing 
constitutions ;  not  to  mention  the  fact,  that  it  renders  it  impossible  to  re- 
tain America,  whose  share  in  the  representation,  even  taking  only  the 
white  population  iflto  account,  is,  in  every  point  of  view,  so  disproportion- 
ately small,  that  it  remains  practically  without  any  part  in  the  govern- 
ment, and  is,  moreover,  absolutely  compelled  to  protest  against  the  uni- 
formity of  legislation.  So,  too,  the  Cortes  of  1810  drove  the  Americans  to 
rebellion,  and  the  greatest  atrocities  took  place  under  their  government  in 
Mexico,  while  their  fall  brought  Mexico  into  subjection  again,  just  because 


392  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

they  had  been  hated  to  the  last  degree.  -The  equalization  of  all  the  Span- 
ish provinces  of  the  peninsula  is  an  absurdity,  and  as  great  an  injustice 
toward  Biscay,  as  were  the  violent  measures  which  the  Directory  adopted 
to  compel  the  Swiss  to  unity.  Since  the  supreme  power  is  placed  without 
limitation  in  the  hands  of  a  hundred  and  eighty  men,  who  are  chosen  on 
no  other  grounds,  at  least  at  present,  than  their  political  fanaticism,  and 
for  speeches  which  sound  magnificent  to  fools,  nothing  can  be  more  certain 
than  that  the  proceedings  of  such  an  assembly  will  be  marked  by  a  total 
want  of  wisdom,  and  the  most  arbitrary  exercise  of  power.  This  would  be 
the  case,  even  if  they  found  no  opposition  ;  but  they  will  find  opposition, 
and  excite  it ;  in  the  first  place,  from  the  provinces  which  find  their  priv- 
ileges attacked,  like  Biscay,  and  from  those  which  desire  something  quite 
different — namely,  a  federative  republic,  like  Catalonia  and  Galioia;  in  the 
second  place,  from  the  chiefs  of  the  army,  who  have  already,  in  1813,  re- 
fused to  obey  an  imperious  and  ridiculous  assembly,  and  who,  with  some 
isolated  exceptions,' do  not  trouble  themselves  in  the  least  about  the  con- 
stitution, but  only  care  to  get  power  into  their"own  hands.  If  these  par- 
ties should  rise  against  each  other,  the  now  insignificant  faction  of  the 
king,  and  the  much  more  powerful  one  of  the  clergy,  would  mingle  in  the 
strife — gain  nothing  for  themselves,  but  make  confusion  worse  confounded. 
The  Spaniards,  with  the  exception  of  the  Catalonians,  who  differ  little 
from  the  French,  are  divided  into  two  classes,  which  are  as  different  as 
any  two  nations;  the  people,  especially  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  and 
the  country  towns,  which,  at  least  up  to  the  time  of  the  war,  had  remained 
nearly  what  they  were  four  centuries  ago ;  and  the  educated  ranks,  whose 
mental  cultivation  is  entirely  French.  I  am  reading  just  now  a  survey  of 
the  Castilian  poetry  by  Qu-intana,  their  most  celebrated  author,  and  it  is 
really  disgusting  to  see  not  only  how  entirely  destitute  he  is  of  all  feeling 
for  the  magnificence  and  genius  of  the  Spanish  literature,  but  how  his  own 
language  is  crammed  with  Gallicism?,  so  that  his  book,  translated  literally 
into  French,  would  read  like  an  original  work,  but  one  below  the  average 
of  mediocrity.  The  Spaniards  have  never  understood  either  how  to  obey 
or  to  command  ;  certainly  not  how  to  govern,  except  as  despots ;  not  only 
in  the  revolutionary  war,  but  throughout  the  whole  course  of  their  old 
history,  nothing  has  been  accomplished  by  masses  of  men,  but  always  by 
detached  bands.  They  are  the  only  nation  whom  you  can  call,  in  its 
essence — the  common  people — truly  poetical ;  the  cultivated  classes  have 
quite  lost  this  beautiful  characteristic,  and  have  not  acquired  in  its  stead 
those  qualities  which  can  not  spring  up  where  that  exists.  Pride  has  al- 
ways been  the  distinguishing  feature  of  the  Spaniards  ;  in  the  very  heat  of 
the  revolutionary  war,  many  generals  were  faithless  to  the  common  cause 
(although  the  number  of  actual  traitors  was  extremely  small),  because 
they  were  too  proud  to  take  an  inferior  position.  Hatred  is  much  more 
common  among  them  than  love  and  friendship  ;  the  slightest  offense  con- 
verts friends  into  deadly  enemies.  These  are  no  elements  of  freedom. 
Were  it  not  for  the  compact  power  of  France,  I  would  wish  nothing  better 
for  Spain  than  that  she  might  become  a  federative  State,  since  the  mon- 
archy has  once  for  all  been  trifled  away  :  only,  without  some  special  good 
fortune,  I  hardly  think  that  such  a  State  could  sustain  the  first  severe 
shock,  and  maintain  itself  till  the  people  had  become  habituated  to  it.  If 
King  Ferdinand's  conduct  had  not  been  quite  so  unbearable,  a  sudden  con- 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1820.  393 

vtdsion  in  favor  of  absolute  monarchy  would  have  been  very  possible,  such 
aa  took  place  in  1814,  wnen  there  were  universal  rejoicings  over  the  fall 
of  the  Cortes  (for  the  truth  of  this  fact  is  quite  certain)  ;  but  he  has  acted 
too  insanely. 

One  good  trait  of  the  Spaniards  is  integrity  in  money  matters,  and  not 
a  single  accusation  has  ever  been  brought  against  the  Cortes  in  this  re- 
spect. How  .different  is  it  here  in  Italy !  What  is  to  become  of  Italy, 
if  a  revolution  break  out,  one  can  not  even  imagine.  Thoroughly  bad  as 
the  government  of  the  priests  is,  I  declare  with  full  conviction,  that  if  the 
power  were  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  other  clashes  here,  the  state  of  affairs 
would  be  incomparably  worse. 

During  the  last  few  days,  I  have  been  reading  with  great  interest  a 
quite  forgotten,  though  printed  pamphlet  of  the  year  1420,  entitled,  "A 
Project  for  the  Peloponnesus;"  it  furnishes  a  remarkable  instance  of  how 
men  look  to  revolutionary  changes  in  the  legislature  for  real  help,  in  times 
of  utter  national  decay,  when  in  fact  ho  resource  remains,  and  improve- 
ment from  such  a  quarter  is  a  sheer  impossibility.  It  contains  the  funda- 
mental ideas  of  the  French  economists  from  the  pen  of  a  Byzantine 
scholar 

CCLXIV. 

ROME,  25M  June,  1820. 

I  have  been  obliged  to  begin  an  entirely  new  and  different  life 

here  from  my  earlier  one,  and  this  is  a  miserable  thing.  Perhaps  I  am 
better  than  you  ever  knew  me ;  roore  patient,  more  self-sacrificing,  freer 
from  selfishness,  more  reasonable.  If  so,  I  owe  it  to  having  children  to 
train,  and  to  ray  duties  toward  the  children  and  ray  poor  Gretchen. 

With  regard  to  my  political  views  and  convictions,  I  have  the  repose  of 
that  unshakable  conviction  which  results  from  the  immediate  intuition  of 
the  truth ;  and  opposite  opinions  do  not  irritate  me,  because  they  can  not 
perplex  me  for  a  moment.  All  comes  to  pass  just  as  I  had  long  ago  fore- 
seen and  foretold,  and  all  that  I  now  foresee  will  also  come  to  pass. 
There  are  men  whom  I  have  never  seen,  with  whom  I  could  act  in  perfect 
concert,  because  what  they  say  and  think  is  as  if  it  came  from  my  inmost 
soul.  Such  an  one  is  the  minister  de  Serre,  who  saw  as  I  did  three  years 
ago,  then  allowed  himself  to  be  led  astray  by  yielding  his  conviction  to 
that  of  his  friends;  whose  heart  is  broken  for  his  error;  and  who  now 
presents,  perhaps,  the  most  tragic  spectacle  in  Europe,  that  of  a  man  who 
is  sacrificing  his  life  to  atone  for  an  error,  although  it  is  too  late  to  remedy 
it,  and  that  which  is  intended  as  a  remedy  is  still  an  evil,  though  certainly 
of  infinitely  less  magnitude.  A  year  and  a  half  ago,  I  said  to  a  friend  of 
de  Serre.  "Your  friend  will  soon  wish  to  buy  back  the  words  he  has 
uttered  with  his  life,  but  I  can  not  therefore  cease  to  love  and  revere  bun." 

The  night  before  last,  I  read  through  a  thick  packet  of  pamphlets  from 
Spain.  What  empty  bombast,  what  miserable  twaddling,  what  a  dark 
night  without  a  my  of  hope !  In  Spain,  there  are  perhaps  many  well- 
intentioned  persons  on  the  revolutionary  side ;  hundreds  of  thousands  are 
exasperated,  and  with  justice.  On  the  other  side,  there  is,  perhaps,  no- 
thing healthy  and  good ;  but  the  tthallowneas  and  incapacity  of  the  well- 
meaning  among  the  revolutionists  throws  their  game  into  the  hands  of  the 
rogues  among  them,  and  is  in  iUelf  enough  to  ruin  every  thing.  They 

R« 


394  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

will  strive  after  a  republic  with  uniformity  and  despotism,  and  it  will  end 
with  a  military  dictatorship.  In  the  ministry,  a  second  party  have  already 
attained  the  height  of  reputation,  and  even  these  are  already  beginning  to 
decline. 

I  have  had  a  literary  pleasure  in  reading  the  Provenfal  Trouba- 
dours which  have  come  out  in  Prance.  They  display  a  beauty  such  as  I 
had  never  dreamed  of.  They  are  far  above  their  reputation.  The  new 
poems  of  Lamartine  are  also  beautiful.  We  can  get  nothing  here  from 
Germany,  and  for  new  books  I  am  almost  entirely  limited  to  French 
literature. 

CCLXV. 

•  V 

ROME,  28th  July,  1820. 

Three  weeks  ago,  I  wrote  you  in  haste  the  news  of  the  revolution  that 
had  suddenly  broken  out  in  Naples,  and  a  fortnight  ago,  I  sent  you  an 
equally  hurried  letter,  saying  that  we  are  anticipating  similar  occurrences 
here.  My  silence  will  have  made  you  uneasy,  but  it  was  impossible  to 
write 

Our  fear  that  a  revolution  would  break  out  here  also,  was  no  chimera. 
A  plan,  intended  to  put  the  people  into  a  ferment,  was  fortunately  dis- 
covered and  frustrated,  and,  by  a  still  greater  piece  of  good  fortune,  the 
leaders  of  the  Neapolitan  revolution,  who  had  previously  formed  conspira- 
cies through  the  whole  of  Italy  as  they  found  opportunity,  had  grown  shy 
of  carrying  on  proceedings  which  might  draw  down  a  storm  on  their  own 
heads,  while  they  might  otherwise  hope  to  remain  undisturbed.  Hence 
they  rejected  the  proposals  of  the  Roman  malcontents,,  though  they  had 
stirred  up  a  revolt  at  Beneventum  and  Pontecorvo  only  a  week  before. 
These  circumstances  give  us  some  security ;  though  security  is  not  the 
right  word,  for  any  accident  may  cause  the  tempest  to  burst  here 
too.  The  populace  is  extremely  ill  affected  toward  the  government,  and 
after  all  the  changes  that  have  taken  place  in  the  world,  and  in  men's 
minds,  an  ecclesiastical  government  can  scarcely  have  any  stability  in 
itself. 

The  army  can  not  be  relied  on ;  if  it  were  not  for  that,  we  might  sleep 
in  peace,  weak  as  it  is  in  numbers;  for  without  an  external  impulse 
which  would  justify  our  worst  fears,  the  population  of  Rome  will  certainly 
not  stir. 

But  things  can  not  remain  quiet  for  any  length  of  time,  if  the  revolu- 
tionary party  in  Naples  should  maintain  themselves  in  power,  or  if,  as 
appearances  betoken,  the  agitation  there  should  resolve  itself  into  a  wild 
anarchy. 

In  the  first  case,  the  present  authorities  of  Naples  would  gain  courage, 
in  which  they  are  very  deficient  at  present ;  in  the  second,  bands  of  men 
would  force  their  way  over  the  frontiers. 

The  Neapolitan  revolution,  accomplished  apparently  with  such  unanim- 
ity, and  without  acts  of  violence,  as  great  pains  are  taken  to  report,  may 
appear  a  very  splendid  affair  at  a  distance,  but  seen  near,  it  is  a  dreadful 
and  melancholy  occurrence.  Not  that  the  former  government  was  good, 
and  worthy  of  respect — far  from  it ;  it  was  superficial  and  foolish ;  not 
tyrannical,  but  the  taxes  it  imposed  were  very  burdensome. 

The  revolution  has  been  effected,  on  the  one  hand,  by  ambitious  officers, 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1820.  395 

on  the  other,  by  the  lodges  of  the  Carbonari,  who  are  in  every  respect  the 
wildest  and  most  execrable  class  of  Jacobins.  The  two  parties  have  work- 
ed side  by  side  and  together,  but  not  for  the  same  end.  The  most  widely 
differing  views  prevail  in  the  different  provinces.  Apulia,  for  instance, 
and  others,  want  to  secede,  and  form  separate  republics.  This  is,  at  bot- 
tom, the  characteristic  tendency  of  the  Italians  now,  as  in  the  middle 
ages.  The  idea  of  unity  exists  in  some  large  towns  among  the  very  small 
class  of  educated  persons,  and  those  who  hope  to  get  higher  and  more  lu- 
crative posts  in  a  larger  State.  It  is  espoused  by  the  army.  At  the  pres- 
ent moment,  not  a  creature  pays  the  taxes  in  the  Neapolitan  territory,  and 
the  State  is  obliged  to  pay  not  only  the  soldiers,  but  also  the  thousands  of 
Carbonari  who  have  enlisted  in  the  ranks. 

Among  the  new  ministers,  there  is  one  whom  I  know  well  by  reputation, 
and  to  some  extent  personally,  Count  Zurlo,*  an  excellent  man,  whom  the 
King  ought  to  have  called  in  long  ago  ;  but  already  the  Carbonari  are  call- 
ing for  his  head,  and  very  likely  he  will  have  to  be  sacrificed.  They  are 
endeavoring,  at  Naples,  to  arm  the  moat  respectable  citizens,  and  to  turn 
the  armed  Carbonari  out  of  the  city.  If  they  succeed  in  both  attempts,  and 
if  General  Pep«  will  lower  the. insolence  of  his  tone,  the  government  may 
maintain  itself  for  a  time  till  the  Cortes  assemble,  when,  indeed,  the  con- 
fusion of  Babel  will  certainly  commence.  Meanwhile,  however,  they  are 
risking  the  defection  of  moat  of  the  provinces. 

We  know  as  yet  very  few  details  of  the  horrors  of  Palermo.t  The  peo- 
ple at  Naples  seek  to  draw  a  vail  over  them.  So  much  is  certain,  that 
the  massacres  lasted  five  days ;  the  troops  fired  upon  the  people  ;  the  sol- 
diers were  fired  on  from  the  houses,  and  even  the  nuns  poured  boiling 
water  on  them.  National  hatred  and  party  hatred  have  had  free  scope. 
According  to  the  smallest  estimate,  three  thousand  persons  have  perished. 
Seven  hundred  galley-slaves  were  let  loose  to  assist  in  the  attack  ou  the 
soldiers.  These  united  themselves  afterward  with  the  dregs  of  the  popu- 
lace in  committing  all  imaginable  atrocities.  The  Prince  della  Cattolia, 
a  man  of  great  beneficence,  was  murdered,  and  his  head  and  limbs  carried 
about  on  pikes.  All  the  gates  were  shut,  and  there  was  no  bread  left  in 
the  town.  It  is  conjectured,  that  the  soldiers  who  were  taken  prisoners 
have  died  of  hunger.  This  is  revolution  for  you  ! 

And  we  should  have  had  just  such  scenes  to  expect  here,  where,  besides 
the  other  prisoners,  and  the  innumerable  criminals  who  go  about  at  large, 
eight  hundred  are  shut  up  in  houses  of  correction ;  and  there  is  no  army, 
nor  national  guard,  that  can  be  depended  on.  The  most  frightful  case' of 
all  would  be  if  the  revolution  here  broke  out  among  the  populace,  who 
would  instantly  begin  to  plunder.  A  military  revolution  passes  over  quiet- 
ly, as  far  as  private  individuals  are  concerned. 

The  Carbonari  in  Naples  would  have  arrested  and  murdered  all  the  Si- 
cilians of  rank.  Some  of  them  the  government  has  been  obliged  to  send  to 
a  fortress,  in  order  to  save  their  lives. 

At  Benevento,  ifcurders  have  been  committed  out  of  sheer  wantonness. 
This,  too,  would  never  have  reached  our  ears,  but  that  Benevento  is  a  Pa- 
pal town.  The  proclamations  issued  by  those  who  are  in  authority  there, 

*  He  had  been  minister  under  Marat. 

t  The  Sicilians  did  not  trnst  the  new  constitutional  government,  and  wished 
for  the  independence  of  Sicily.  Their  resistance  continued  for  some  time. 


396  MEMOIR  OF  N1EBUHR. 

show  them  to  be  fellows  of  the  lowest  class  ;  their  chief  had  been  previous- 
ly in  the  galleys. 

Under  such  circumstances,  one  can  think  of  nothing  else,  and  must  be 
heavy-hearted.  Then,  too,  there  is  the  fear,  which  is  becoming  very  gen- 
eral, that  through  the  anarchy  prevailing  in  Naples,  the  plague  may  be 
allowed  to  spread  from  Majorca  to  Italy.  It  j,s  raging  to  a  fearful  extent 
in  that  island;  whole  villages  have  been  depopulated,  and  the  houses  de- 
stroyed since  by  fire.  But  the  cordon  has  been  broken,  and  thus  the  whole 
island  is  probably  infected. 

It  was  most  intensely  hot  weather  here  till  Sunday  evening,  30°  Reau- 
mur, in  the  sun  up  to  45°  ;  and  we  have  had  no  rain  for  two  months. 
Either  from  this,  or  accidentally,  or  from  incendiarism,  some  woods  have 
caught  fire  ;  more  than  two  square  German  miles,  containing  25,000  olive 
trees,  vineyards,  &c.,  have  been  laid  in  ashes. 

Under  such  circumstances,  I  have  to  conduct  a  negotiation,  the  issue  of 
which  would  be  problematical,  even  if  every  thing  were  quiet ;  for  which 
no  one  here  has  now  any  attention  to  spare,  and  at  which  I  am  neverthe- 
less obliged  to  work  as  arduously,  under  the  burden  of  the  oppressive  heat, 
as  if  we  could  look  forward  to  a  long  and  secure  future.  I  have  succeeded 
very  well  with  the  principal  part  of  the  business,  but  I  have  worked  my- 
self almost  ill  with  it. 

Moltke  went  to  Naples  some  time  since.  Charles  seems  to  be  a 

noble-minded  youth. 

CCLXVI. 

ROME,  23rf  September,  1820. 

You  will  ascribe  it  to  the  disturbances  and  my  interruptions  that  I  did 
not  write  last  week. 

Gretchen  will  tell  you  with  her  own  hand  about  herself  and  our  little 
Lucia.  Amelia,  sweet  child,  grows  more  and  more  affectionate  in  her 
ways.  Marcus  is  always  a  source  of  joy  to  us.  His  nature  is  thoroughly 
good,  and  his  faculties  become  more  and  more  harmonious  as  they  develop 
themselves.  He  has  a  very  quick  understanding 

You  inquire  the  origin  of  the  Carbonari.  They  were  originally  nothing 
more  than  a  development  of  freemasonry,  and  it  might  perhaps  be  said 
that  all  the  freemasons  in  Italy  are  Carbonari,  or  Guelphs,  or  Adolphs, 
&c.,  though  the  converse  would  not  hold  good  ;  for  the  derived  associations 
have  attained  a  much  wider  extent  than  the  parent  society.  When  the 
Prench  invaded  Italy  in  1796,  and  occupied  Rome  in  1798,  Naples  in 
1799,  the  revolution  had  been  prepared  in  the  lodges  of  the  freemasons, 
and,  with  a  few  exceptions,  all  the  freemasons  declared  for  it.  The  gen- 
eration who  were  then  growing  up,  without  affection  for  any  thing,  striving 
only  after  commotion,  still  harbored  under  the  French  rule  a  longing  for 
ferment  and  change,  while  the  elder  generation,  especially  those  whom  we 
term  cultivated  people,  attached  themselves  with  joy  to  the  government 
of  Bonaparte,  whose  legislation  afforded  them  the  realization  of  all  that 
according  to  their  system  they  demanded  as  that  without  which  there  can 
be  no  salvation  ;  viz. :  new  codes  of  law,  equal  inheritance,  the  removal 
of  all  corporations,  convents,  &c. ;  some  of  which  measures  were  whole- 
some, some  injudicious,  and  some  vitally  pernicious.  When  the  name 
Carbonari  came  into  use,  I  do  not  know  ;  but  the  class  already  existed  in 


LETTEES  FROM  ROME  IN   1820.  397 

the  provinces  under  Murat.  They  did  not,  however,  attain  much  import- 
ance till  afterward,  when  they  were  joined  by  the  party  of  Murat,  which 
certainly  was  a  curious  amalgamation.  They  have  the  greatest  variety 
of  objects,  from  the  unity  of  all  Italy  under  a  Bonapartean,  to  her  dissolu- 
tion into  a  federative  republic.  Of  course,  by  far  the  majority  of  them  sim- 
ply follow  their  leaders  blindfold,  and  large  numbers  have  no  object,  that 
is,  they  only  desire  anarchy.  The  tendency  to  a  federative  republic  pre- 
vails, however,  to  the  greatest  extent  among  those  who  have  the  most 
practical  truth  in  their  views,  as  it  does  in  Spain  and  Portugal,  which  the 
revolutionists  would  divide  into  seven  republics.  To  this  the  armies  are 
opposed,  except  in  so  far  as  their  chiefs  may  influence  them  on  the  condi- 
tion of  becoming  presidents  themselves.  The  conspiracy  lately  discovered 
at  Naples  to  murder  the.  ministers,  shows  what  we  have  to  expect  when 
the  parliament  shall  be  assembled.  There  are  numbers  of  the  clergy 
among  the  Carbonari,  especially  monks,  who  lost  their  taste  for  a  convent- 
ual life  during  the  secularization  ;  they  hove  many  mejnbers,  too,  among 
the  inferior  nobility.  A  part  of  the  higher  nobles  were  with  them  also  at 
first,  attracted  by  the  promise  of  an  aristocratic  constitution. 

Our  baby  will  be  christened  to-morrow  in  our  chapel.  She  will  be  called 
Lucia  Dorothea  Elizabeth.  Freddy,  Cornelius,  the  Goschens,  and  the 
Bunsena  are  her  sponsors. 

CCLXVIJ. 

ROMS,  Hth  October,  1820. 

The  time  of  terror  is  still  deferred  from  day  to  day ;  tha  danger  of  con- 
tagion and  of  an  internal  explosion  is  dispelled  by  the  assembling  of  the 
Austrian  troops,  but  that  of  an  invasion,  which  should  throw  every  thing 
into  anarchy,  is  still  as  threatening  as  before ;  and,  in  such  a  case,  one 
must  either  remain,  or  if  flight  were  still  possible,  leave  all  one's  posses- 
sions behind.  Most  people  are  careless  enough  to  entertain  no  further 
apprehensions,  because  the  invasion  has  been  delayed  beyond  all  expecta- 
tion. Now  it  is  certainly  true  that  the  Neapolitans,  if  they  have  good 
counsel  among  them,  and  remember  the  events  of  the  war  between  1798 
and  1815,  must  halt  their  army  on  their  own  frontier,  where  they  can  take 
up  very  advantageous  positions.  But  this  would  not  prevent  a  corps  of 
Carbonari,  with  their  followers,  from  coming  here,  as  soon  as  the  Austrians 
advance  from  the  opposite  side,  and  such  an  incursion  is  naturally  much 
worse  than  the  entrance  of  a  tolerably  disciplined  army.  One  great  thing 
is,  that  fugitives  from  hence  would  find  it  very  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
to  leave  in  a  hurry,  because  hundreds  of  carriages  would  quit  the  city  at 
once,  and  not  more  than  twenty  post  horses  are  provided  at  any  stage ; 
eighty  could  not  possibly  be  mustered,  for  no  horses  are  used  in  agriculture 
here,  not  to  mention  that  the  first  four  or  five  stages  are  in  a  desert.  We 
must  console  ourselves  with  thinking  that  we  might  be  still  worse  off.  The 
Sardinian  embassador,  a  man  whom  I  like  much,  has  seven  children  and  a 
very  aged  father  in  his  house ;  the  latter  is  so  weak  that  he  can  not  bear 
the  motion  of  a  carnage,  and  has  to  be  carried  in  a  litter. 

Will  the  Neapolitans  offer  a  vigorous  resistance  ?  The  army  certainly 
will  not ;  according  to  all  appearances  it  will  present  in  the  field  nothing 
but  scenes  of  disgraceful  cowardice  ;  it  is  certain  that  the  soldiers  have 
already  displayed  timidity.  So  too  the  Palenuitans  behaved  miserably  in 


398  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

the  field.  In  Naples  itself,  a  similar  resistance  may  be  offered  to  that  in 
Palermo,  where  horrors  occurred  over  which  it  is  sought  to  draw  a  vail. 
The  upper  classes  had  fled  from  the  city,  and  the  lowest  populace  certainly 
fought  with  an  heroic  fury.  This  class,  however,  took  far  more  interest  in 
the  matter  than  the  corresponding  class  in  Naples  ;  for  although  every  one 
is  now  enrolling  himself  among  the  Carbonari,  it  is  only  done  in  order  to 
obtain  recommendations,  favors,  or  impunity  for  crimes.  There  will  be  no 
lack  of  assassinations,  and  shots  from  behind  hedges. 

The  leaders  reckoned  on  an  insurrection  in  France,  or  they  would  not 
have  ventured  so  far.  They  are  a  thoroughly  bad  set,  but  we  must  not 
refuse  to  admit  that  in  the  capital  the  cause  has  been  joined  by  men  of  talent, 
of  whom  there  is  not  in  general  such  a  deficiency  in  Naples  as  in  Rome. 

God  only  knows  what  the  issue  will  be ;  tragic  it  must  be  in  any  case. 
The  bloodlessness  of  this  last  revolution  is  a  delusive  appearance.  Blood 
enough  has  flowed  in  Sicily  alone,  and  many  single  murders  have  occurred 
in  Naples,  but  have  been  hushed  up.  In  Spain,  too,  eight-and-twenty  have 
been  condemned  to  death  at  one  time,  and  in  many  towns,  fights  have 
taken  place  which  have  been  accompanied  with  loss  of  life ;  those  execu- 
tions are  but  the  commencement.  Paladini  and  his  accomplices,  who  have 
been  arrested  at  Naples,  intended  to  assassinate  the  ministers.  For  the 
rest,  in  Spain  civil  war  is  inevitable ;  whole  districts  are  opposed  to  the 
new  order  of  things ;  whole  provinces  wish,  on  the  contrary,  for  a  feder- 
ative republic,  and  on  the  third  and  following  days,  Riego  and  his  com- 
panions intended  to  murder  the  King  and  Prince  Carlos,  and  to  depose  the 
ministers ;  and  at  the  same  time,  another  revolutionary  party  planned  to 
take  advantage  of  the  indignation  excited  by  these  machinations  to  put  an 
end  to  the  Cortes,  and  overthrow  those  same  ministers.  All  hope  of  found- 
ing a  system  of  order  and  law  is  lost  in  this  horrible  confusion.  If  the 
revolution  take  root,  one  can  only  look  for  a  military  rule,  or,  after  long, 
unspeakable  conflicts  and  misery,  for  a  republic  on  the  American  footing, 
which  is,  in  truth,  the  most  unprofitable  and  distasteful  to  all  the  wants 
of  our  heart  and  intellect  that  can  be  imagined.  All  higher  individuality, 
nay,  all  true  private  life  disappears,  where  only  low  political  interests  are 
the  ruling  topic,  and  barbarism  draws  close  upon  us. 

It  is  impossible  but  that  the  coquetting  with  Catholicism,  which  is  now  in 
fashion  among  a  certain  class,  should  come  to  an  end  ;  it  is  altogether  too 
untruthful  and  revolting  a  comedy.  Here,  in  Italy,  faith  in  the  Church  has 
so  completely  died  out,  that  the  mummy  would  fall  into  dust  at  the  first 
hard  blow.  But  what  will  replace  it,  God  knows,  since  there  is  not  a 
human  throb  in  the  heart  of  these  people,  and  not  a  want  is  felt  beyond 
those  of  the  animal  nature.  It  is  just  the  same  among  the  educated 
classes  in  Spain,  where  religion  is  regarded  as  an  insupportable  yoke. 

Some  time  ago,  you  called  the  present  rapid  spread  of  dishonesty,  a  con- 
sequence of  the  extinction  of  religion.  I  do  not  know  whether  the  genera- 
tion which  we  saw  around  us  in  our  youth  still  retained,  in  general,  much 
religion  ;  they  too,  for  the  most  part,  had  grown  up  in  an  age  when  the  old 
respect  for  religion  no  longer  subsisted.  But  they  had  grown  up  with 
habits  of  peaceable  endurance,  of  economy,  and  moderation  in  their  require- 
ments, and  were  still  imbued  with  the  old  maxims  of  integrity  and  honor, 
which  must  not  be  ascribed  entirely  to  religious  belief,  but  in  great  meas- 
ure to  their  condition  as  citizens.  When  every  one  makes  claims  to  a 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1820.  399 

higher  standing  than  he  possesses,  not  from  a  correct  comparison  of  himself 
with  others  and  a  consciousness  of  his  true  worth,  but  from  ambition  and 
unfounded  presumption  ; — when  all  sense  of  duty  is  extinguished,  and  all 
family  feeling  vanishes; — when  men  are.  no  longer  intent  upon  laying  a 
foundation  for  their  children's  future  fortunes,  but  want  to  live  luxuriously 
in  show  and  splendor,  the  course  of  things  must  be  what  it  is ;  and  the  un- 
happy generation  who  have  been  neglected  by  their  parents,  and  grown  up 
under  the  deadening  influence  of  constant  dissipation  and  amusement,  sink 
into  crime  and  barbarism.  You  can  scarcely  see  a  sadder  sight  than  a 
great  part  of  the  youths  in  this  city ;  they  are,  without  exception,  warm 
(no-called)  friends  of  freedom;  for  freedom  means  with  them  to  know 
nothing,  and  to  learn  nothing,  and  yet  to  be  puffed  up  with  conceit,  and 
to  do  whatever  their  hearts  lust  after.  Among  the  elder  men,  there  is  a 
poor  sort  of  learning ;  still  it  is  a  sort,  and  gained  by  real  work,  though 
of  a  stupid  kind.  The  younger  men  are  much  duller  still.  Old  truths 
have  become  something  quite  foreign,  and  of  new  truths  there  is  not  eveti 
a  germ,  so  that  nothing  but  crude  force  can  take  effect — this  alone  has 
any  truth  to  them. 

The  people  can  no  longer  afford  to  pay  the  taxes,  and  if  an  army  make 
a  revolution,  unopposed  by  the  people  because  they  find  their  state  unbear- 
able, the  first  thing  will  be,  that  the  soldiers  will  insist  on  an  increase  of 
their  pay,  as  has  taken  place  in  Spain  and  Naples.  The  end  may  be,  that 
the  troops  divide  the  land  among  themselves  in  districts,  and  give  rise  to 
a  new  feudalism. 

I  have  brought  my  negotiation  to  a  conclusion,  with  the  exception  'of  a 
few  unimportant  points  on  which  a  decision  has  to  come  from  Berlin,  and 
I  may  say  a  brilliant  conclusion.  Bemstorf  *  recognizes  this  warmly. 

With  regard  to  myself,  I  have .  no  plans  at  all  at  present,  and  leave 
every  thing  to  Providence.  On  Marcus's  account  I  should  now  prefer  stay- 
ing here  for  another  twelvemonth 

CCLXVIII. 

ROME,  S8<&  October,  1820. 

The  month  is  drawing  to  a  close  without  any  calamity  having  overtaken 
us  ;  and  that  is  more  than  I,  or  probably  you,  had  expected.  Among  the 
Roman  populace  itself^  the  fear  of  foreign  troops  has  long  since  quenched 
all  disposition  to  rash  attempts ;  and,  in  Naples,  the  power  of  the  Govern- 
ment, who  expect  nothing  but  great  calamities  from  a  war,  is  just  now 
sufficient  to  restrain  the  madmen  who  expected  all  the  advantages  of 
plunder  from  an  irruption  into  the  neighboring  country,  without  great 
peril,  because  they  could  run  out  again  in  time.  Meanwhile  the  decisive 
event  is  approaching,  and  can  hardly  be  delayed  so  long  as  a  fortnight ; 
and  for  this  interval  we  must  pray  God  for  hi§  merciful  protection. 

The  annulling  of  the  capitulation  of  Palermo,  will  have  given  your  quick 
sense  of  justice  a  standard  by  which  to  judge  of  these  revolutionists.  The 
Sicilians  demanded  nothing  more  than  their  established  right  of  a  separate 
government — like  Holstein  from  Denmark ;  and  the  decree  that  every 
town,  great  or  small,  should  have  an  equal  vote,  was  the  most  decisive 
refutation  of  the  charge,  that  Palermo  wanted  the  sovereignty  of  the  island 
*  The  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs. 


400  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

for  herself.  Will  this  perfidious  canceling  of  the  articles  of  capitulation 
be  also  called  in  Germany  a  brave  and  splendid  deed,  as  BO  many  of  a 
similar  kind  in  the  French  Revolution  have  been  ?  The  interior  of  Sicily 
is  still  in  full  revolt,  in  which,  moreover,  the  whole  population  takes  part ; 
while  in  Naples  it  is  a  mere  fragment  of  the  nation  that  takes  any  interest 
in  the  new  regime,  from  which  people  neither  expect  a  lightening  of  their 
burdens,  nor  the  removal  of  any  real  grievance. 

Stein  is  to  arrive  here  in  December — a  meeting  which  I  never  expected. 
I  have  already  received  several  letters  from  him,  written  in  a  mild  and 
friendly  tone.  My  only  fear  is,  that  the  disorder  in  his  eyes  will  have 
made  him  peevish ;  else,  what  would  I  not  give,  to  see  any  one  here  with 
whom  I  could  converse  on  the  subjects  that  refresh  my  heart ! 

Have  any  little  pieces  and  fragments,  written  in  his  glorious 

youthful  period,  come  to  light  in  the  new  edition  of  Goethe  ?  Any  frag- 
ments of  the  Wandering  Jew,  or  his  Mahomet  ?  Or  the  deified  Demon 
of  the  Woods. 

CCLXIX. 

ROME,  \Uh  November,  1820. 

The  post  has  brought  me  no  letter  from  you,  .and  now.  all  letters  are 
opened. 

You  will  perhaps  have  seen  from  the  newspapers,  that  the  Neapolitan 
government  has  given  notice  to  the  Roman,  that  their  troops  will  advance 
as  soon  as  the  Austrians  do  so.  No  fault  can  reasonably  be  found  with  this. 
But  thus  the  critical  moment  for  us  is  at  hand.  Remain,  the  embassadors 
can  not,  if  the  Pope  goes  away,  who,  on  his  part,  must  not  wait  the  ar- 
rival of  revolutionary  troops,  and  run  the  risk  of  being  carried  off.  How 
desperate  the  chances  of  escape  are.  I  have  already  told  you.  Our  property 
must,  in  any  case,  be  left  at  stake.  The  insubordination  and  want  of 
discipline  that  already  exists  among  the  Neapolitan  troops  is  unparalleled. 
By  way  of  doing  all  that  is  possible,  I  have  taken  a  trustworthy  Pied- 
.mdntese  into  my  service,  who  must  look  after  my  things  as  far  as  he  can. 

The  Neapolitan  parliament  are  acting  in  the  most  senseless  manner  ; 
their  financial  measures  are  wretched.  Two  motions  alone  display  intel- 
ligence and  insight,  both  made  by  Sicilians ;  one  is  for  the  repeal  of  the 
dues  on  consumption  which  appertain  to  the  communes  on  feudal  estates ; 
the  other,  for  the  transfer  of  conventual  estates  to  the  parishes,  and  their 
division  into  small,  hereditary  farms.  Both  motions  violate  strict  justice, 
but  they  would  produce  a  salutary  effect.  That  is  not  the  case  with-  such 
as  spring  from  a  wild  revolutionary  spirit.  For  instance,  in  Spain,  two- 
thirds  of  the  landed,  property  are  being  brought  into  the  market  almost  at 
one  moment,  because  all  the  ecclesiastical  estates,  valued  at  5000  milliards 
of  francs,  are  to  be  sold,  and  the  half  of  all  entailed  estates  is  made  sala- 
ble from  the  present  time.  By  this  measure,  the  value  of  all  other  estates 
is  annihilated,  as  has  been  the  case  for  some  years  past  in  Sicily,  where, 
before  the  revolution  broke  out,  estates  to  the  value  of  20.000,000  piastres 
were  offered  for  sale,  and  not  a  single  purchaser  could  be  found.  The 
State  is  about  to  sell  the  Church  property  by  auction ;  and  has  declared 
that  it  wiJl  not  pay  interest  upon  its  bonds,  nor  recognize  them  in  any 
other  way  than  by-receiving  them  in  payment  at  these  sales.  These  bonds 
are,  for  the  most  part,  the  old  paper  currency,  bearing  interest,  which  came 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1820.  401 

into  the  bands  of  the  stockjobbers  long  ago,  some  of  it  at  from  5  to  6 
per  cent.  Large  sums  are  in  the  hands  of  foreign  stockjobbers,  and  such 
wUl  now  become  purchasers,  or  let  others  buy  for  them.  What  a  class  of 
large  landed  proprietors  will  be  thus  created  !  As  a  sacrifice  to  the  idol 
of  uniformity,  a  general  law  respecting  the  corn  trade  has  been  made,  of 
which  the  consequence  is,  that  in  Gallicia,  which  does  not  produce  half 
the  corn  it  consumes,  prices  have  already  doubled,  because  the  entrance 
of  foreign  grain  is  prohibited  till  the  average  price  of  the  whole  country 
has  reached  a  certain  height ;  but  now,  as  high  roads  and  conveyances 
are  wanting,  and  as  the  com  from  the  interior  must  be  brought  four  hun- 
dred miles  on  mules  before  it  reaches  the  coast,  a  famine  must  prevail  in 
the  northern  provinces,  till  the  prices  there  make  that  average  when  reck- 
oned together  with  the  extremely  low  prices  in  New  Castile.  And  is  such 
a  government  and  legislation  praiseworthy,  and  the  harbinger  of  prosperity 
and  freedom  ?  But  where  revolutionists  have  the  upper  hand,  such  blun- 
dering and  pernicious  measures  will  never  be  absent.  They  must  occur, 
because  this  party  neither  possess  a  general  knowledge  of  the  capabilities 
of  a  country,  nor  understand  governing,  and  the  inevitable  consequences 
of  this  are  measures  that  defeat  their  own  end,  and  laws  that  bring  ca- 
lamity in  their  train.  Smuggling  and  highway  robbery  are  now  carried 
on  to  an  unexampled  extent  in  Spain ;  this  is  acknowledged  even  by  the 
Mberal  journals  of  Madrid.  The  worst  enemies  of  the  liberals  could  not 
say  worse  of  them  than  they  say  of  each  other — that  is,  those  who  want 
places  say  of  those  who  have  them.  All  are  asking  for  rewards,  places, 
pensions.  The  year  can  scarcely  end  without  a  crisis. 

In  Naples,  a  week  ago,  all  the  troops  were  ordered  out  during  two 
whole  nights,  cannons  planted,  &c.  To  prevent  a  counter  revolution  ? 
Nothing  of  the  kind — the  police  had  had  a  desperate  smuggler  arrested. 
But  as  the  fellow  was  master  of  a  lodge  of  the  Vendita,  the  Carbonari 
united  to  release  him  by  force  from  the  prison,  and  assassinate  the  min- 
isters. 

Whether  the  new  electoral  law  in  France  will  be  sufficient  to  prevent 
shameless  anarchy  from  obtaining  a  legitimate  organ  in  the  State,  I  do 
not  know;  experience  alone  can  decide  this  point;  but  that  without  an 
alteration  of  the  mischievous  one  that  preceded  it,  a  revolution  would  in- 
fallibly have  occurred  at  the  New  Year,  I  was  quite  convinced,  when  it 
was  still  doubtful  whether  the  new  ministry  would  decide  upon  bringing 
in  such  a  measure. 

I  have  now  seriously  set  about  the  continuation  of  my  History;  far 
more  to  distract  my  mind  from  its  gloomy  apprehensions  respecting  the 
starte  of  public  affairs,  than  in  the  hope  of  satisfying  myself  with  what  I 
write.  I  have  already  told  you  of  the  difficulties  under  which  I  labor  with 
regard  to  it.  I  have  likewise  taken  up  the  political  writings  of  Plato 
again.  No  doubt  I  have  often  confessed  to  you  already  that  I  find  little 
congeniality  with  him,  and  that  the  mixture  of  profundity  and  sophistry, 
of  elevated  though^and  aimless  oddity,  in  this  tedious  labyrinth  torments 
me :  and  that  the  consolation  that  there  exists  an  inner  doctrine  of  which 
we  see  only  the  outward  husk,  does  not  satisfy  me.  It  is,  to  aay  the  least, 
a  capricious  whim  to  give  us,  not  that  doctrine,  but  a  form  at  which  we 
have  a  right  to  cavil.  Meanwhile,  I  am  seeking  to  divine  this  hidden 
meaning ;  and  I  have  an  episode  in  my  mind  in  which  I  shall  make  use  of 


402  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR.    ' 

it,  either  before  or  after  the  first  Punic  war,  in  order  to  exhibit  the  manners, 
the  religion,  and  the  jurisprudence  of  the  earliest  times  of  Rome.  I  shall 
afterward  give  the  judgment  which  Plato  and  Aristotle,  or  their  disciples, 
would,  according  to  their  own  principles,  have  pronounced  on  Rome  as  it 
then  was,  if  they  had  known  it. 

I  have  been  induced  to  write  down  my  ideas  respecting  a  more  effectual 
regulation  of  the  universities.  Essential  improvements  in  them  may  be 
easily  indicated 

CCLXX. 

ROME,  16th  December,  1820 

You  will  have  seen  by  the  papers  that  the  sovereigns  have  in- 
vited the  King  of  Naples  to  a  conference  at  Laybach.  What  ensued  there- 
upon at  Naples  is  briefly  as  follows.  The  ministers,  with  the  exception 
of  two  Carbonari,  Ricciardi  and  de  Thomasis,  were  convinced  of  the  mis- 
chievous effects  of  the  revolution.  This  was  above  all  the  case  with  Count 
Zurlo,  a  very  eminent  man ;  he  therefore  induced  the  King  and  the  major- 
ity of  the  ministers  to  issue  a  proclamation,  whereby  the  King  declared  that 
he  would  grant  a  modified  constitution,  guaranteeing  every  thing  that 
could  be  reasonably  desired.  He  expected  support ;  he  has  found  himself 
mistaken.  All  have  shown  themselves  cowards  ;  and  his  colleagues  have 
been  impeached  by  the  Jacobinical  ministers.  Count  Zurlo  is  charged  with 
high  treason,  and  is  probably  ruined.  The  King  has  left  Naples,  and  war 
is  inevitable. 

Amidst  these  alarming  prospects,  this  winter  has  been  to  me  the  least 
quiet  that  I  have  passed  here.  Prince  Henry  of  Prussia,  and  the  Princes 
of  Denmark  and  Bavaria  are  here.  All  this  gives  occasion  to  parties  and 
invitations  from  which  I  can  not  excuse  myself;  and  the  dinners  always 
cost  me  the  time  from  four  to  nine  o'clock.  M.  Von  Stein  arrived  hero 
also  last  week. . 


1821. 

THE  Austrians  entered  Rome,  on  their  march  to  put  down  the 
Neapolitan  constitution,  in  February,  1821.  The  doubts  that 
were  felt  respecting  their  success  were  soon  dispelled,  by  the  un- 
exampled cowardice  of  the  Neapolitans,  who  fled  at  the  first 
attack. 

In  the  same  month,  Hardenberg,  who  was  attending  the  con- 
ference at  Laybach,  unexpectedly  came  to  Rome,  and,  during  his 
short  stay,  the  negotiations  with  the  Papal  government  were 
brought  to  a  satisfactory  issue.  The  terms  of  the  treaty  were 
already  settled  before  his  arrival  ;  nothing  was  wanting  but  its 
ratification.  Niebuhr  readily  gave  up  the  credit  in  the  eyes  of 
the  world  of  having  accomplished  this  transaction,  for  the  sake 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1821.  403 

of  forwarding  the  business  itself,  and  proposed,  of  his  own  accord, 
that  Hardenberg  should  undertake  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty. 

It  was  stated  in  many  public  journals,  that  Niebuhr  had  spent 
four  years  in  fruitless  negotiations  ;  while  Hardenberg  found 
means  to  conclude  a  treaty  in  a  few  days.  But  whoever  wrote 
or  believed  this  can  hardly  have  been  acquainted  with  the  nature 
of  the  negotiations,  which  included  the  entire  regulation  of  the 
relations  between  the  State  and  the  Church  of  Rome,  or  they 
would  surely  not  have  supposed  that  subjects  of  such  magnitude, 
and  on  which  so  many  conflicting  opinions  and  interests  had  to  be 
consulted,  could  be  settled  in  the  course  of  a  few  days.  Neither 
was  it  generally  known  that  Niebuhr  had  waited  nearly  four  years 
for  his  instructions,  and  it  was  forgotten  that  the  negotiations 
were  carried  on  at  a  time  of  extraordinary  difficulty.  It  is  rather 
to  be  wondered  that  they  should  have  been  accomplished  at  all 
at  such  a  time,  and  Niebuhr  himself  always  ascribed  it  to  the 
personal  friendship  of  the  Pope  and  Cardinal  Gonsalvi.  He  says, 
in  one  of  his  letters,  "  I  have  purchased  this  termination  of  the 
business  with  the  sacrifice  of  personal  considerations,  and  resigned 
the  appearance  of  having  had  the  honor  to  accomplish  it.  The 
minister  of  ecclesiastical  affairs,  however,  knows  and  acknowl- 
edges that  it  is  no  slight  matter  to  have  achieved  within  eight 
months,  what  other  embassadors  have  been  working  at  in  vain 
for  four  years.  And  at  what  a  moment  were  our  negotiations 
carried  on  !" 

Niebuhr  took  an  active  part  in  the  Topographical  Description 
of  Rome,  undertaken  by  Bunsen  and  Brandis,  in  conjunction  with 
Cotta.  The  work  was  executed  by  Platner,  Bunsen,  and  some 
others.  Niebuhr  sketched  the  plan  of  the  work,  and  promised  a 
chapter,  giving  a  general  account  of  the  topography  of  ancient 
Rome ;  but  in  the  progress  of  the  work,  his  assistance  was  claimed 
to  a  greater  extent  than  he  had  foreseen,  especially  in  all  that 
related  to  antiquities. 

Letters  written  in  1821. 

CCLXXI. 

^ 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

ROME,  10th,  February,  1821. 

I  have  only  a  few  momenta  to  write,  but  I  must  use  them  to  tell  you 
that,  up  to  this  time,  no  misfortune  has  befallen  us,  though  the  tidinga  that 


404  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

the  Austrians  had  crossed  the  Po,  arrived  here  so  early  as  Tuesday,  and 
must  have  reached  Naples  by  Wednesday  morning.  According  to  this  ac- 
count, they  might  have  been  across  the  frontiers  by  this  time.  We  can 
not  infer  any  thing  as  to  our  safety,  from  the  fact  that  nothing  has  yet 
taken  place ;  but  if  another  week  pass  over  quietly,  we  are  saved. 

We  are  not  decided  whether  to  fly  to  Civita  Vecchia,  if  the  Pope  goes 
thither,  or  to  stay  here  for  the  sake  of  our  children  and  property. 

If  regular  troops  come,  I  think  we  shall  stay,  but  if  mere  rabble,  we  must 
certainly  endeavor  to  escape.  We  hear  that  three  French  ships  are  com- 
ing to  Civita  Vecchia,  on  board  which  we  shall  be  able  to  embark. 

The  Austrians  can  not  be  before  our  gates,  at  the  earliest,  sooner  than 
the  22d  instant.  How  we  long  now  for  the  days  to  pass  over !  And  thus 
life  speeds  away  ! 

I  gave  Stein  a  beautiful  entertainment  yesterday,  in  which  the  singers  of 
the  Pope's  chapel  performed  ancient  music. 

I  have  been  much  cheered  by  receiving  a  letter  from  old  Peyron.  at  Turin, 
which  he  means  to  publish  himself,  and  in  which  he  not  only  quite  takes 
my  part,  but  attests  that  he  did  not  discover  the  point  in  question  till 
September,  &c.* 

CCLXXII. 

ROME,  Ylth  March,  1821. 

It  must  be  three  weeks  since  I  last  wrote  to  you.  Even  then,  our  im- 
mediate apprehensions  and  fears  had  been  removed ;  only  it  hardly  seem- 
ed possible  that  the  war  in  Naples  should  not,  at  least  to  some  extent,  be 
carried  on  with  the  savage  fury  of  a  war  of  opinion ;  and  as  the  means  of 
attack  would  in  that  case  be  insufficient,  we  could  not  feel  quite  easy  re- 
specting our  position.  Never  have  more  brilliant  speeches  been  made  than 
at  Naples;  the  foreigners,  especially  the  young  men  who  had  listened  to 
the  orations,  were  quite  carried  away,  and  saw  in  these  Polichinellos  the 
heroes  of  antiquity  risen  again.  I,  and  all  others  who  knew  the  Italians, 
made,  indeed,  great  deductions,  and  thought  very  lightly  of  the  moral 
worth  of  those  who  delivered  these  splendid  orations ;  but  still  we  fancied 
it  possible  that  the  sectarian  organization  in  particular  might  have  enkindled 
a  fanaticism,  which  the  extraordinarily  ill-judged  proceedings  on  the  other 
bide  could  not  fail  greatly  to  promote.  That  the  whole  had  been  such  a 
mere  miserable  piece  of  lies  and  mouthing,  no  one  ever  dreamed.  Even 
the  official  reports  do  not  place  the  matter  in  so  strong  a  light  as  truth 
deserves.  In  the  engagement  of  Rieti,  each  side  may  have  lost,  perhaps, 
from  fifty  to  seventy  men.  As  the  Austrians  were  very  weak,  they  were 
not  even  able  to  pursue  the  enemy ;  and  after  this  affair  the  whole  army 
of  General  Pepe  dispersed  so  completely,  that  only  a  part  of  two  regiments 
which  had  not  been  in  the  engagement,  but  stood  at  some  distance,  threw 
themselves  into  Pescara;  Pepe  himself  arrived  at  Castel  Saegro  on  the 
1 1th,  without  a  single  soldier.  Between  Rieti  and  Aquila  there  are  three 
formidable  passes,  Borghetto,  Antrodoco,  and  Madonna  di  Grotta,  where  a 
handful  of  men  could  arrest  an  army.  These  were  left  so  completely  un- 
defended, that  the  Austrians  had  only  one  man  wounded,  and  their  oppo- 
nents not  more.  The  Neapolitans  help  themselves  with  their  Italian  un- 
truthfulness,  and  are  not  ashamed  nor  afraid  to  say  in  their  journals,  that 
*  Referring  to  the  dispute  with  Mai. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1821.  405 

Aiitrodoco  was  taken  by  superior  numbers,  after  a  most  heroic  resistance. 
To-morrow,  or  at  furthest  the  day  after,  the  other  army  on  the  Garigliano 
will  be  attacked.  It  is  already  much  weakened  by  desertion,  at  least,  com- 
pared to  what  it  ought  to  be  to  resist  the  attacking  army,  and  all  accounts 
agree  in  stating  that  the  soldiers  will  not  fight,  and  that  the  militia  are  only 
waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  disband  and  run  home.  The  corps,  of  which 
we  may  assume  that  they  consist  of  Carbonari,  those,  for  instance,  under 
Avellino  and  Salerno,  show  themselves  just  as  cowardly,  and  desert  just  as 
much  as  the  rest ;  indeed,  they  were  the  first  to  set  the  example.  Those 
with  the  high-sounding  names — the  Sacred  Squadron,  the  modern  Pabii, 
the  three  hundred  Bruttii,  who  had  entreated  the  privilege  of  occupying  the 
posts  of  greatest  danger,  have  never  made  their  appearance  at  all,  but  have 
completely  dispersed  themselves. 

One  trait  more.  The  robbers,  who  a  short  time  since  carried  off  the  boys 
belonging  to  the  Seminarium  at  Terracina,  and  murdered  two  of  them  in  cold 
blood,  after  having  received  three  thousand  piastres  for  their  ransom,  have 
been  pardoned,  and  formed  into  a  corpa ;  their  chief  had  made  it  an  indis- 
pensable condition  that  the  regimental  band  should  conduct  him  from  Fondi, 
and  this  had  been  done.  Between  Aquila  and  Rieti.  the  Neapolitan  troopa 
have  plundered  every  thing  in  their  owa  country,  not  only  in  their  flight, 
but  also  on  the  march  home. 

A  very  different  event  from  the  miserable  Neapolitan  revolution,  which 
ten  thousand  men  could  have  put  down  in  September  (even  now  only  five 
battalions  have  been  under  fire),  is  the  revolt  in  Piedmont,  which  we  learnt 
yesterday,  just  when  we  thought  that  the  termination  of  the  first  farce  had 
secured  our  safety  for  the  remainder  of  our  stay  here.  The  Piedmontese 
are  a  brave  and  estimable  people,  but  fearfully  passionate,  and  we  can  not 
conceal  from  ourselves  that  this  incident  may  lead  to  incalculable  conse- 
quences. The  Austrians  were  only  prevented  by  an  accident  from  opening 
the  campaign  a  week  sooner ;  had  they  done  so  (since  the  result  would  no 
doubt  have  been  the  same),  one  might  wager  any  thing  that  the  conspirators 
in  Piedmont  would  have  relinquished  their  enterprise.  God  knows  what  it 
will  come  to  now ! 

When  you  see  the  blind  political  faith  of  young  men,  in  other  respects 
well  meaning  and  intelligent,  you  can  not  help  perceiving  that  with  this 
'  generation  wisdom  itself  could  not  succeed  in  averting  a  revolution.  But 
the  course  along  which  their  blindness  impels  them  is  one,  at  the  end  of 
which,  as  has  been  truly  said  by  M.  Von  Stein,  the  Jews  will  be  the  ruling 
class,  the  husbandman  a  clown,  and  the  artisan  a  bungler ;  where  all  ties 
will  be  dissolved,  and  the  sword  alone  will  be  the  ultimate  authority;  but 
for  poor  Germany,  it  will  be  the  sword  of  the  foreigners,  who  will  divide 
her. 

The  time  is  gradually  approaching,  when  the  strangers  would  forsake 
Rome  and  we  should  have  quiety  if  revolution  and  war  were  not  raging 
around  us.  Still,  I  will  not  despair  of  being  able  to  return  afterward  to 
quiet  and  my  salutary  studies.  At  all  events,  the  festivities  and  parties 
are  leaving  off,  with  wnich  we  occupied  ourselves  at  a  time  when  every  one 
ought  to  retire  into  the  most  solemn  silence.  Stein  will  probably  remain 
here  another  month.  All  his  old  affection  for  me  has  re-awakened,  and  mine 
was  easily  revived,  so  that  we  are  on  a  footing  of  cordial  friendship.  Old 
age  becomes  him  well,  and  I  can  only  think  of  him  with  tender  sadness ;  it  is 


406  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

most  likely  the  last  time  that  we  shall  see  each  other,  and  I  thank  God 
that  we  have  met  thus. 

The  children  are  well  and  good.  Marcus  seemed  for  a  time  inclined  to 
be  delicate.  Perhaps  I  worked  his  head  too  hard :  I  have  relaxed  a  little 
in  this  respect.  The  difficulties  of  reading  are  overcome ;  and  if  the  love 
of  reading  awakens  later  in  him  than  in  me,  I  shall  not  consider  it  any 
misfortune  to  him. 

Gretchen  suffers  again  from  time  to  time  with  her  eyes,  and  does  so  at 
the  present  moment.  How  are  all  your  people?  I  think  of  them  with 
anxiety.  God  protect  you  ! 

You  will  most  likely  have  learnt  from  the  journals  that  the  Chancellor 
of  State  has  arrived  here, '  accompanied  by  officers  of  his  department.  I 
only  heard  of  it  two  days  before  his  arrival.  I  have  given  him  a  splendid 
entertainment,  which  I  dare  say  he  would  very  willingly  have  dispensed 
with ;  but  if  it  had  not  been  done  all  the  world  would  have  censured  me. 
Thus  are  we  obliged  to  plague  each  other,  out  of  conventionalism  and  polite- 
ness !  He  will  leave  again  in  four  or  five  days.  Bartholdy  was  in  Naples, 
but  has  been  summoned. 

I  have  heard  from  Sch ,  who  accompanies  Hardenberg,  that  the 

clergyman  at  Sesenheim  was  his  uncle,  and  had  four  daughters ;  the  un- 
happy, but  universally  beloved,  Frederike  died  a  few  years  ago.  Her 
brother,  a  respectable  clergyman,  is  also  dead.  She  lived  to  see  the  pub- 
lication of  Goethe's  life ;  whether  she  read  it,  he  does  not  know. 

CCLXXIII. 

TO  NICOLOVIUS. 

ROME,  28^  March,  1821. 

Dearest  friend,  embrace  me ;  the  negotiation  is  concluded,  concluded 
with  success,  and  now  we  are  proceeding  to  draw  up  the  bull,  which  I  hope 
will  be  issued  in  a  month.  May  Heaven  only  guide  the  thoughts  of  Mon- 
signor  M.  by  a  right  lively  representation  of  the  more  or  less  costly  snuff- 
box that  awaits  him,  and  direct  both  our  pens,  so  that  no  outcry  may  be 
raised  against  the  bull  at  the  last  moment !  You  will  learn  every  thing 
through  Count  Bernstorf. 

Hardenberg's  journey  hither  has  really  been  a  blessing;  it  cost  me  nothing 
more  than  the  sacrifice  of  allowing  him  to  take  the  credit  of  having  brought 
the  affair  to  a  settlement.  And  as  he  will  thereby  be  bound  to  its  execution 
and  results,  I  incited  Cardinal  Gonsalvi  to  speak  to  him  in  my  presence,  as 
if  it  were  his  work,  and  to  express  it  in  his  note. 

Now,  when  the  matter  has  to  be  carried  out,  your  ministry  can  do  much  ; 
and  I  have  assured  the  Pope  that  he  may  rely  upon  honest  intentions. 

Only  above  all  make  haste  with  all  your  proposals  respecting  appoint- 
ments. That  the  Roman  cabinet  have  accepted  so  long  a  delay  is  a  brill- 
iant proof  of  the  confidence  which  they  place  in  our  good-will. 

Your  letter,  my  dear  friend,  belongs  to  the  rewards  which  Heaven  has 
accorded  to  my  efforts.  I  thank  you  a  thousand  times  for  it  in  my  own 
and  Gretchen's  name.  But  I  always  stand  in  such  deep  self-abasement 
before  your  humility,  and  your  over-estimate  of  me.  What  am  I  ?  a  de- 
cayed wreck.  If  it  were  not  for  the  children  I  should  sigh,  my  God,  when 
wilt  thou  break  it  up  ! 


LETTERS  FROM   ROME  IN  1821.  407 

However,  I  rejoice  in  the  success  of  my  undertaking.  I  began  it  with- 
out any  hope  of  attaining  my  end.  Now  we  are  the  first  in  the  field. 

How  long  I  shall  remain  here,  as  my  presence  will  soon  be  no  longer 
necessary  (1  allow  to  myself  that  it  has  been  useful,  that  with  the  same 
instructions  the  business  might  have  foundered),  who  can  tell?  For  now 
I  can  take  my  leave  with  a  good  conscience,  if  I  meet  with  any  new  rfe- 
goutt.  I  have  begged  the  Chancellor — and  I  think  it  will  tally  with  your 
wishes — to  have  a  large  picture  painted  by  the  very  eminent  artist,  Philip 
V.-it,  as  a  present  to  the  cathedral  of  Cologne,  on  occasion  of  the  restora- 
tion of  the  Archbishopric.  I  should  propose  to  Veit,  aa  a  subject,  either 
the  presentation  of  the  relics  of  the  Three  Kings  to  the  deputies  of  Cologne 
by  the  Emperor  Frederick  Barbarossa,  after  the  taking  of  Milan,  or  the 
Vision  of  Count  William  of  Jiilich. 

I  can  not  give  any  orders  for  pictures  now,  for  I  give  all  that  I  can  spare 
to  my  poor  dear  S.*  How  I  should  like  to  see  him  a  bishop ! 

As  soon  aa  the  bull  has  been  dispatched,  I  shall  hasten  to  Naples.  At 
present,  you  can  have  an  Austrian  escort  for  the  whole  distance,  and  Gen- 
eral Frimont  will  no  doubt,  in  case  of  necessity,  open  every  thing  that 
would  otherwise  be  inaccessible  to  me,  with  his  grenadiers. 

The  issue  of  events  at  Naples  has  exhibited  the  baseness  of  these  Ital- 
ians in  its  proper  colors.  Their  sole  moral  .incentive  is  vanity,  and  vanity 
is  not  bullet-proof. 

It  would  be  different  in  Spain,  and  yet  even  there  you  might  demolish 
every  thing  with  thirty  thousand  men. 

We  have  disgraceful  contemporaries.  Our  poor  children !  We  rejoice 
heartily  as  your  true  friends  in  all  the  good  news  that  you  tell  us  of  your 
family,  and  mourn  in  sympathy  with  our  dear  friends  the  Goschens. 

Accept  love  yourself  from  Gretchen,  and  give  our  united  kind  regards  to 
your  family  and  all  friends.  Excuse  haste,  and  embrace  me  once  more. 

Your  faithful  NIKBHHK. 

CCLXXIV. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

ROME,  ^th,  April,  1821. 

It  grieved  me  much  not  to  write  to  you  last  week,  but  it  was  impossi- 
ble. Happily,  you  could  not  have  made  yourself  anxious  about  us  for 
some  time  past.  But  I  should  so  have  liked  to  have  written  to  you,  be- 
cause I  was  full  of  joy  at  having  concluded  my  important  negotiations  on 
ecclesiastical  affairs ;  concluded,  not  so  but  that  there  is  much  to  do  in 
carrying  out  details,  but  still  so  far  that  we  have  come  to  an  agreement  on 
all  essential  points,  and  only  some  quite  unforeseen  circumstance,  such  as, 
for  instance,  the  death  of  the  Pope  before  the  completion  of  the  bulls,  could 
interfere  with  the  matter. 

Now  since  we  must  assume  that  good  may  arise  from  this  settlement— 
and  at  least  it  is  certain  that  the  prolongation  of  the  present  state  of  things 
would  involve  actua^evil — it  would  have  been  very  painful  to  me  if  I  had 
not  been  able  to  accomplish  this  business.  And  how  often,  and  for  how 
many  reasons  this  seemed  likely  ! 

It  contributes  to  improve  my  position  as  regards  the  social  annoyances 
which  I  have  to  suffer  even  now  from  the  impertinence  of  a  few  fools,  that 
*  Schmieder. 


408  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

the  Emperor  of  Austria  has  presented  me  with  the  grand  cross  of  the  Leo 
pold  Order.  You  know  that  probably  there  are  not  many  who  care  less 
about  these  things  than  myself,  and  that  I  know  what  is  true  honor. 
Would  to  God  that  I  had  never  been  placed  in  any  position  where  this  is 
insufficient !  But  I  have  been  drifted  into  another  sphere,  and  am  com- 
pelled to  live  among  people,  to  whom  all  that  would  have  secured  me  due 
appreciation  among  the  highest  class,  counts  for  nothing;  who,  in  fact, 
rather  deem  my  learning  and  studies  unbecoming  my  position,  and  a  thing 
to  be  pardoned.  In  this  place  I  have  gradually  worked  my  way  up  to  in- 
fluence ,and  consideration,  and  have  not  often  occasion  to  feel  the  want  of 
it ;  still  indications  are  now  and  then  given,  and  were  formerly  much  more 
frequently  perceptible,  of  contempt  for  my  station  and  plain  name,  which 
will  be  put  an  end  to  by  such  marks  of  distinction.  Had  not  Count  Bla- 
cas.*  who  is  regarded  in  Germany  as  the  mo.st  extreme  aristocrat,  dis- 
played the  most  friendly  feeling  toward  me  from  the  very  beginning  of  my 
residence  here,  and  treated  me  quite  as  his  equal,  my  position  in  these  cir- 
cles as  a  commoner  would  have  been  much  more  unpleasant  even  than  it 
has  been. 

Stein  has  given  me  his  portrait.  It  is  a  drawing,  and  very  like  him. 
He  much  preferred  my  house  to  any  other  during  his  stay  here.  Old  age 
has  made  him  very  amiable.  May  his  remaining  years  be  happy  !  When 
he  bid  Marcus  good-night  yesterday  evening,  he  kissed  and  stroked  him ; 
I  remember  that  his  own  children  only  used  to  kiss  his  hand.  Thank  God 
that  I  shall  part  from  him  with  this  remembrance  !  To-morrow,  I  shall 
accompany  him  at  his  request  as  far  as  Tivoli. 

Marcus  is  losing  his  robust  appearance;  he  has  no  signs  of  ill-health  ; 
still  it  makes  me  uneasy. 

The  editor  of  the  "Independente,"  one  of  the  most  violent  Neapolitan 
journals,  is  now  contractor  for  the  Austrian  army.  Thus  do  these  fellows 
change  their  colors  when  they  see  any  advantage  to  be  gained  by  it 

CCLXXV. 

ROME,  28£/t  April,  1821. 

Last  week  I  received  your  letter,  in  which  you  speak  of  the  anxiety  that 
the  Piedmontese  insurrection  has  caused  you  on  our  account.  Your  care 
for  us  has  touched  me  deeply. 

The  occurrences  in  Piedmont  appear  to  us  of  importance,  only  because 
we  know  that  they  owe  their  origin  to  the  leaders  of  the  Left  in  France, 
and  that  there  was  a  wish  to  make  the  experiment  of  a  revolution  in  France 
itself.  The  plans  for  such  an  event  had  been  so  completely  worked  out. 
that  in  a  letter  from  Madrid  of  the  24th  of  March,  which  has  been  delaved 
on  the  road  and  has  only  just  been  communicated  to  me,  it  is  stated  that 
this  revolution  has  been  arranged  with  the  knowledge  and  sympathy  of  the 
heads  of  the  Cortes,  and  in  particular  of  the  Count  Toreno,  and  would 
break  out  in  a  few  days,  if  it  had  not  broken  out  already. 

For  the  rest,  I  should  have  expected  that  the  Piedmontese  would  have 
shown  firmness  in  the  execution  of  their  rash  enterprise  ;  but  although  the 
conspirators  were  numerous,  considered  as  such,  they  formed  an  infinitely 
small  part  of  the  nation,  which  did  not  expect  any  good  from  the  hands  of 
dissolute  and  frivolous  young  officers,  nor  from  any  of  these  ambitious  men. 
*  The  French  emhassador. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1821.  409 

Thus  these  good-for-nothing  fellows  have  brought  an  inexpressible  calamity 
on  their  country,  in  the  shape  of  foreign  occupation,  and  the  exchange  of 
a  narrow-minded  but  honest  and  well-intentioned  king,  for  a  prince  who 
will  not  govern  mildly.  Who  would  have  thought  that  we  should  live  to 
see  those  revolts  of  arrogant  soldiers,  who,  after  giving  away  thrones,  fled, 
or  practiced  some  new  treachery,  which  characterize  the  worst  periods  of 
ancient  history,  and  were  hitherto  unknown  in  recent  times  ? 

The  Spanish  ships  which  took  on  board  the  fugitives  from  Naples,  have 
landed  them  at  Ischia,  probably  because  they  had  no  money.  In  Spain, 
the  minister  of  finance  has  detected  the  greatest  dishonesty  in  his  pre- 
decessor, and  the  deficit  is  estimated  at  28,000,000  piastres !  And  this 
is  the  minister  of  finance  on  account  of  whose  removal,  with  his  col- 
leagues, the  Cortes  wished  to  excite  a  new  revolution,  and  may  perhaps 
do  it  yet!  ,-w. 

It  is  true  that  in  most  places  it  is  only  evil  in  conflict  with  evil,  but  that 
evil  which  establishes  its  empire  with  the  utmost  tyranny,  and  founds  its 
right  on  false  pretensions  to  moral  and  intellectual  eminence,  is  far  more 
hateful  to  me,  because  far  more  pernicious,  than  that  which  takes  its  stand, 
almost  stupidly  and  without  thought,  on  possession,  and  for  the  rest,  inter- 
feres with  no  one  else  in  his  possessions.  The  quiet  of  summer  is  now 
approaching,  and  the  crowd  of  foreigners  is  dispersing.  Stein  is  gone  to 
Naples 

CCLXXVI. 

AI.BANO,  llth  May,  1821. 

I  have  formed  a  very  interesting  acquaintance  with  Lord  Col- 
cheater ;  indeed,  it  has  come  to*  that  mutual  feeling  of  attachment  which 
the  acquaintanceships  formed  in  later  life  seldom  exceed.  With  me  he 
threw  off  his  usual  silence  and  reserve.  He  earnestly  wishes  that  I  might 
come  to  London  as  embassador ;  but  even  if  this  could  be  brought  about,  I 
feel  that  the  whole  mode  of  life  involved  by  such  a  vocation  is  injurious 
to  me. 

I  think  I  have  never  told  you,  that  in  the  beginning  of  the  winter,  the 
celebrated  Countess  of  Albany,  Alfieri's  friend,  born  Princess  Stolberg,  was 
here;  she  is  intellectual  enough  to  make  it  worth  one's  while  to  become 
acquainted  with  her.  What  has  reminded  me  of  it  is,  that  the  Pretender, 
her  husband,  once  fitted  up  and  lived  in  the  house  which  we  are  now  occu- 
pying at  Albano.  After  I  had  seen  her,  I  made  a  good  many  inquiries 
about  her,  and  certainly  learnt  much  that  justifies  what  we  are  so  often 
compelled  to  feel,  namely,  that  eminent  and  varied  talents  by  no  means 
always  coincide  with  moral  worth.  Her  husband  abandoned  himself  to 
drinking,  because  she  drove  him  to  despair  by  her  infatuation  for  Alfieri ; 
and  she  did  not  even  remain  faithful  to  Alfieri  to  the  last,  although  she  has 
erected  a  magnificent  monument  to  his  memory  with  the  ostentation  of  the 
widow  of  a  celebrated  man.  Though  very  old  now,  you  may  still  call  her 
beautiful ^ 

CCLXXVII. 

ROME,  llth  August,  1821. 

This  time  I  hare  long  remained  in  your  debt  for  your  last  dear  letter,  and 
yet  it  u  long  since  any  letter  has  rejoiced  me  so  much. 

S 


410  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHE. 

The  children  are  my  delight,  and  when  one  has  seen  them  in  danger, 
one's  anxie.ty  lasts  long  after  the  danger  is  over.  Marcus  has  not  indeed  got 
rid  of  his  complaint,  and  the  least  trifle  aggravates  it ;  still  he  has  much 
improved,  and  is  gaining  flesh.  Our  Amelia  has  been  threatened  with  an 
attack  of  dysentery  lately,  but  the  danger  has  been  averted.  Amelia,  too, 
clings  to  us  now  much  more  than  she  did,  and  is  growing  a  very  sweet 
child ;  her  obstinacy  is  gradually  giving  way,  and  she  is  learning  to  obey 
without  ill-humor.  We  do  not  tease  her  with  lessons  yet,  and  it  will  be  a 
great  difficulty  with  her,  too ;  she  is  so  lively  and  volatile.  Marcus  could 
learn  any  thing  if  he  did  not  prefer  any  kind  of  motion  to  sitting  still.  We 
talk  German  with  him  a  good  deal  now,  and  he  understands  every  thing. 
Lucia  runs  alone,  and  is  very  quick.  She  is  very  fond  of  her  brother. 

Certainly,  my  attention,  too,  is  fixed  upon  Greece.  I  curse  Ypsilanti's 
enterprise,  which  has  sacrificed  the  lives  of  thousands  in  vain,  and  aban- 
doned many  to  a  still  worse  fate.  God  grant  that  the  Emperor  Alexander 
may  fulfill  his  noble  idea  of  taking  nothing  for  himself,  but  founding  an  in- 
dependent State  there,  against  whose  existence  no  one  could  have  the  face 
to  raise  an  opposition.  Meanwhile,  there  is  only  one  form  under  which  the 
Greeks  and  the  other  tribes  can  have  a  national  existence — that  of  anti- 
quity and  the  middle  ages,  a  sovereign  whose  powers  are  undefined,  but 
who  allows  each  tribe  and  each  community  to  do  what  they  think  best  with 
respect  to  their  internal  affairs,  on  condition  that  they  perform  fixed  ser- 
vices in  war,  and  pay  certain  imposts.  It  would  be  a  most  important  and 
advantageous  revolution  for  Europe.  Millions  could  settle  in  the  waste 
lands  of  the  most  highly-favored  countries,  and  the  emigration  now  turned 
toward  America,  and  lost  to  Europe,  might  create  a  new  source  of  strength 
to  the  latter.  Who  knows  how  far  into  the  interior  Asia  might  not  become 
European  in  time  ? 

CCLXXVIII. 

ROME,  16th  August,  1821. 

I  only  write  to  you  to-day  to  impart  my  consolation  to  you.  If  I  can 
think  of  any  thing  besides  my  boy,  it  is  the  reports  from  the  Archipelago. 
We  have  as  yet  no  certainty  that  the  report  of  the  naval  battle  before 
Mitylene  is  true  ;  but  the  accounts  of  it  from  Corfu  are  of  a  character  that 
renders  it  credible.  If  so,  though  these  Greek  mariners,  taken  singly,  are 
nothing  better  than  pirates,  and  no  one  who  loves  his  life  will  embark  in  a 
ship  of  Hydra  with  any  tempting  property,  I  respect  them  notwithstanding, 
and  begin  to  expect  something  from  them.  The  deed  must  prove  the  man. 
It  was  the  Dutch  corsairs,  accustomed  to  plunder  friend  and  foe,  who,  in 
1572,  took  Briel,  and  founded  the  republic.  A  Greek  republic  is  a  chimera, 
but  a  State  may  very  likely  spring  up  there  ;  and  my  imagination  pursues 
the  endless  developments  of  the  events  which  may  result  from  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  Turkish  empire,  and  the  opening  of  Asia  Minor  and  Syria  to 
European  colonization.  Only  I  do  not  see  how  a  nation  like  the  Greeks 
will  allow  themselves  to  be  governed.  If  you  attempt  to  make  them  Eu- 
ropean, they  will  become  absolutely  worthless.  I  imagine  German  colonies  in 
Bithynia,  &c. 


LETTEES  FROM  ROME  IN  1821.  411 

CCLXXIX. 

TO  NICOLOVIUS. 

ROME,  15th  September,  1821. 

I  give  you  ray  special  thanks  for  the  first  volume  of  Hamann's*  writ- 
ings. 0  that  I  may  not  have  to  receive  the  rest  in  this  den !  You  can 
not  imagine  how  painfully  we  lonely  and  forsaken  creatures  feel  the  want 
of  any  one  with  whom  we  can  hold  a  conversation  ;  how  often,  of  a  Sunday 
evening  for  instance,  we  are  reminded  that  we  are  in  Tomi,  and  sigh,  Oh, 
if  we  could  but  have  the  Gbschens,  Nicolovius,  or  Savigny  with  us  for  an 
evening  1  Hamann's  writings  make  me  feel  the  want  of  you  with  tenfold 
acuteness,  though  one  evening  would  not  be  sufficient  to  say  all  we  should 
have  to  say  about  them.  He  who  looks  on  every  thing  from  a  historical 
point  of  view,  finds  himself  in  a  former  and  remarkable  world  as  he  reads 
them.  It  is  another  question— and  one  which  before  I  was  acquainted  with 
these  writings,  I  had  not  expected  to  find  myself  forced  to  ask — whether 
their  publication  ii  likely  to  prove  beneficial — I  mean  with  a  public  such 
as  ours  is  at  the  present  day.  For  the  moment,  a  certain  coquetting  with 
pietism  seems  to  be  in  fashion  with  a  considerable  number  of  the  younger 
generation — not  altogether  from  hypocrisy  and  vanity,  but  with  very  few 
from  inward  and  honest  feeling.  Our  age  demands  glaring  colors  and  shrill 
sounds,  now  of  one  kind,  now  of  another.  This  fashion  will  not  last  long, 
but  the  moment  is  unfavorable  for  the  appearance  of  any  thing  that  gives  it 
authority,  because  people  do  not  understand  such  a  work.  But  my  anxiety 
extends  beyond  the  present  moment ;  I  fear  lest  the  generation,  who  can 
not  in  the  least  understand  Hamann  and  the  times  in  which  he  flourished, 
should  take  lasting  offense  at  this  representation  of  a  rude  and  shaggy 
form.  I  had  not  read  the  biography,  when  I  expressed  the  wish  that  it 
might  appear  as  it  was ;  and  never  dreamed  of  the  publication  of  a  corre- 
spondence such  as  that  with  Lindner.  I  confess  to  you  that  I  would  now 
give  much,  that  any  one  who  waa  competent — you  above  all — ahould  have 
worked  up  the  two,  the  biography  and  the  letters,  into  a  single  life  of 
Uamann,  by  which  means  much  that  must  now  be  misunderstood  by  nine 
hundred  and  ninety-nine  out  of  a  thousand,  would  have  been  rendered  in- 
telligible, and  much  that  is  painful  would  have  been  avoided.  Few  will 
know  how  Hamann — evidently  from  his  very  childhood — grew  up  and  took 
root  in  the  poetical  pietism  then  prevailing  at  Xonigsberg  ;  and  how  in  the 
crisis  that  took  place  in  him  in  London,  ruch  a  religion  might  rise  even  to 
fanaticism  and  fierceness,  without  the  slightest  admixture  of  affectation, 
and  should  remain  the  permanent  key-note  of  his  soul.  Does  it  displease 
you,  my  friend,  that  I  say  evtn  to  fierceneti  ?  I  confess  to  you  that  this  is 
ray  feeling  with  regard  to  his  connection  with  the  Behrens  family,  and  for 
my  justification  let  me  tell  you,  thai  Gretchen's  feelings  recoil  from  it  no 

*  Hamann  was  a  celebrated  and  profound,  but  obscure  writer  on  theological 
mid  philosophical  subjects,  of  the  last  century,  and  an  opponent  of  Kant ;  he  was 
born,  and  spent  the  great  part  of  his  life  in  Kdnigsberg,  and  was  an  intimate 
friend  of  Herder  and  Jacobi,  on  the  former  of  whom,  e«pecially,  he  exercised 
great  influence  in  early  life.  The  character  of  his  theology  is  sufficiently  ap- 
parent from  Niebuhr's  letters.  His  detached  Essays  and  Letters  have  been 
collected  and  published  by  Roth,  1821-1825.  He  never  wrote  any  comprehens- 
ive work.  To  characterize  at  once  his  almost  prophetical  insight,  and  the 
obscurity  of  his  style,  he  was  called  the  Magus  of  the  North. 


412  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTTHR. 

less  than  my  own.  This  renunciation  of  all  gratitude,  these  despotic  pre- 
tensions, this  excessive  petulance,  appear  to  us  merely  other  phases  of  the 
demoniacal  nature  which  appears  in  such  a  fearful  shape  in  G.,  indeed, 
still  more  frightful,  because  the  conscience  of  the  man  who  has  abandoned 
himself  to  these  impulses,  approves  his  conduct  and  confirms  him  in  it.  I 
turn  now  to  another  consideration.  If  all  extraordinary  persons  were  ex- 
hibited to  the  very  recesses  of  their  soul,  by  the  publication  of  their  corre- 
spondence, they  would  be  as  it  were  on  a  footing  of  equality,  and  one  might 
let  one  after  another  appear,  without  lowering  any  relatively.  As  it  is, 
this  is  not  the  case ;  indeed,  I  say,  God  be  thanked  that  it  is  not !  It  is 
not  well  that  the  world  should  see  into  the  inmost  soul  of  every  man,  and 
both  the  world  and  history  would  be  unendurable  if  it  could.  There  are 
garments  of  the  soul  which  you  should  no  more  strip  off  than  those  of  the 
body ;  and  a  biography  that  vails  nothing  is  neither  right  nor  wholesome. 
In  one  respect,  at  least,  this  history  when  understood  clearly,  and  in  its 
details  is  useful — that  it  teaches  us  how  even  the  greatest  and  most  ex- 
alted spirits  of  our  human  race  are  ignorant  how  accidentally  their  eye 
has  assumed  the  form  through  which  they  see,  while  from  the  extreme 
intensity  of  their  consciousness,  they  authoritatively  demand  that  every 
one  shall  see  as  they  do.  He  who  has  not  recognized  this  quite  distinctly 
and  in  many  instances,  may  be  subjugated  by  the  presence  of  a  mighty 
intellect,  that  casts  the  most  intense  passion  into  a  given  form ;  and  the 
immediate  contemplation  of  the  daily  intellectual  life  of  a  powerful  man, 
has  all  the  injurious  effect  upon  an  immature  mind,  of  novel-reading  upon 
a  weak  girl.  The  most  captivating  novels  are  those  which  are  wholly  or 
mostly  written  in  the  form  of  letters.  It  is  these  which  stir  the  emotions, 
and  historical  composition  which  deserves  the  name,  speaks  in  discourses  ; 
it  is  not  the  actions,  but  the  speeches  and  the  thought,  which  touch  our 
hearts.  If  I  had  the  energy  which  I  have  not,  I  would,  if  only  by  way  of 
proof,  relate  what  might  inflame  the  imagination  in  the  most  dangerous 
way,  so  that  it  should  not  move  you ;  and  then  again,  sway  the  imagina- 
tion of  my  readers  so  that  they  should  espouse  the  party  of  Marius  or 
Sulla ;  so  that  they  should  not  scruple  at  the  bloodshed,  but  have  the 
guilt  of  all  that  flowed  upon  their  consciences 

CCLXXX. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

ROME,  29lh  September,  1821. 

Your  last  letter  affected  me  deeply  in  more  than  one  way.  When  we 
can  no  longer  attain,  or  no  longer  endure  a  life  of  exciting  emotion  and 
action,  the  only  thing  left  us  to  wish  for  is  peace  and  quiet.  This  applies 
to  me  personally,  as  well  as  to  public  life  at  the  present  day. 

I  meant  to  write  to  you  a  short  time  ago  about  Hamann's  works,  and 
the  impression  they  made  upon  me.  Hitherto  our  feelings  have  harmon- 
ized, or  if  not  at  first,  have,  with  very  rare  exceptions,  been  brought  into 
harmony  when  we  have  explained  ourselves.  I  was  anxious  to  know 
whether  our  inward  agreement  would  be  interrupted  on  this  remarkable 
occasion.  I  hope  not.  You  will  doubtless  have  read  his  writings.  Now, 
I  ask  you,  do  you  sympathize  with  them  ?  Are  you  glad  to  possess  them  ? 

Much  about  Hamann  has  been  made  clearer  to  me.     I  understand  now 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1821.  413 

the  origin  of  the  first,  and  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  of  his  writings,  of 
which  I  before  knew  nothing.  But  it  was  not  enough  for  me  to  perceive 
that  the  original  mould  of  his  mind  was  that  of  a  giant,  who  had  survived 
a  perished  race,  and  lived  on  in  an  utterly  different  age  of  the  world  ?  It 
was  indeed  necessary  to  know  something  of  that  earlier  race,  and  to  un- 
derstand how  it  lived  in  the  pietism,  which,  hi  Konigsberg,  more  than  any 
where  else,  had  acquired  a  strong  and  living  power  over  men ;  the  traces 
and  traditions  of  which  we  see  in  Hippel's  writings,  and  amidst  whose  in- 
fluences Hamann  too  grew  up. 

But  what  do  we  gain  by  the  publishing  of  his  life  and  letters  ?  Or, 
rather,  how  much  do  we  not  lose  by  the  dispersion  of  the  mist  that  con- 
cealed the  personality  of  this  mysterious  man  ?  We  see  a  young  man, 
whose  aspirations  and  struggles  the  present  generation  will  not  be  able  to 
understand  nor  even  to  divine,  giving  a  loose  to  his  inclinations,  neglect- 
ing, in  the  most  careless  and  unconscientious  manner,  his  obligations  to- 
ward his  unselfish  and  loving  friends,  swimming  with  the  stream  of  his 
passions,  and  when  at  last,  the  difficulties  of  his  desperate  position  recall 
his  earlier  pietistic  feelings,  yet  not  led  back  by  them  in  the  least  to  his 
duties  toward  his  fellow-creatures.  We  see  him,  on  his  return,  despising 
the  same  friends  in  his  spiritual  pride,  accepting  their  benefits  while  hating 
and  condemning  them,  yet  still  reserving  the  privilege  of  returning  to  them, 
whenever  necessity  may  drive  him  to  such  a  course.  Apart  from  all  the 
unhappy  influences  which  this  book  may  and  will  exercise  over  perverted 
minds,  allowing  that  such  temporary  effects  are  not  to  be  taken  into  ac- 
count (which  I  am  less  willing  to  concede  the  older  I  become,  and  the 
longer  and  more  attentively  I  regard  the  varied  forms  which  perverted 
views  assume),  how  does  he  appear  to  us?  As  a  man  possessed  by  a 
demon,  who  believes  himself  called  to  rule  despotically.  From  his  earliest 
childhood,  he  had  been  accustomed  to  this  pietistic  interpretation  of  the 
Bible,  to  look  on  it  as  a  handbook  for  every  event  of  life ;  in  moments 
when  his  whole  nature  had  been  overwhelmed  by  distress,  difficulty,  and 
remorse,  it  had  seized  hold  of  his  mind  with  a  force  which  influenced  his 
whole  life ;  but  this  supposed  sanctifioation  had  no  effect  on  his  actions. 
The  correctness  of  these  views  of  the  Scriptures  is  not  affected  in  the 
slightest  degree,  practically  or  historically,  by  this  Life.  God  grant  that 
no  one  may  assert  that  it  is !  His  mind  was  beyond  all  question  one  of 
the  deepest  and  most  powerful  that  Germany  ever  produced,  and  his  say- 
ings, clothed  in  the  language  which  had  become  a  second  nature  to  him, 
assumed  the  coloring  and  mystery  of  oracles.  The  unfettered  mind,  which 
is  neither  frightened  nor  enslaved  by  formulas,  extracts  the  living  power 
from  these  oracular  sayings,  without  regard  to  their  form,  which  it  is  ab- 
solutely impossible  for  any  man  fully  to  accept,  unless  he  has  a  peculiar 
cast  of  thought,  and  has  been  brought  up  in  a  peculiar  atmosphere.  Now, 
however,  it  is  made  clear  to  us,  that  Hamann  himself  regarded -this  form 
as  the  true  essence,  and  thus  we  have  become  vitally  estranged  from  him. 
No  one  perhaps  wn  fully  comprehend  how  fearful  this  pietism  is,  who  has 
not  often  been  forced  to  hear  that  all  human  virtues  are  damnable,  nay, 
are  even  dangerous,  and  that  the  most  sinful  human  being  who  has  true 
faith  in  Christ's  redemption,  stands-  infinitely  nearer  to  the  Saviour,  than 
the  man  who  is,  according  to  human  ideas,  the  noblest  and  .most  virtuous, 
but  without  that  self-loathing. 


414  MEMOIE  OF  NIEBUHE. 

I  maintain  that,  as  a  general  rule,  the  letters  which  lay  bare  the  inmost 
being  of  an  extraordinary,  but  not  saintlike  man,  should  never  be  pub- 
lished.  For  hia  sake  they  ought  not  to  be  given  to  the  world,  because  it 
is  not  good  nor  just  to  exhibit  one  isolated  soul  naked,  while  the  immense 
majority  are  not  so ;  nor  for  the  sake  of  others,  because  what  is  concealed 
by  the  relations  of  life  ought  not  to  be  laid  bare.  Why  was  not  his  life 
written  as  it  might  have  been  told? 

The  most  remarkable  part  of  the  book  to  me  is  that  passage  from  St. 
Augustine,  which  I  must  either  have  passed  over,  or  not  yet  comprehend- 
ed, when  I  read  the  Confessions.  I  would  recommend  it  to  the  considera- 
tion of  those  who  would  restore  the  Church  by  means  of  outward  formulas. 
Let  them  reflect  why  it  was,  that  the  most  profound  among  all  the  Fathers 
wished  so  to  express  himself  on  matters  of  doctrine,  that  every  man  might 
find  his  own  belief,  if  it  were  not  an  utterly  false  one,  in  his  words. 

I  have  now  begun  to  teach  Marcus  Latin  by  conversation,  and  he  learns 
very  well 

CCLXXXI. 

ROME,  29tk  December,  1821. 

For  the  sixth  time  we  are  ending  our  year  at  Rome.  Meanwhile  time 
exercises  his  power,  and  without  ceasing  to  be,  and  to  feel  ourselves  stran- 
gers in  this  place,  we  are  also  becoming  estranged  from  our  own  country. 
Thus  life  passes  away,  and  one  feels  that  it  passes  miserably ;  and  yet  I 
can  not  agree  with  the  pious  persons  who  call  life  a  miserable  thing  in  it- 
self. I  know,  on  the  contrary,  that  it  becomes  miserable  only  through  oux 
own  follies,  faults,  and  weaknesses  ;  and  that  a  life  wrought  into  beauty 

and  harmony  is  a  blessing  possible  not  merely  in  dreams During 

this  winter  my  health  has  not  been  worth  much,  though  I  could  not  exact- 
ly call  myself  ill.  I  want  the  refreshment  of  sympathy,  without  which  I 
always  feel  exhausted,  and  can  not  be  really  healthy,  and  which  in  itself 
is  a  sufficient  recompense  to  me  for  some  degree  of  physical  indisposition. 

It  gives  me  very  great  pleasure  that  you  agree  with  me  as  to  the 

publication  of  Hamann's  letters.  It  struck  me,  too,  how  deeply-rooted 
the  acquaintanceships  of  his  youth  must  have  been.  At  that  time  there 
was  nothing  in  Germany  but  oak  trees  and  creepers ;  now  there  are  only 
half-grown  trees,  blown  awry  by  the  winds. 


1822. 

IN  February,  1822,  Niebuhr's  wife  bore  him  a  third  daughter. 
Since  the  chief  object  of  his  mission  was  now  attained,  and  the 
health  of  his  wife  rather  grew  worse  than  better,  he  determined 
to  request  his  recall.  The  Minister  of  his  department  advised 
him,  however,  in  the  first  instance,  only  to  ask  for  a  year's  fur- 
lough, and  thus  to  leave  the  way  open  for  his  return,  if  he  should 
think  it  desirable  at  the  end  of  that  time.  And  certainly,  as  far 


EMBASSY  TO  ROME.  415 

as  he  was  personally  concerned,  he  might  prohably  have  remain- 
ed many  years  longer  in  Rome,  as  is  shown  by  his  letters  of  the 
preceding  year.  He  had  become  acclimatized,  and  accustomed 
to  the  mode  of  life  in  Rome,  and  now  looked  forward  to  a  time 
of  greater  .repose,  in  which  he  might  devote  himself  with  zeal  to 
his  studies.  For,  however  far  his  course  of  life  might  seem  to 
carry  him  from  his  own  peculiar  pursuits,  he  always  retained  his 
old  partiality  for  them,  and  anticipated  some  future  time  when  he 
might  return  to  them.  His  high  views  of  their  true  principles 
and  method  may  be  seen  from  a  letter,  inserted  at  the  close  of  the 
extracts  belonging  to  this  year,  and  entitled — "  A  letter  to  a  young 
man  who  wished  to  devote  himself  to  Philology."  It  was  written 
in  the  course  of  this  summer,  and  addressed  to  a  young  friend  of 
his,  whom  he  believed  to  be  pursuing  an  erroneous  path. 

In  August,  1822,  Niebuhr  had  to  engage  in  a  very  unpleasant 
contest  on  behalf  of  the  Protestants  living  in  Rome.  A  blindly 
fanatical,  priestly  party,  was  bent  on  the  demolition  of  the  Protest- 
ant burial-ground.  Niebuhr  felt  himself  bound  to  resist  this  out- 
rage to  the  feelings  of  his  fellow-worshipers  with  all  his  might, 
and  to  assist  his  friend  Lord  Colchester,  who  shared  his  efforts  in 
the  cause.  He  spent  part  of  this  summer  in  Albano,  and  made 
a  little  excursion  besides  to  Tivoii,  with  Chevalier  Bunsen  and  M. 
Lieber,  whom,  on  his  return  from  Greece,  he  had  engaged  as  tu- 
tor to  his  son.  „-' 

In  November,  the  King  of  Prussia  paid  a  short  visit  to  Rome, 
with  a  small  retinue.  Niebuhr  and  Baron  Alexander  von  Hum- 
boldt  accompanied  him  to  the  most  celebrated  spots  in  the  city 
and  its  neighborhood.  Several  of  Niebuhr' s  old  friends  were  in 
the  King's  suite,  so  that  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  renewing  his 
intercourse  with  them  for  a  short  interval. 

He  also  derived  much  enjoyment  this  winter  from  the  society 
of  Messrs.  Pertz  and  Bluhme,  who  had  been  sent  to  Rome  to 
prosecute  researches  into  ancient  MSS.,  and  were  able  to  enter 
into  the  literary  subjects  which  engaged  Niebuhr's  attention. 

Meanwhile,  Niebuhr  sent  in  a  request,  agreeably  to  the  advice 
of  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  that  he  might  either  be  recall- 
ed, or  receive  le»re  of  absence  in  the  following  spring.  The  lat- 
ter was  granted  him,  and  he  thankfully  accepted  it,  although  he 
was  persuaded  that  his  wife's  state  of  health,  as  well  as  his  views 
with  regard  to  their  son,  would  prevent  him  from  ever  returning 


416  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

to  Rome.  The  child's  attachment  to  the  place  was  so  great,  as 
to  make  his  father  fear  that  if  he  remained  longer  there,  he  would 
never  feel  at  home  in  Germany.  This  consideration,  joined  to 
the  difficulty  of  educating  him  in  Rome  in  the  manner  he  wished 
and  intended,  had  a  great  influence  upon  Niebuhr's  decision  not 
to  return  thither.  Indeed,  after  he  became  a  father,  Niebuhr 
considered  the  training  of  his  children,  especially  of  his  son,  as  the 
most  imperative  duty  of  his  life,  to  which  all  other  considerations, 
except  that  of  very  evident  and  important  service  to  his  country, 
ought  to  be  subordinated.  In  ordinary  times,  he  placed  private 
duties  above  public  ones.  No  one,  who  has  read  his  life  thus  far, 
will  suspect  him  of  undervaluing  the  latter. 

Before  leaving  Italy  Niebuhr  wished  to  see  Naples,  and  to  take 
leave  of  his  friend  De  Serre,  who  was  now  embassador  at  that 
court.  As  the  time  of  his  departure  drew  near,  Niebuhr  felt  how 
much  it  cost  him  to  forsake  Rome.  There  was,  indeed,  much  in 
his  circumstances  that  did  not  harmonize  with  his  peculiar  tastes  ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  felt  that  he  was  giving  up  an  indepen- 
dent, and  in  many  respects  advantageous  position,  and  entering 
on  a  period  of  uncertainty. 

Thus,  but  for  the  sake  of  his  family,  he  would  not  have  quitted 
Rome  for  ever.  His  friends  and  children  exclaim  with  sorrow, 
"  Oh  that  he  had  remained,  and  then  perhaps  he  would  yet  be 
spared  to  us !" 

Letters  written  in  1822. 
CCLXXXII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

ROME,  I9tk  January,  1822. 

We  have  daily  proofs  of  Marcus's  noble  nature  ;   still  XI  am  well 

aware  that  this  affords  us  no  guarantee  unless  it  be  guided  with  the  most 
watchful  care.  I  trust  he  will  never  turn  out  a  conceited,  shallow  fool, 
nor  a  man  who  is  himself  contented  with  superficiality,  and  assumes  an 
appearance  to  throw  dust  in  the  eyes  of  others.  I  could  never  be  consoled, 
if  I  were  one  day  to  see  him  go  out  into  the  world  as  an  arrogant  young 
collegian,  or  an  empty  blockhead  and  shallow  prater,  or  as  a  vain  fool 
seeking  to  make  himself  of  importance,  not  by  real  ability,  but  by  means 
of  unwarranted  pretensions  or  affectation,  which  is  the  case  with  so  many 
of  our  young  people  nowadays.  Either  they  are  puffed  up  with  conceit, 
and  want  to  make  reforms,  and  think  themselves  qualified  to  pronounce 
on  all  subjects,  and  look  down  on  people  the  latchet  of  whose  shoe  they 
are  not  worthy  to  unloose ;  or  if  they  do  not  belong  to  this  party,  they 
know  nothing,  learn  nothing,  can  not  set  about  any  thing  with  earnestness 


LETTERS  FB.OM  EOME  IN  1822.  417 

and  capability,  and  assume  the  show  of  refinement— of  course  only  on  the 
outside — and  think  that  if  they  can  but  shine  in  their  own  opinion,  and  in 
the  empty  assemblies  of  fashionable  life,  they  will  have  gained  all  they  need, 
and  are  perfectly  prepared  to  take  a  standing  in  the  world.  I  succeed  with 
teaching  as  well  as  I  could  have  ventured  to  hope.  He  already  knows  no 
inconsiderable  number  of  Latin  words,  and  he  understands  grammar  so  well 
that  I  can  now  set  him  to  learn  parts  of  the  conjugations  without  their 
teasing  him  like  dead  matter ;  he  divines  many  of  the  forma,  from  his  own 
feeling.  1  am  reading  with  him  selected  chapters  from  Hygin's  Mytholo- 
gicum — a  book  which,  perhaps,  it  is  not  easy  to  use  for  this  purpose,  and 
which  yet  is  more  suited,  to  it  than  any  other,  from  the  absence  of  formal 
periods,  and  the  interest  of  the  narrative.  For  German,  I  write  fragments 
of  the  Greek  mythology  for  him.  I  began  with  the  history  of  the  Argo- 
nauts ;  I  have  now  got  to  the  history  of  Hercules.  I  give  every  thing  in 
a  very  free  and  picturesque  style,  so  that  it  is  as  exciting  as  poetry  to  him ; 
and,  in  fact,  he  reads  it  with  such  delight  that  we  are  often  interrupted  by 
his  cries  of  joy.  The  child  is  quite  devoted  to  me ;  but  this  educating  costs 
me  a  great  deal  of  time.  However,  I  have  had  my  share  of  life,  and  I 
shall  consider  it  as  a  reward  for  my  labors  if  this  young  life  be  as  fully 
and  richly  developed  as  lies  within  my  power. 

Unexpected  thoughts  often  escape  him.  Two  days  ago  he  was  sitting 
beside  me,  and  began — "  Father,  the  ancients  believed  in  the  old  gods ; 
but  still  they  believed  also  in  the  true  God.  The  old  gods  were  just  like 
men." 

CCLXXXIII. 

ROME,  Gtk.  April,  1822. 

Again  your  longed-for  letter  has  failed  to  reach  me 

Marcus  is  reading  Diodati's  beautiful  (Protestant)  Bible  (the  Gospels), 
and  he  reads  it  with  lively  interest.  He  draws  very  carefully. 

I  spoke  to  you,  a  little  while  ago,  of  the  ill-fated  men  who  are  return- 
ing in  shoals  from  Greece.  Till  now,  my  intercourse  with  them  has  been 
almost  confined  to  one  individual,  who  is  a  very  well-intentioned  youth,  a 
Rhine!  and  er,  who  had  served  in  the  Landwehr.  He  and  a  few  Saxons 
curse  the  pamphlets,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  rhodoraontade,  which  had  de- 
luded them  into  the  idea,  that  a  Greek  army  of  30,000  men  was  in  the 
field,  and  only  required  to  be  officered,  &c.  They  found  no  army,  and 
instead  of  receiving  any  pay,  were  obliged  to  sell  every  thing  they  had  for 
the  necessaries  of  life.  Their  presence  was  not  all  desired,  and  they  might 
thank  God  if  they  could  but  find  means  to  get  back  again.  My  acquaint- 
ances confess  that  I  told  them  all  this  beforehand ;  thus,  for  instance,  that. 
by  Greek  soldiers,  they  must  only  understand  associated  bands  of  Klephthi 
(robbers),  who  would  bo  joined  in  certain  cases  by  the  peasantry ; — by 
their  commanders,  bandit  chieftains,  who  would  be  equally  avaricious  and 
bloodthirsty,  to  whom  it  was  absurd  to  offer  their  services,  except  for  the 
artillery ;  who  absolutely  could  not  afford  to  pay  a  single  man,  and  who 
would  distrust  every  body.  Nevertheless,  I  wish  them,  from  my  heart, 
every  blessing  and  success.  One  must  be  a  fool  to  expect  virtuous  heroism 
from  them,  and  a  cold  politician  of  the  present  day  to  surrender  them  to 
extermination. 

8* 


418  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

CCLXXXIV. 

TO  SAV1GNY. 

ROMS,  23d  May,  1822. 

Your  work,*  my  friend,  was  a  real  refreshment  to  me ;  somewhat  such 
as  it  would  be  to  see  you  here,  where  I  have  none  of  the  interchange  of 
thought,  to  which  I  had  been  so  habituated,  and  on  which  I  am  so  depend- 
ent. In  this  respect,  believe  me,  you  could  not  have  a  duller  life  in  the 
most  stupid  little  country  town,  than  I  lead  here,  leaving  Bunsen  out  of  the 
question.  That  I  read  your  book  immediately,  from  beginning  to  end,  and 
some  parts  of  it  repeatedly,  it  is  needless  to  say  ;  and  yet  I  must  say  it ;  and 
likewise,  that  it  answers  my  expectations,  and  that  I  honor  you  all  the  more 
for  it,  because  I  could  not  write  any  thing  like  it  myself.  I  can  not  honor 
any  man  for  writing  what  I  could  have  written  myself— only  appreciate 
him,  and  allow  that  he  is  not  less  than  I  am.  Understand  me,  this  is  no 
pride ;  so  far  from  it,  it  is  my  honest  feeling  that  a  man  is  little  enough  if 
he  can  do  no  more  than  I,  since  I  feel  how  infinitely  more  I  could  do  if  I 
had  acquired  more  correct  "notions  of  facts  when  I  possessed  my  full  powers, 
and  if  I  had  not  wasted  my  opportunities  so  dreadfully.  You  have  opened 
quite  a  new  world  to  me.  and  I  believe  to  all  your  readers,  hy  your  account 
of  academical  institutions  in  the  Middle  Ages ;  for  this  very  reason  I  have 
nothing  to  say  to  you  on  that  subject,  but  turn  to  other  topics  which  are 
not  so  foreign  to  me.t 

It  is  possible  that  I  may  have  written  something  like  this  to  you  years 
ago,  but  I  think  scarcely  in  so  distinct  a  form.  The  union  was  effected 
every  where  in  Italy  in  an  extremely  rough  and  unskillful  manner ;  with 
much  more  dexterity  in  many  of  the  German  Imperial  towns,  where  the 
relations  [between  the  orders]  were  precisely  the  same  ;  and,  besides,  the 
German  nobles  were  much  more  honorable  and  obedient  to  the  laws  than 
the  Italian  ones,  who  allowed  themselves  the  most  criminal  license,  while 
the  burgher  class  were  also  a  worthless  set.  For  Italy  has  been  an  infer- 
nal pool,  from  the  Middle  Ages  to  the  present  time,  as  it  was  from  the 
Empire  to  the  Middle  Ages.  It  is  a  strange  thing  how  any  one  can  get 
up  any  enthusiasm  for  the  Italian  republics.  Read  Varchi's  History  (which, 
by  the.  way,  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque,  consequently  most  perfect,  in 
existence  ;  so  that  the  reader,  particularly  if  he  have  visited  Florence,  for- 
gets every  thing  around  him,  and  can  live  the  whole  day  through  among 
those  of  whom  he  is  reading),  and  you  will  find  it  conceivable  how  Fr. 
Guicciardini  should  have  made  those  Machiavellian  projects  to  render  the 
revival  of  the  republic  impossible,  which  make  our  hair  stand  on  end.  It 
is  nevertheless  true  that  it  was  Satan  and  Beelzebub  striving  together ; 
that  this  does  not  make  the  cause  of  the  Medici  a  good  one,  and  shall  not 
prevent  us  from  honoring  Francisco  Ferrucci. 

Let  me  always  write  down  these  digressions  as  if  we  were  talking  to- 
gether, and  remember  my  fondness  for  entering  into  the  views  of  all  par- 
ties, and  being  guided  by  none,  not  even  in  history. 

*  Savigny's  "History  of  Jurisprudence  during  the  Middle  Ages," — his  princi- 
pal work. 

t  The  portion  here  omitted  treats  of  the  constitution  of  the  towns  in  Ger- 
many and  Italy  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  the  gradual  fusion  and  organization  of 
the  various  elements  of  which  their  population  was  composed. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  iN  1822.  419 

In  passing,  I  must  also  tell  yon,  or  rather. repeat  to  you,  that  I  entirely 
defend  Machiavclli's  "Principe,"  taken  in  its  full  and  literal  acceptation, 
even  as  he  certainly  wrote  it  in  the  bitterest  earnest.  How  much  is  there, 
which  we  may  not  say  aloud,  for  fear  of  being  stoned  by  the  stupid  good 
people  !  There  are  times  in  which  every  individual  must  be  sacred  to  us ; 
others,  in  which  we  can  and  ought  only  to  treat  men  in  masses ;  all  de- 
pends upon  a  true  understanding  of  the  tunes.  A  hundred  years  sooner, 
Ctesar  would  have  been  a  criminal ;  when  he  lived  he  was  forced  to  gov- 
ern. To  talk  of  freedom  in  Italy,  in  our  days,  is  what  none  but  a  fool  or 
a  villain  could  do ;  and  I  know  nothing  more  miserable  than  Alneri's  af- 
fected panegyyc  of  Trajan.  Tacitus  lived  like  a  stranger  in  his  century, 
but,  with  all  the  aspirations  of  his  heart,  it  could  never  occur  to  him  to 
wish  for  any  thing  beyond  a  tolerable  present.  I  see  that  it  is  as  usual 
with  me,  when  I  let  my  pen  take  its  own  course  in  writing  to  you.  For 
how  many  days  could  we  talk  without  coming  to  an  end  of  what  we  had 
to  say  !* 

Of  the  old  Roman  constitution,  it  is  plain  that  Cicero  had  only  the  most 
confused  conceptions  ;  he  never  troubles  himself  in  the  least  to  trace  its 
development. 

It  is  only  a  piece  of  good  luck  that  no  passages  occur  which  the  block- 
heads could  seize  as  express  evidence  in  favor  of  the  old  trivial  opinions,  in 
order  to  refute  me  with  authority.  Hence  the  interest  of  the  book  is  con- 
fined to  its  other  aspects.  In  the  first  place,  the  style  and  language  are 
exquisitely  beautiful ;  and  then,  too,  the  fundamental  political  idea  is  re- 
markable. I  can  not  believe  that  Cicero  wrote  without  any  immediate 
reference  to  his  own  times — that  he  was  merely  stringing  phrases  together 
without  any  practical  application.  If  I  am  right,  we  see  that  what  he 
wished  for,  as  the  only  safeguard  for  freedom  in  that  unhappy  ago,  was 
the  sovereignty  of  one  individual  for  life,  with  a  division  of  the  powers  as 
they  had  existed  in  the  old  constitution  (or  as  he  had  conceived  them  to 
exist  there) ;  not  the  elevation  of  a  family  to  an  hereditary  kingship.  The 
factious  power  of  the  so-called  optimatcs,  between  whom  and  the  dema- 
gogues men  had  then  but  a  mournful  choice,  he  estimates  at  its  true  value, 
in  a  very  remarkable  passage.  I  believe  most  decidedly  that  the  work  had 
an  elevated  practical  significance,  which  is  obscure  only  because  the  lost 
books  were  the  most  important  part  of  the  work.  Unfortunately  the  idea 
was  impracticable,  because  Pompey  and  Caesar  were  both  living  at  once, 
and  it  was  needful  that  Destiny  should  be  fulfilled,  as  it  always  must  be 
fulfilled,  when  decay  has  proceeded  so  far.  The  yearly  elections  were,  at 
that  period,  a  constant  renewal  of  misery,  and  had  no  longer  any  result 
but  that  of  gratifying  the  ambition  of  many ;  their  original  import  was 
lost,  and  could  not  be  restored.  What  is  your  opinion  about  it,  my  friend? 
I  should  like,  if  I  had  opportunity,  to  translate  these  fragments,  to  fill  up 
the  chasms  with  supplements  in  the  translation  (to  do  it  in  Latin  would 
be  an  impertinence),  and  to  append  notes  to  it. 

After  I  have  said  so  much  to  you  upon  learned  matters,  perhaps  I  may 
turn  to  our  pcrsonatconcerns.  With  regard  to  these,  the  constant  indis- 
position and  increasing  weakness  of  my  wife  is  the  darkest  side  of  the  pic- 
ture. The  children  leave  us  nothing  to  wish  for.  They  have  just  got  over 

•  Here  followed  an  account  of  the  booki  of  Cicero's  "De  Republica,"  discov- 
ered by  Mai. 


420  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

the  hooping-cough ;  my  wife  had  paid  her  debt  to  it  in  her  childhood,  but 
I  was  also  attacked  by  it.  and  have  not  yet  recovered  my  strength.  That 
under  these  circumstances,  I  have  not  been  able  to  carry  on  any  contin- 
uous study,  you  will  readily  imagine.  I  am  so  weak  that  I  can  bear  very 
little  exertion.  The  climate,  too,  makes  one  indolent. 

We  have  lived  much  alone  for  some  time  past.  In  Cornelius  we  lost  a 
friend  whose  society  we  enjoyed  and  valued. 

Your  friend  is  certain  of  a  cordial  reception.  But  we  can  not  supply 
what  travelers  often  desire.  We  give  no  dinners,  and  there  are  no  soirees 
at  our  house,  where  they  can  find  society  assembled.  Hence  travelers  find 
great  fault  with  me,  and  it  is  seldom  that  any  come  to  m^who  enjoy  me 
as  I  am.  But  then  it  is  the  right  people  who  do  so ;  for  instance,  Lord 
Colchester  and  De  Serre.  Between  the  last  and  myself  a  downright  passion 
has  sprung  up.* 

CCLXXXV. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

ROME,  1th,  June,  1822. 

De  Serre  has  been  here,t  and  we  have  been  very  intimate  with 

each  other,  and  lament  that  we  can  not  live  together.  I  could  form  a 
friendship  with  him  such  as  I  have  not  formed  for  many  years.  In  mind 
and  heart  he  is  entirely  what  I  had  pictured  to  myself ;  he  is  one  of  the 
rarest  and  noblest  human  beings  that  I  have  ever  met  with.  We  have 
expressed  our  sentiments  to  each  other  with  perfect  openness  respecting  all 
that  deeply  occupies  the  intellect  of  man  ;  about  the  past  and  the  future, 
about  Germany  and  France.  Nationality  is  no  barrier  between  us  ;  he  is 
a  perfect  master  of  our  language,  though  he  prefers  talking  in  French,  be- 
cause I  speak  it  more  easily  than  he  does  German.  He  is  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  our  literature  ;  pronounces,  for  instance,  exactly  the  same 
verdict  as  we  do  upon  Goethe's  writings  at  the  different  periods  of  his  life. 
While  an  admirer  of  his  youthful  writings,  "  Wilhelm  Meister,"  and  others 
of  a  similar  stamp  are  distressing  to  him.  He  suits  a  court  about  as  well 
as  I  do,  except  that  having  better  spirits,  he  more  easily  adapts  himself 
to  every  thing.  Our  political  convictions  are  essentially  quite  identical. 

A  young  man  has  lately  arrived  here,  a  M.  Lieber,  of  Berlin,  who  went 
to  Greece  as  a  volunteer,  and  has  returned,  partly  that  he  might  not  die  of 
starvation,  partly  because  he  found  the  boundless  corruption  of  the  Moreans, 

*  In  a  later  letter,  Niebuhr  writes  as  follows  about  him  :  "  I  conducted  De 
Serre  about  the  Forum  here,  and  our  conversation  led  us  from  the  topography 
to  the  history  of  Rome — a  conversation  which  would  have  been  impossible  with 
any  man  less  resembling  the  ancient  orators,  and  which  could  not  have  been 
equally  delightful,  even  with  him,  in  any  other  place.  He  understood  every 
thing,  as  I  placed  before  him  with  a  vividness  with  which  I  was  inspired  by  hfs 
sympathy,  the  progress  of  the  constitution,  the  manners,  and  religion  through 
succeeding  centuries,  and  justified  the  Gracchi,  Marius,  and  Sulla.  He  asked 
me  if  I  had  sufficient  affection  for  him,  to  write  this  down  for  his  use,  and  this  I 
intend  to  do  without  any  learned  demonstration.  It  may,  at  all  events,  help  to 
supply  the  place  of  a  continuation  of  the  History.  He  said,  'You  must  write, 
bearing  it  in  mind  that  I  am  not  learned.'  ]  replied,  'You  are  neither  more 
nor  less  learned  than  Demosthenes,  and  I  love  you  like  him.'  " 

t  He  had  been  one  of  the  French  ministers  at  the  Congress  of  Verona,  which 
opened  in  October  of  this  year. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1822.  421 

and,  withal,  their  cowardice  insufferable.  His  veracity  is  unquestionable, 
and  the  horror  which  his  narrations  inspire  is  not  to  be  described.  All  this 
has  plunged  him  into  deep  melancholy ;  for  he  has  a  very  noble  heart.  He 
has  deeply  moved  and  interested  us,  and  we  are  trying  to  cheer  his  spirits 
by  friendly  treatment,  and  to  banish  from  his  thoughts  the  infernal  scenes 
which  he  has  witnessed.  He  is  one  of  the  youths  of  the  noble  period  of 
1813  (when  he  served  in  the  army,  and  was  wounded),  who  Jos*  them- 
selves in  visions,  the  elements  of  which  they  drew  from  their  own  heart*  ; 
and  this  terrible  contrast  between  his  experience  and  all  that  he  had  im- 
agined— all  that  impelled  him  into  distant  lands,  has  broken  his  heart. 
He  is  now  here  in  a  state  of  destitution ;  I  shall  at  all  event*  give  him  aid ; 
but  I  mean  to  propose  to  him,  in  the  first  instance,  to  come  to  us,  and  as- 
sist me  in  instructing  Marcus,  and  in  my  literary  labors.  He  was  arrested 
during  the  unhappy  investigations  of  1819,  but  dismissed  as  innocent. 

CCLXXXVI. 

ROME,  WdJune,  1822. 

J  can  only  write  to  yon  briefly  to-day.  I  returned  from  Tivoli  yesterday, 
very  much  fatigued,  and  have  many  letters  to  send  off. 

For  this  year  past,  I  had  not  spent  a  single  day  beyond  the  walls  of 

Rome,  and  felt  the  need  of  breathing  a  little  fresh  air I  have  been 

obliged,  however,  to  leave  Cornelia  and  the  rest  of  the  children  behind. 
Marcus,  Bunsen,  and  Lieber  accompanied  me. 

Lieber  has  now  taken  up  his  abode  with  us.  I  can  intrust  Marcus  to 
his  care  with  confidence,  and  the  child,  too,  is  already  fond  of  him.  I  hope 
to  rescue  the  young  man  from  utter  dejection,  and  to  convince  him  that 
just  as  his  experience  in  Greece  taught  him  the  visionary  nature  of  his 
wishes  and  expectations,  so  he  would  have  made  the  same  discovery  in 
any  other  nation  where  the  masses  are  liberated  from  all  forms ;  but  that 
the  Noble  and  Beautiful  are  not  a  dream,  and  will  never  be  wholly  want- 
ing in  the  world,  however  terrible  may  be  its  condition.  A  young  man  of 
warm  feelings  must  be  convinced  of  this  truth,  before  you  can  attempt  to 
prove  to  him  that  the  evil  which  prevails  so  widely  could  not  be  found 
among  the  rulers  unless  it  existed  in  the  multitude  ;  that  change  of  form 
can  bring  no  deliverance  unless  the  individual  can  be  first  improved. 

I  am  called  away,  as  a  very  estimable  young  njan,  Dr.  Pertz,  has  come 
to  take  leave  of  me,  and  I  can  not  let  him  depart  without  a  blessing. 

There  is  a  small  circle  of  men  with  whom  I  could  spend  my  life,  and 
wish  that  we  could  come  to  know  each  other.  And  if  ever  a  human  being 
existed  so  persuaded  of  the  correctness  and  truth  of  his  view  of  the  world 
that  he  could  stake  his  life  upon  it,  I  am  that  man.  I  know  that  I  see 
truly  as  I  know  that  I  exist. 

Amelia  has  begun  to  write  and  to  sew.  She  can  read  most  things  with- 
out spelling. 

V        CCLXXXVII. 

TO  THE  COUNT  DE  SERRE.       ,   , 

ROME,  24/A  June,  1822. 

When  I  had  the  pleasure  and  honor  of  seeing  your  Excellency  in  Rome, 
I  asked  your  permission  to  recommend  to  your  protection  a  young  German 
scholar,  engaged  in  interesting  researches,  for  which  the  libraries  and  »r- 


422  MEMOIR,  OF  NIEBT7HR. 

chives  of  the  kingdom  of  Naples  contain  ample  materials — materials  which, 
it  is  to  be  feared,  will  remain  inaccessible  to  him,  unless  some  powerful 
patronage  remove  the  obstacles  which  the  national  ignorance,  indolence,  and 
vanity,  oppose  to  the  labors  of  foreign  scholars  in  Italy.  This  young 
scholar  is  M.  Pertz,  who  will  have  the  honor  of  delivering  this  letter  into 
your  hand.  The  task  which  has  brought  him  into  Italy  is  the  great  enter- 
prise conceived  by  my  friend,  Baron  von  Stein,  of  publishing  a  complete 
edition,  corrected  from  the  best  MSS.  of  the  "  Scriptores  Rerum  German- 
icarum,"  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  thirteenth  century;  authors  whose 
writings  are  only  now  extant  in  very  incomplete  collections,  formed  without 
any  care.  It  is  thought  desirable  to  add  to  this  collection  inedited  docu- 
ments belonging  to  our  national  history,  and  selected  with  discrimination 
from  the  infinite  number  which  the  archives  contain. 

M.  Pertz  combines  all  the  knowledge  and  the  talents  required  for  so  vast 
and  difficult  a  work  ;  but  his  best  recommendations  are  his  moral  qualities, 
to  which  he  joins  much  intelligence  and  a  very  sound  judgment.  In  an 
age  which  I  regard  as  the  commencement  of  the  literary  decline  of  my 
nation,  we  may  congratulate  ourselves  on  numbering  among  our  young 
scholars  a  man  like  him. 

At  Naples  and  at  La  Cava,  his  inquiries  will  be  principally  directed  to 
the  history  of  the  Lombards,  and  that  of  the  princes  of  the  house  of  Suabia ; 
I  am  sure,  M.  le  Comte,  that  though  a  Frenchman  and  an  embassador  of 
France,  you  will  not  regard  Charles  I.  of  Anjou  with  any  predilection,  and 
that  you  will  neither  refuse  your  esteem  to  the  emperor  Frederic  II.,  nor 
your  sympathy  to  his  unfortunate  grandson. 

I  had  the  honor  of  conversing  with  you,  M.  le  Comte,  on  the  state  of 
England;  if  I  find  sufficient  leisure  to  finish  an  essay  on  this  subject,  writ- 
ten in  German,  and  a  safe  opportunity  of  sending  it  to  Naples,  allow  me 
to  submit  it  to  you. 

May  the  air  of  Naples  produce  a  salutary  and  lasting  effect  upon  your 
health,  and  invigorate  the  powers  which  you  will  need,  sooner  or  later,  for 
the  salvation  of  your  country  and  of  Europe,  whose  safety  depends  upon 
the  peaceable  settlement  of  your  institutions.  It  is  one  of  my  most  earnest 
wishes  that  you  may  recover  fully,  and  I  entreat  you  attentively  to  watch 
over  the  effect  upon  your  health  of  the  air  you  are  now  breathing. 

It  may  have  appeared  singular  to  you,  M.  le  Cornte,  that  a  stranger 
should  have  displayed  an  almost  passionate  veneration  and  attachment  for 
you — sentiments  with  which  the  simple  observation  of  your  public  life,  and 
the  study  of  the  principles  which  you  'have  developed,  have  sufficed  to  in- 
spire an  individual,  who  had  never  had  the  advantage  of  knowing  you  per- 
sonally. But  I  venture  to  flatter  myself  that  you  will  find  nothing  ridicu- 
lous in  it,  and  that  you  will  not  disdain  the  idea  of  an  invisible  political 
church,  dispersed  among  all  nations,  nor  the  sentiment  which  embraces 
political  principles,  and  directs  itself  toward  those  who,  unhappily  in  such 
small  numbers,  establish  and  defend  them  nobly  and  courageously.  It  is 
this  sentiment  which  I  shall  ever  entertain  toward  you,  M.  le  Comte,  and 
to  the  expression  of  which  I  will  not  add  any  conventional  courtesies. 

NIEBUHR. 

The  Concordia  of  M.  Schlegel,  for  which  you  asked  me,  no  longer  ap- 
pears. 


LETTER  TO  A  YOUNG  PHILOLOGIST.  423 

CCXXXVIII. 

EXTRACT  FROM  A  LETTER  TO  A  YOUNG  MAN  WHO  WISHED 
TO  DEVOTE  HIMSELF  TO  PHILOLOGY. 

Written  in  the  Summer  of  1822. 

When  your  dear  mother  wrote  me  word  that  you  showed  a  decided  in- 
clination to  philological  studies,  I  expressed  ray  pleasure  in  hearing  of  it, 
and  earnestly  entreated  her  and  your  father  not  to  interfere  with  this  in- 
clination, by  forming  other  plans  for  your  future  life.  I  flunk  I  told  her, 
that  as  philology  is  the  introduction  to  all  other  studies,  he  who  devotes 
himself  to  this  science  during  his  school  years  with  as  much  zeal  as  if  it 
were  to  form  the  exclusive  vocation  of  his  life,  prepares  himself  for  any 
other  that  he  may  choose  at  the  university ;  and,  in  the  second  place,  I  am 
so  fond  of  philology  myself  that  I  could  not  select  for  a  youth  so  near  and 
dear  to  me  as  you  are  any  other  vocation  in  preference.  There  is  no  pur- 
suit more  tranquil  and  more  cheering;  none  which,  from  the  occupations 
it  involves,  and  the  duties  it  imposes,  is  more  calculated  to  preserve  peace 
of  heart  and  of  conscience  ;  and  how  often  have  I  lamented  that  I  forsook  it, 
and  entered  upon  a  life  of  turmoil,  that  will  probably  leave  me  little 
chance  of  lasting  repose  even  in  approaching  old  age.  The  office  of  an  in- 
structor of  youth,  especially,  is  a  most  honorable  one,  and  one  of  the  hap- 
piest callings  in  life  to  a  noble  heart,  despite  all  the  evils  which  mar  its 
ideal  beauty :  it  was  once  the  object  of  my  voluntary  choice,  and  it  would 
have  been  well  for  me  if  I  had  been  suffered  to  pursue  it  unhindered.  I 
am  quite  conscious  that  now,  having  passed  my  active  life  in  so  wide  a 
sphere,  I  should  be  spoiled  for  it ;  but  I  would  wish  any  one  for  whom  I 
have  such  a  hearty  and  sincere  regard  as  for  yon,  that  he  might  not  thus 
spoil  himself,  nor  long  to  quit  the  tranquillity  and  security  of  the  narrow 
circle,  in  which  I,  like  you,  passed  my  youth. 

Your  dear  mother  told  me  that  you  wished  to  Jay  one  of  your  productions 
before  me,  in  order  to  give  me  a  proof  of  your  industry,  and  to  enable  me 
to  judge  of  your  progress.  I  begged  her  to  encourage  you  to  do  so,  not-only 
in  order  to  give  you  and  yours  a  proof  of  the  sincere  interest  I  take  in  you, 
but  also  because  pre-eminently  in  philology  I  am  sufficiently  acquainted 
with  the  object  to  be  aimed  at,  and  the  paths  that  lead  to  it,  as  well  as 
the  wrong  roads  which  one  is  apt  to  mistake  for  them,  to  be  able  to  fortify 
one,  who  had  been  fortunate  enough  to  find  the  right  road,  in  his  resolti 
tion  not  to  leave  it,  and  to  have  no  hesitation  in  warning  one  who  is  in 
danger  of  going  astray,  and  telling  him  whither  he  is  tending  if  he  do  not 
change  hia  course.  I  myself  liave  made  my  way  for  the  most  part  with- 
out a  guide,  and  wandered  through  many  a  thorny  thicket,  unfortunately 
in  opposition  to  the  too  gentle  hints  of  those  who  might  have  led  me. 
Thanks  to  God  and  my  good  fortune,  I  have  never  lost  sight  of  my  aim. 
and  have  always  found  the  right  road  again,  but  I  should  have  come  much 
nearer  to  my  goal,  and  with  much  less  toil  and  pain,  if  any  one  had  shown 
me  the  way.  I  am  well  aware  that  it  was  principally  out  of  tenderness  to 
me  that  this  was  not  done,  and  probably,  too,  some  did  not  like  the  trouble 
of  making  themselves  intelligible  to  a  boy  at  the  self-willed  age.  I  know, 
too,  that  I  should  not  have  relished  advice  which  was  not  in  accordance 
with  my  inclination ;  but  if  it  had  come  from  one  qualified  to  give  it,  I 
should  certainly  have  taken  it  to  heart,  and  it  would  have  been  worth 


424  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR 

much  to  me  now  if  I  had  received  it ;  even  though  it  had  been  harsh,  and 
wounded  me  to  the  quick. 

I  can  say  with  truth,  and  do  so  with  pleasure,  that  your  production  is 
an  honorable  testimony  to  your  industry,  and  that  it  rejoices  me  to  see 
how  much  you  have  done  and  learnt  in  the  more  than  six  years  since  we 
last  saw  each  other.  I  see  that  you  have  read  much,  and  with  attention 
and  love  of  knowledge.  But  I  must  now  frankly  beg  you,  in  the  first  place, 
to  examine  your  Latin,  and  convince  yourself  that  you  are  deficient  in  this 
particular.  I  will  not  reproach  you  with  a  few  grammatical  errors.  Upon 
this  point,  I  am  quite  of  the  opinion  of  my  late  friend,  Spalding,  who  was 
least  of  all  impatient  of  such  faults  in  the  school,  if  their  indication  had 
the  effect  of  gradually  eradicating  them.  It  is  a  much  more  serious  defect 
that  you  have  more  than  once  left  a  period  unfinished;  that  you  use  words 
in  an  incorrect  sense ;  that  your  style  is  inflated  and  unequal ;  that  your 
metaphors  are  illogical.* 

You  do  not  write  simply  enough  to  express  without  pretension  a  thought 
that  is  clear  to  your  own  mind.  That  you  can  not  give  richness  and 
roundness  to  your  style,  is  no  subject  for  blame ;  for  though  there  have 
been  some,  especially  in  former  times,  who  by  the  particularly  fortunate 
guidance  given  to  a  peculiar  talent,  have  been  able  to  do  this  at  your  age, 
such  perfection  is,  as  a  rule,  out  of  the  question.  Fullness  and  maturity 
of  expression  presuppose  a  maturity  of  soul  which  can  only  arrive  in  the 
progress  of  its  development.  But  what  we  always  can  and  always  ought  to 
do,  is  not  to  strive  after  the  semblance  of  more  than  we  can  perform,  and  to 
think  and  express  ourselves  with  straightforwardness  and  correctness.  So 
on  this  point  accept  a  wholesome  rule  from  me.  When  you  write  Latin 
essays,  think  out  what  you  mean  to  say  with  the  greatest  distinctness  of 
which  you  are  capable,  and  clothe  it  in  the  most  unassuming  language. 
Study  the  manner  in  which  great  authors  have  formed  their  periods,  and 
exercise  yourself  frequently  in  forming  detached  sentences  upon  their  model ; 
translate  passages  so  as  to  break  up  the  periods,  and  endeavor  to  restore 
them  when  you  re-translate  the  passage  into  the  original.  This  is  an  ex- 
ercise in  which  you  do  not  need  the  help  of  your  teacher;  do  it  simply  as 
a  preparatory  discipline  for  the  use  of  a  riper  time.  When  you  write,  ex- 
amine scrupulously  whether  your  language  is  of  one  color.  I  do  not  care 
whether  you  adopt  that  of  Cicero  and  Livy,  or  that  of  Tacitus  and  Quin- 
tilian ;  but  one  age  you  must  select,  else  the  result  will  be  a  motley  tex- 
ture, as  offensive  to  a  real  philologist  as  if  one  were  to  blend  the  German 
of  1650  with  that  of  1800.  Try  to  acquire  the  art  of  connecting  the  sen- 
tences, without  which  all  pretended  Latin  is  a  downright  torture  to  the 
reader.  And,  above  all,  look  sharply  after  your  metaphors ;  all  that  are 
not  absolutely  faultless  are  insufferable,  and  for  this  very  reason  it  is,  that 
Latin  is  such  a  capital  school  for  the  formation  of  a  good  style  ;  and  next 
to  Latin,  French,  for  that  also  can  not  endure  any  thing  illogical,  about 
which  the  Germans  are  so  fatally  indifferent  in  their  own  language. 

You  did  quite  right  not  to  send  the  two  skeleton  essays  you  mention, 
for  it  is  impossible  that  you  should  write  any  thing  sensible  upon  their 
subjects. 

We  can  not  write  separate  treatises  before  we  have  a  vivid  conception 

*  Here  follow  examples  from  the  Essay,  which  could  interest  none  but  the 
person  to  whom  the  letter  was  addressed. 


LETTER  TO  A  YOUNG  PHILOLOGIST.  425 

and  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  whole  of  which  their  subject  forma  a 
part,  and  before  we  have  an  adequate  acquaintance  with  the  relations  of 
this  single  part  to  other  classes  of  facts.  Another  principle  is,  that  we  must 
advance  from  the  particular  to  the  universal  classes  of  facts,  in  order  really 
to  understand  a  complex  whole.  And  here  we  do  not  need  to  follow  a 
systematic  order,  hut  may  yield  to  accidental  impulses,  provided  that  we 
proceed  with  circumspection,  and  do  not  overlook  the  chasms  which  still 
exist  between  the  separate  portions.  I  began  the  actual  study  of  ancient 
history  with  Polybius,  and  was  earlier  intimate  with  the  age  of  Cleomenes 
than  with  that  of  Pericles;  but  I  knew  that  my  knowledge  was  objective- 
ly a  slight  fragment,  and  that  I  must  have  learnt  infinitely  more,  before  I  - 
could  even  dream  of  working  up  materials  that  were  scattered  through 
many  ages,  with  which  I  was  very  imperfectly  acquainted,  and  which  had 
a  multitude  of  relations  of  which  I  had  no  proper  conception  whatever. 
I  worked  on  and  on,  and,  when  I  can,  I  still  work  daily,  in  order  to  attain 
a  vivid  conception  of  antiquity.  You  have  undertaken  to  write  about  the 
Roman  colonies,  and  their  influence  upon  the  State.  But  it  is  quite  im- 
possible that  you  can  have  even  a  half  correct  idea  of  the  Roman  colonies  ; 
and  to  speak  about  their  influence  on  the  State,  you  ought  not  only  to 
have  an  insight  into  the  Roman  constitution,  and  an  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Roman  history,  but  also  to  understand  politics  and  the  his- 
tory of  politics,  all  of  which  is  as  yet  absolutely  impossible.  While  I  say 
this  to  you,  I  add,  that  at  your  age  none  of  us,  who  have  a  right  to  call 
ourselves  philologists,  could  have  written  upon  this  subject ;  nay,  not  even 
Grotius  or  Scaliger,  or  Salmasius,  who  became  excellent  grammarians  at  a 
much  earlier  age  than  any  of  UH.  The  second  subject  you  have  mentioned 
is  a  still  less  suitable  one  for  you.  You  must  know  enough  of  antiquity 
to  be  aware  that  the  philosophy  of  youth  consisted,  up  to  a  much  riper 
age  than  yours,  in  silent  listening,  in  the  endeavor  to  understand  and  to 
learn.  You  can  not  properly  know  the  facts,  far  less  propound  a  general- 
ization, not  to  say  a  philosophio  one,  of  facts  which  are  quite  insulated, 
and  for  the  most  part  problematical.  Learning,  my  dear  young  friend, 
conscientious  learning — a  constant  effort  to  test  and  augment  our  knowl- 
edge— that  is  our  theoretical  vocation  for  life,  and  especially  that  of  the 
young  who  are  so  fortunate  as  to  be  able  to  surrender  themselves,  freely, 
to  the  charms  of  the  new  intellectual  world  opened  to  them  in  books.  He 
who  writes  a  treatise,  let  him  say  what  he  will,  claims  to  teach,  and  no 
one  can  teach  without  a  degree  of  wisdom,  which  is  the  compensation 
God  gives  us,  if  we  strive  after  it,  for  the  departing  bliss  of  youth.  A 
wise  youth  is  a  monster.  Further,  let  none  say  that  he  undertakes  such 
compositions  for  his  own  sake,  in  order  to  explore  a  particular  subject. 
He  who  does  it  with  this  view  makes  a  mistake,  and  injures  himself.  Let 
him  write  down  in  a  fragmentary  form  what  he  has  thought  out ;  but  let 
him  not  sit  down  to  write,  in  the  hope  that  thoughts  will  come  by  writing. 
He  who  attempts  to  oring  into  a  well-rounded  whole,  that  which  can  not 
even  have  the  shadow  of  completeness,  either  internal  or  external,  runs 
the  very  greatest  risk  of  contenting  himself  with  semblance  and  superficial- 
ness,  and  contracting  a  most  injurious  facility  in  bad  writing.  It  is  well 
for  the  young  tree  that,  planted  in  a  rich  soil  and  good  situation,  is  held 
in  a  right  direction  by  a  careful  hand,  and  forms  solid  wood !  If  its 
growth  is  hastened  by  over-watering,  and  it  is  weak  and  flexible,  exposed 


426  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

to  the  fury  of  the  winds,  without  shelter  and  prop,  its  wood  becomes 
porous,  and  its  trunk  crooked  for  its  whole  life. 

Antiquity  may  be  compared  to  an  immeasurable  city  of  ruins,  of  which 
there  is  not  even  a  ground-plan  extant ;  in  which  each  one  must  find  his 
way  for  himself,  and  learn  to  understand  the  whole  from  the  parts — the 
parts  from  a  careful  comparison  and  study,  and  a  due  consideration  of 
their  relation  to  the  whole.  If  one  possessing  only  a  smattering  of  archi- 
tectural knowledge,  utterly  ignorant  of  hydrostatics,  having  scarcely  seen 
the  greater  part  of  the  ruins  of  Rome,  and  nothing  beyond  Rome — if  such 
a  one  should  undertake  to  write  about  the  ruins  of  the  aqueducts,  he  would 
produce  much  such  a  work  as  a  mere  student  writing  a  dissertation  on  some 
branch  of  antiquities. 

You  have  therefore  done  very  wisely  to  choose  instead  an  exegetical 
treatise.  But  I  must  remark  that  a  student  ought  to  keep  within  his 
own  sphere ;  that  is,  let  him  not  believe  that  he  can  contribute  any  thing 
to  the  elucidation  of  a  work  which  has  been  commentated  on  by  masters. 

Exegesis  is  the  fruit  of  finished  study.  From  the  stores  of  a  compre- 
hensive acquaintance  with  the  language  and  the  subjects  treated  of,  it 
adds  to  our  knowledge  of  both ;  it  is  nothing  else  than  the  expression  of 
the  meaning  as  it  has  been  understood,  if  not  by  contemporaries,  yet  at 
least  by  people  of  somewhat  later  times,  to  whom  the  fleeting  allusions  of 
the  moment  were  already  lost,  and  it  requires  a  mature  and  thoroughly 
cultivated  understanding,  as  well  as  an  infinity  of  individual  observations. 
The  student's  part  is  to  show  that  he  has  understood  the  meaning  rightly, 
and  to  extract  the  essential  points  from  the  commentators,  with  a  state- 
ment whence  he  has  derived  them. 

What  I  would  above  all  things  impress  upon  you,  my  dear  friend,  is  to 
open  your  heart  to  a  sincere  veneration  for  excellence.  It  is  the  best  en- 
dowment of  a  youthful  mind,  and  its  surest  guide. 

I  must  now  say  a  few  words  to  you  respecting  the  style  of  your  com- 
position. It  is  too  bombastic,  and  you  often  use  inapplicable  metaphors. 
Do  not  suppose  that  I  am  so  unreasonable  as  to  require  a  finished  style ;  I 
would  as  little  require  this  of  you  as  of  any  one  at  your  age ;  I  only  warn 
you  against  mannerism.  All  writing  should  be  nothing  but  the  symbol 
of  the  thought  and  speech.  You  must  either  write  as  if  really  delivering 
a  continuous  discourse,  in  which  your  genuine  thoughts  are  accurately  and 
fully  expressed,  or  as  you  would  speak  if  called  upon  to  do  so  by  circum- 
stances in  which,  indeed,  you  are  not  actually  placed  in  real  life,  but  con- 
ceive yourself  to  be,  as  an  author.  Every  thing  must  be  based  upon 
thought,  and  the  thought  must  shape  the  structure  of  the  language.  To 
be  able  to  do  this,  we  must  apply  our  study  of  language,  enrich  the 
memory  with  a  copious  store  of  words  and  phrases,  whether  in  the  mother 
tongue,  or  in  foreign  languages,  living  or  dead ;  sharply  define  the  terms 
of  the  former  for  ourselves,  use  the  latter  in  their  proper  sense,  and  fix 
their  limitation.  Exercises  in  composition  for  boys  and  youths  ought  to 
have  no  other  object  than  the  development  of  their  thoughts,  the  enrich- 
ment and  refining  of  their  language.  If  our  thoughts  do  not  satisfy  us,  if 
we  turn  and  twist  in  the  consciousness  of  our  poverty,  writing  will  become 
a  horrible  labor  to  us,  and  we  shall  hardly  maintain  our  courage.  This 
was  my  case  at  your  age,  and  for  long  after.  There  was  no  one  to  enter 
into  my  distress,  and  give  the  help  which  can  so  easily  be  given  at  the 


LETTEE  TO  A  YOUNG  PHILOLOGIST.  427 

transition  age  from  boyhood  to  youth.  This  difficulty  we  do  not  feel  if 
we  adopt  a  fixed  style,  for  then  we  have  the  external  shape,  which  is  not 
to  be  obtained  when  we  work  from  within  outwards ;  or  at  least  we  be- 
lieve that  we  have  it,  and  probably  find  others  who  suffer  themselves  to 
b«  deceived  by  the  semblance ;  not  indeed  those  who  understand  the 
matter.  But  with  an  assumed  style  you  lose  all  truth,  and  by  degrees  all 
capability  of  producing  any  thing  of  value  and  originality.  In  order  to 
give  an  appearance  of  fullness,  the  whole  is  nothing  but  a  hollow  form ; 
all  your  own  thoughts  become  distorted  and  worthless ;  you  rank  yourself 
among  those  whom  you  fancy  you  resemble  in  appearance,  and  you  are  in 
reality  nothing,  and  sink  down  to  the  lowest  class  of  imitators. 

With  some  facility  in  seizing  on  external  features,  it  must  be  very  easy 
to  obtain  the  mastery  of  an  assumed  style,  but  extremely  difficult  to  shake 
it  off  when  you  have  once  had  the  misfortune  to  be  entangled  in  it.  The 
difficulty  of  developing  and  presenting  our  thoughts  is  by  no  means  dimin- 
ished, when  we  have  obtained  a  clear  insight  into  our  subject,  while  we 
have  at  the  same  time  to  struggle  against  a  bad  habit,  and  it  is  seldom 
that  any  one  can  sustain  this  double  conflict.  It  will  require  heroic  efforts 
to  break  yourself  of  such  a  habit,  if  you  have  long  persevered  in  it.  Hence 
I  call  upon  you  all  the  more  earnestly  to  forsake  this  path  utterly,  and 
most  carefully  to  avoid  it  for  the  future.  To  an  assumed  style  belong  all 
verbose  and  unmeaning  expositions,  with  a  false  claim  to  a  deep  insight 
into  the  mind  of  the  poet. 

But,  above  all  things,  we  must  preserve  our  truthfulness  in  science  so 
pure,  that  we  must  eschew  absolutely  every  false  appearance — that  we 
must  not  write  the  very  smallest  thing  as  certain,  of  which  we  are  not 
fully  convinced — that  when  we  have  to  express  a  conjecture,  we  must 
strenuously  endeavor  to  exhibit  the  precise  degree  of  probability  we  attach 
to  it*  If  we  do  not  ourselves  indicate  our  own  errors  where  possible — 
even  such  as  it  is  unlikely  that  any  one  will  ever  discover — if,  when  we 
lay  down  our  pen,  we  can  not  say  in  the  sight  of  God,  "upon  strict  ex- 
amination, I  have  not  knowingly  written  any  thing  that  is  not  true,  and 
have  never  deceived  either  regarding  myself  or  others  ;  I  have  not  exhibited 
my  most  inveterate  opponent  in  any  light  which  I  could  not  justify  upon 
my  death-bed ;" — if  we  can  not  do  this,  then  study  and  literature  render 
us  unrighteous  and  sinful. 

In  this  respect  I  am  conscious  that  I  make  no  requirements  from  others, 
which  a  superior  intelligence  reading  my  soul  could  accuse  me  of  not 
having  fulfilled.  It  was  this  conscientiousness,  combined  with  the  percep- 
tion of  what  we  may  and  ought  to  attain  in  philology,  if  we  wish  to  come 
before  the  public,  that  made  me  so  shy  of  publishing  for  long  after  I  had 
reached  manhood.  Often  called  upon  to  do  so  by  my  dearest  friends,  not 
without  reproaches,  I  felt  that  my  hour  was  not  yet  come,  which  certainly, 
had  my  life,  taken  a  different  course,  might  have  come  aeveial  years  earlier. 

I  am  so  strict  in  tfcis  respect,  that  I  strongly  disapprove  of  the  quite 
customary  practice  of  quoting  at  second-hand,  after  verifying  the  quota- 
tions, without  naming  where  we  have  found  them,  and  never  allow  myself 
to  do  so,  tedious  as  the  double  reference  may  be.  Whenever  I  quote  a 
passage  without  remark,  I  have  found  it  myself.  He  who  acts  otherwise 
gives  himself  the  appearance  of  greater  reading  than  he  possesses. 

I  would  not  blame  others  who  are  lesa  strict,  if  I  may  assume  that  it  is 


428  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTJHR. 

really  perfectly  indifferent  to  them  whether  or  not  people  suppose  them  to 
be  more  profoundly  learned  than  they  really  are  ;  or  if  they  say  beforehand, 
as  some  do,  that  of  course  most  of  the  citations  are  borrowed.  But  of  a 
young  man  I  require,  absolutely  and  without  indulgence,  were  it  only  as 
an  exercise  of  virtue,  the  most  scrupulous  truthfulness  in  literary  as  in  all 
other  matters,  that  it  may  become  a  part  of  his  very  nature,  or  rather  that 
the  truthfulness  which  God  has  implanted  in  his  nature  may  remain  there. 
With  this  weapon  alone  can  we  fight  our  way  through  the  world.  The 
/ionr  in  which  my  Marcus  should  tell  an  untruth,  or  give  himself  the  sem- 
blance of  a  merit  that  he  did  not  possess,  would  make  me  very  unhappy ; 
it  would  be  the  fall  in  paradise. 

I  come  now  to  another  part  of  my  business  in  giving  you  counsel.  I 
wish  you  had  less  pleasure  in  satires,  not  excepting  those  of  Horace. 
Turn  to  the  works  which  elevate  the  heart — in  which  you  contemplate 
great  men  and  great  events,  and  live  in  a  higher  world ;  turn  away  from 
those  which  represent  the  mean  and  contemptible  side  of  ordinary  circum- 
stances and  degenerate  days.  They  are  not  suitable  for  the  young,  who 
in  ancient  times  would  not  have  been  suffered  to  have  them  in  their  hands. 
Homer,  .lEschylus,  Sophocles,  Pindar,  these  are  the  poets  for  youth ;  these 
are  they  on  which  the  great  men  of  antiquity  were  nourished,  and  which, 
as  long  as  literature  illumines  the  world,  will  ennoble  for  life  the  youthful 
soul  that  is  filled  with  them.  Horace's  odes  may  also  benefit  the  young 
as  a  standard  style  formed  upon  the  Greek  model,  and  it  is  a  pity  that  a 
contempt  for  them  has  spread,  which  is  only  allowable  and  not  arrogant 
in  the  case  of  a  very  small  number  of  masters  in  philology.  In  the 
"  Sermones;)  Horace  is  original  and  more  pithy,  but  he  who  can  under- 
stand them  must  read  them  with  melancholy  ;  a  beneficial  effect  they  can 
never  have.  We  see  a  noble-minded  man,  who,  from  inclination  and  re- 
flection, tries  to  make  himself  comfortable  in  an  unhappy  period,  and  has 
surrendered  himself  to  a  bad  philosophy,  which  does  not  prevent  his  re- 
maining honorable,  but  leads  him  to  take  a  low  view  of  things.  His 
morality  is  based  solely  upon  the  principle  of  the  Fitting,  the  Becoming, 
the  Reasonable ;  nay,  he  declares  the  Wholesome  (to  use  the  most  favor- 
able expression)  to  be  the  source  of  the  idea  of  Right.  Wickedness  is  dis- 
tasteful to  him,  and  excites  him — not  to  anger,  but  to  a  gentle  reproof. 
That  feeling  for  virtue  which  impels  us  to  persecute  vice,  and  which  we 
find  not  only  in  Tacitus,  but  also  in  Juvenal — in  the  latter  with  frightful 
severity — seems  to  have  no  place  in  his  mind.  Juvenal,  however,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  fragments,  you  ought  to  leave  absolutely  untouched 
for  the  present,  and  you  lose  nothing  by  it ;  for  if  you  are  allowed  to  read 
him,  it  does  harm  at  your  age  to  dwell  on  the  contemplation  of  vice,  in- 
stead of  pondering  noble  thoughts.  On  the  poets  I  have  mentioned,  and 
on  Herodotus,  Thucydides,  Demosthenes,  Plutarch,  Cicero,  Livy,  Ctesar, 
Sallust,  "Tacitus,  among  prose  writers,  I  earnestly  entreat  you  to  fix  your 
attention,  and  to  confine  yourself  exclusively  to  them.  Do  not  read  them 
in  order  to  make  aesthetic  reflections  upon  them,  but  in  order  to  drink  in 
their  spirit,  and  to  fill  your  soul  with  their  thoughts — in  order  to  gain  that 
by  reading,  which  you  would  have  gained  by  reverently  listening  to  the 
discourses  of  great  men.  This  is  the  philology  which  does  the  soul  good; 
and  learned  investigations,  even  when  we  have  got  so  far  as  to  be  able  to 
make  them,  always  occupy  an  inferior  place.  We  must  be  fully  masters 


LETTER  TO  A  YOUNG  PHILOLOGIST.  429 

of  grammar  (in  the  ancient  sense)  ;  we  must  acquire  every  branch  of 
antiquarian  knowledge  as  far  as  lieu  in  our  power ;  but  even  if  we  can 
make  the  most  brilliant  emendations,  and  explain  the  most  difficult  pas- 
sages at  sight,  all  this  is  nothing,  and  mere  sleight  of  hand,  if  we  do  not 
acquire  the  wisdom  and  spiritual  energy  of  the  great  men  of  antiquity — 
think  and  feel  like  them. 

For  the  study  of  language,  I  recommend  to  you  especially  Demosthenes 
and  Cicero.  Select,  in  the  former,  the  Oration  "pro  Corona;"  in  the  lat- 
ter, the  "pro  Cluentio,"  and  read  them  with  all  the  thoughtfulness  of 
which  you  are  capable :  then  go  through  them  so  that  you  could  give  ac- 
count of  every  word  and  every  phrase  ;  draw  a  sketch  of  their  argument ; 
try  to  get  a  clear  idea  of  all  the  historical  circumstances,  and  to  bring  them 
into  order.  This  will  give  you  an  immense  amount  of  labor,  and  from  it 
you  will  learn  how  little  we  can  know,  and,  consequently,  you  do  know. 
Apply  then  to  your  tutor,  not  in  order  to  surprise  him  with  unexpectedly 
difficult  problems ;  for  there  are — in  the  Cluentiana,  for  instance — diffi- 
culties with  regard  to  facts  which  the  profoundest  student  can  only  solve 
by  hypotheses  which  do  not  present  themselves  immediately  to  any  scholar ; 
but  that  he  may  be  so  kind  as  to  consult  and  think  over  the  passages  on 
which  you  have  exhausted  your  powers  and  resources.  In  the  Cluentiana, 
develop  the  system  of  indictment.  Make  collections  of  words  and  expres- 
sions, especially  epithets  with  their  substantives,  and  the  original  sense  of 
the  figurative  expressions.  Translate  ;  after  a  few  weeks  turn  your  trans- 
lation back  again  into  the  original  language. 

Besides  this  grammatical  work,  read  those  great  authors  one,  after  the 
other  with  greater  freedom ;  but  after  having  finished  a  book  or  a  section, 
recall  what  you  have  read  by  an  act  of  memory,  and  indicate  the  contents 
with  the  greatest  brevity.  Then  besides,  write  down  expressions  and 
phrases  that  particularly  occur  to  you ;  so  too  you  ought  to  write  down 
every  new  word  immediately,  and  read  over  the  list  at  night. 

Let  critics  and  emendatora  alone  for  the  present.  The  time  will  come 
when  you  will  be  able  to  read  them  with  profit.  The  artist  must  first 
learn  to  draw,  before  he  begins  to  use  colors,  and  he  must  know  how  to 
handle  the  ordinary  colors,  before  he  decides  for  or  against. the  use  of  trans- 
parent tints.  About  writing  I  have  spoken  to  you  already.  Do  not  read 
all  that  comes  to  hand,  even  of  ancient  authors;  there  are  plenty  of  bad 
ones  among  them.  ./Solus  only  permitted  the  one  wind  to  blow  that  was 
to  waft  Ulysses  to  his  destination,  and  bound  the  rest ;  unchained,  and 
blowing  all  at  once,  they  caused  him  endless  wanderings. 

Study  history  after  a  double  mode,  according  to  the  persons  and  accord- 
ing to  the  states.  Make  systematic  surveys  frequently. 

The  advice  that  I  give  you,  I  should  give  to  every  one  in  your  place. 
The  censure  I  should  have  to  give  to  very  many.  Do  not  suppose  that  I 
am  unaware  of  this,  and  that  I  do  not  joyfully  give  you  full  credit  for  your 
industry.  x 

The  study  which  I  require  of  you  makes  very  little  show,  advances 
slowly",  and  it  will  perhaps  depress  you  to  see  a  long  series  of  years  befor* 
you,  exclusively  devoted  to  acquirement.  But,  my  dear  fellow,  truly  to 
learn  and  to  acquire,  is  the  true  good  of  theoretical  life,  and  our  lifetime , 
is  not  so  short.  But  long  as  it  may  be,  we  have  ever  to  go  on  learning. 
Thank  God  that  it  is  so !  . 


430  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

And  now,  may  God  bless  your  labors,  and  give  you  the  right  disposition, 
that  you  may  carry  them  on  to  your  own  welfare  and  happiness,  to  the 
joy  of  your  parents,  and  of  all  of  us  who  have  your  virtue  and  respectabil- 
ity sincerely  at  heart. 


1823.  : 

i 

IN  March,  1823,  Niebuhr  and  his  family  went  to  Naples,  where 
they  spent  five  weeks  in  examining  the  remarkable  places  in  its 
neighborhood,  and  he  explored  the  public  libraries.  At  the  Royal 
Library,  he  undertook  the  revision  of  a  Manuscript,  in  his  opinion 
very  important — that  of  the  grammarian,  Charisius.  His  leisure 
hours  were  spent  with  De  Serre,  with  whom  he  contracted  a 
friendship  such  as  is  rarely  formed  in  later  life,  and  carried  on  a 
regular  correspondence  up  to  I)e  Serre's  death. 

On  leaving  Naples,  Niebuhr  returned  to  Rome,  visited  for  the 
last  time,  with  his  son,  the  scenes  and  spots  that  were  dearest  to 
him,  and  then,  after  a  sorrowful  parting  with  Chevalier  and  Mad- 
ame Bunsen,  and  a  few  of  his  younger  friends,  set  out  on  his 
journey  to  Florence,  whence  he  proceeded,  by  way  of  Bologna, 
Verona,  and  Ferrara,  to  St.  Gall. 

Here  he  passed  some  weeks,  partly  to  recruit  his  health,  and 
partly  to  examine  the  MSS.  in  the  celebrated  library  of  that 
place.  He  found  that  most  of  them  were  of  a  theological  char- 
acter ;  but,  among  the  exceptions,  he  discovered  the  Panegyric  of 
Merobaudes,  which  he  revised  and  prepared  for  publication  during 
his  stay  there.  From  St.  Gall,  he  went  to  Heidelberg,  to  visit 
two  of  his  earliest  friends — the  aged  Voss,  and  Thibaut,  his  com- 
panion at  college  He  next  visited  Bonn,  in  order  to  see  Professor 
Brandis,  and,  after  remaining  there  some  time,  determined  to  se- 
lect it  as  his  place  of  residence  until  it  should  be  finally  decided 
whether  or  not  he  returned  to  Rome. 

Letters  ivritten  in  1823. 
CCLXXXIX. 

TO  COUNT  ADAM  MOLTKE. 

ROME,  8th  February,  1823. 

My  DEAR  FRIEND — You  must  ascribe  my  long  silence  simply  and  solely 
to  awkwardness.  As  I  did  not  immediately  answer  the  letter  by  which 


LETTERS  FEOM  ROME  IN  1823.  431 

you  offered  me  an  opportunity  of  renewing  our  correspondence,  after  your 
visit  to  Rome,  1  have  been  waiting  all  this  long  time  for  some  other  occa- 
sion on  which  I  could  begin  writing  to  you.  But,  though  I  am  sufficient- 
ly inclined  in  general  to  self-reproach,  I  think  I  may  be  forgiven  in  this 
instance  for  not  having  answered  your  letter  immediately.  Every  thing 
came  on  us  at  once  ;  my  wife's  confinement,  &c.,  the  effects  of  which  last- 
ed long  afterward  ;  the  negotiations  on  ecclesiastical  affairs  ;  and  the  Ne- 
apolitan insurrection  and  Punchinello-revolution,  which  threatened  us  here 
with  an  unpleasant  farce.  Then  followed  such  a  winter  of  perpetual  soci- 
ety and  dissipation  as  I  never  underwent  before;,  in  short,  so  much  time 
passed  over  without  my  fulfilling  the  duty  wruch  a  kind  Heaven  had  point- 
ed out,  that  I  was  at  last  too  much  ashamed  to  write. 

The  particular  reason  of  my  writing  to  you  at  last,  my  dear  old  friend,  in 
as  follows  :  Dora  mentions  the  betrothal  of  your  Charles  as  an  event  about 
which  she  has  already  written  to  us,  but  this  is  a  mistake.  I  know  no- 
thing more  than  the  bare  fact,  but  it  is  enough  to  make  me  greet  you 
again,  and  wish  you  and  your  Charles  every  blessing ;  and  I  doubt  not, 
nay,  I  have  the  fullest  confidence,  that  this  decision  for  his  life  will  be  so 
fortunate,  that  his  friend  may  rejoice  over  it  with  his  father.  May  God 
grant  it,  and  preserve  his  paths  from  the  thorns  on  which  you  have  been 
forced  to  tread!  Our  youth  fell  in  a  time  of  illusions  and  hopes;  the 
youth  of  the  present  age,  who  are  kept  close  to  realities  almost  as  our  fa- 
thers were,  have  a  right  to  demand  other  compensations  from  Fate. 

That  I  never  once  made  use  of  your  residence  in  Rome  to  unite  the  pres- 
ent with  departed  days,  is  one  of  the  things — there  are  not  few  of  them — 
for  which  I  can  never  be  consoled,  which  will  embitter  the  retrospect  of 
my  life  in  my  last  hour.  It  was  as  though  a  spell  lay  upon  me ;  I  felt 
that  it  would  be  enough  to  utter  one  word ;  once  to  give  vent  to  the  emo- 
tions of  the  heart  in  tears.  But  I  could  not  unclose  my  lips  to  speak  that 
word.  The  past  could  not  riee  again  from  its  grave,  and  I  felt  as  though 
it  would  have  shaken  the  foundations  of  that  present  which  it  is  now  the 
duty  of  my  life  to  preserve  and  develop. 

When  you  had  left,  I  would  gladly  have  hastened  after  you,  and  spent 
one  day  more  with  you,  at  whatever  cost.  Thus  I  suffered  under  a  tor- 
turing constraint,  which  still  rends  my  heart  whenever  I  think  of  that 
time  which  might  have  refreshed  and  strengthened  me,  as  far  as  is  still 
possible  for  me.  My  mind  is  like  a  nation  that  has  passed  through  a  rev- 
olution, and  now  must  proceed  in  a  new  order,  as  the  old  order  is  irrecover- 
ably destroyed.  I  economize  the  little  still  left  out  of  my  old  treasures, 
recognizing  now  how  inexpressibly  valuable  was  what  I  once  possessed ; 
and  with  what  the  new  time  has  brought  me,  I  teach  myself  to  fulfill  my 
duties,  and  take  the  relations  of  life  as  they  come. 

My  position  here  has  one  essential  defect,  that  I  can  not  satisfy  the  re- 
quirements of  those  who  have  no  possible  claim  upon  me  but  through  my 
official  station  ;  that  I%an  not  afford  to  keep  open  house  for  idle  travelers, 
and  would  rather  bear  their  anger  at  my  doing  nothing,  than  their  con- 
tempt for  what  I  might  offer.  Rome  has  become  the  chief  place  of  amuse- 
ment for  the  collective  idleness  of  Europe,  and  even  if  the  ministry  would 
give  me  the  means  of  undertaking  a  role  in  this  dissipation,  it  would  b« 
terrible  to  waste  one's  time  upon  it. 

This  consideration  makes  it  less  difficult  for  me  to  resign  my  present 


432  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHE. 

office,  although  we  have  but  a  very  uncertain  future  before  us,  and  I  will 
not  deny  that  the  prospect  of  returning  to  Germany  gives  me  some  uneasi- 
ness. But  Gretchen's  feelings  are  the  deciding  point ;  she  feels  that  the 
air  here  is  poison  to  her,  and  so  there  was  nothing  more  to  consider. 

Our  chief  care  is  to  find  a  place  where  I  may  spend  the  remaining  years 
of  my  life  without  the  necessity  of  a  further  change.  Other  things  being 
nearly  equal,  we  shall  certainly  choose  to  settle  as  far  as  possible  from  the 
Russian  frontier. 

My  Marcus  is  a  boy  of  excellent  capacities  ;  his  education  amid  antiqui- 
ty has  been  perfectly  successful.  The  old  world  is  to  him  the  true  and 
real  one  ;  the  modern  only  something  accidental.  This  will  undoubtedly 
render  some  bitter  discoveries  necessary  in  the  future.  Ancient  history 
and  mythology  are  as  familiar  to  him  as  to  a  Roman  boy  eighteen  hun- 
dred years  ago,  and  he  is  burning  with  sympathy  and  sheds  tears  for  the 
heroes  of  the  Trojan  time,  over  the  literal  Latin  translation  of  the  Odyssey 
which  to  us  seems  so  miserable.  He  looks  forward  confidently  to  climb- 
ing Parnassus,  and  seeing  Jupiter  and  the  old  gods  there,  of  whom  I  told 
him  the  modern  Greek  tradition,  that  they  have  taken  refuge  on  the  sum- 
mit of  the  mountain. 

When  you  were  here,  my  friend,  we  spoke  often,  as  you  will  remember, 
of  De  Serre ;  it  is  the  happiest  result  of  my  residence  in  this  city,  that  he 
has  been  here,  and  that  we  have  become  intimate  friends.  As  the  ancients 
wrote  to  and  for  an  individual,  I  mean  to  write  for  him  a  short  compen- 
dious narrative  of  the  Roman  History  through  all  its  centuries.  Is  De  Serre 
still  called  a  thorough-going  servant  of  despotism  by  the  German  liberals  ? 
There  are  cabinets  in  which  he  is  held  to  be  a  mad  poetical  visionary,  and 
no  doubt  a  revolutionist. 

Farewell,  my  dear  friend,  and  if  you  have  not  quite  effaced  me  from 

your  memory,  write  to  me  about  your  Charles 

Your  old  friend, 

NIEBUHR. 

ccxc. 

TO  COUNT  DE  SERRE. 

ROME,  9th  February,  1823. 

M.  LE  COMTE — I  shall  profit  by  a  perfectly  safe  opportunity  to  send  you 
Home  reflections  on  the  state  of  England.  You  will  receive  them  with 
kindness,  but  I  do  not  recommend  them  the  less  to  your  indulgence.* 

On  that  country  I  have  a  right  to  form  an  opinion ;  I  have  a  right  to 
except  against  that  of  the  English,  and  to  criticise  it,  as  much  as  if  the 
question  related  to  my  own  country,  and  the  opinion  of  my  fellow-country- 
men respecting  its  state,  for  I  know  England  as  well  as  if  I  had  been  born 
there.  I  was  taught  the  language  in  my  earliest  childhood,  and  from  the 
age  of  ten  years  I  was  in  the  constant  habit  of  reading  the  English  jour- 
nals ;  my  father  sent  me  there  to  finish  my  studies,  and  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  political  and  civil  life  of  a  free  people,  as  well  as  to 
study  rural  economy,  commerce,  the  application  of  chemistry  to  the  arts, 
and  lastly,  finance.  With  introductions  from  him  (who,  though  little  known 
at  home,  was  the  object  of  universal  respect  in  England),  to  the  most 

*  This  Essay,  entitled  "  Ueber  England's  Zukunft/'  is  published  in  Niebuhr's 
"  Nachgelassene  Schriften,"  p.  426. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1823.  433 

eminent  men  of  that  country,  I  was  as  if  naturalized  there ;  and,  after 
having  quitted  it.  I  continued  to  watch  with  the  same  interest  the  mi- 
nutest details  of  its  circumstances,  and  hare  followed  its  moral,  political, 
and  financial  history,  for  the  last  twenty  years',  with  an  attention  which 
even  such  events  as  those  of  1806  and  1813  have  rarely  sufficed  to  dimin- 
ish. And  the  more  I  occupied  all  my  leisure  momenta  with  researches 
into  the  history  of  the  institutions  and  laws  of  the  nations  of  antiquity, 
the  more  I  was  led  to  turn  my  attention  to  the  history  of  England,  among 
those  states,  where  the  free  institutions  of  the  middle  ages  have  maintain- 
ed themselves  for  a  more  or  less  lengthened  period,  and  where  even  im- 
portant changes — as,-  for  instance,  in  the  tenure  of  property — have  been 
brought  to  pass  in  the  course  of  their  natural  development.  Lastly,  I  have 
more  especially  devoted  my  attention  to  the  finance  of  Englaad,  on  account 
of  a  work,  the  idea  of  which  I  conceived  some  years  ago;  namely,  a  his- 
tory of  the  finances  of  all  European  states  from  the  peace  of  1783,  pre- 
ceded by  a  picture  of  their  condition  at  that  epoch,  and  terminated  by  a 
statement  of  the  results. 

I  beg,  M.  le  Comte,  that  you  will  simply  consider  this  explanation  as  a 
statement  of  the  circumstances  which  make  me  feel  myself  entitled  to  dis- 
cuss, without  presumption,  the  questions  treated  of  in  my  little  essay. 

In  reasoning,  on  the  future,  I  have  asked  myself,  What  should  I  do  in 
Mr.  Canning's  place,  with  hit  principles  and  hit  character?'  Will  you  be 
one  of  those  who  would  now  accuse  me  of  attributing  reckless  audacity  to 
him  with  injustice  ?  I  think  not. 

It  was  by  similar  chains  of  reasonings,  that  I  always  used  to  divine  the 
projects  of  Napoleon,  and  even  the  plans  of  his  campaigns. 

England  must  choose  between  two  futures.  Has  she  the  will  and  the 
power  to  adopt  a  manly  and  virtuous  policy  ?  Then  «h«  will  occupy  her- 
self with  the  moral  reformation  of  society;  she  wHl  renounce  the  project  of 
domineering  over  and  weakening  the  Continent  of  Europe;  and  she  will 
leave  the  growth  of  the  America  of  the  North  in  the  hands  of  Providence : 
she  may  deplore  a  war  with  Spain,  but  she  will  not  give  a  mortal  blow  to 
the  restoration  in  France.  Is  she  willing  to-  brave  the  greatest  dangers, 
confident  that  she  can  surmount  them,  and  to  found  an  empire  such  as  no 
power  may  dare  to  attack  ?  Then  she  will  adopt  precisely  the  course 
which  I  have  traced  out. 

In  writing  for  you,  M.  le  Comte,  I  have  thought  it  unnecessary  to  add 
to  my  prophecies  the  restrictions,  if  tuch  or  tuch  an  event  happen,  by  which 
on  other  occasions  one  is  obliged  to  guard  against  the  taunt,  often  little 
merited,  of  having  predicted  events  which  are  not  realized.  Unforeseen 
accidents  may  arrest  Mr.  Canning  in  his  career;  for  myself,  I  simply  say 
that  he  will  arrive  at  the  results  which  I  have  indicated,  if,  as  every  thing  - 
leads  us  to  believe,  he  is  able  to  advance  without  restraint. 

Have  you  ever  read  in  Germany  a  paper  of  Lessing's,  which  alanna 

pious  persons,  but  which  is  none  the  less  worthy  of  a  profound  philosopher, 

"die  Erziehvng  des  ftfkisthtngeschlechtt ?"  *     There  is  in  that  paper  a 

sentence  of  the  deepest  significance :   "  The  enthusiast,"'  he  says,  "  and 

the  philosopher  are  frequently  only  at  variance  as  to  the  epoch  in  the  future 

at  which  they  place  the  accomplishment  of  their  effort*.     The  enthusiast 

does  not  recognize  the  slowness  of  the  pace  of  time.     An  event  not  imme- 

*  The  Education  of  the  Human  Race, 

T 


434  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

diately  connected  with  the  time  in  which  he  lives  is  to  him  a  nullity." 
Do  not  attribute  to  me  the  idea  that  the  defects,  which  as  I  think  are  eat- 
ing into  the  vital  principle  of  England,  threaten  her  existence  in  our  times, 
or  those  of  our  children.  My  views  would  admit  of  development  to  a  very 
much  greater  extent  with  regard  to  Ireland  and  other  points ;  hut  these 
rapidly  sketched  pages  would  then  extend  into  a  volume. 

During  the  few  weeks  yet  remaining  of  our  stay  in  Rome.  I  shall  have 
absolutely  no  time  to  write  you  the  essay  on  Roman  history  for  which  you 
asked  me.  It  shall  be  my  occupation  at  Baden-Baden.  I  feel  warmly 
grateful  to  you  for  having  asked  me  for  it.  The  ancients  wrote  for  the 
friend  to  whom  they  dedicated  a  book ;  this  gives  marked  characteristics 
to  what  is  written ;  this  enables  one  to  dispense  with  precautions  against 
the  misapprehensions  of  such  and  such  readers.  It  is  an  inestimable  ad- 
vantage to  me  that  you  understand  our  language  so  well;  in  writing,  for 
the  future,  I  shall  fancy  that  I  am  speaking  to  you.  Atticus  wrote  an 
abstract  of  the  history  of  Rome  for  the  use  of  his  friend  Cicero  ;  may  I  not 
recall  this  example  on  my  own  behalf  ? 

Society  here  is  about  to  abandon  itself  to  amusements  during  the  carni- 
val. There  is  something  fearful  in  these  pitiable  amusements  at  a  moment 
when  all  our  lives  are  in  the  balance.  What  a  despicable  generation  is 
this  of  ours  !  I  even  prefer  the  Greeks  of  Constantinople,  quarreling  about 
their  theological  disputes,  to  our  contemporaries,  who  require  diversions  for 
their  ennui,  who  flock  to  balls  on  the  eve  of  a  universal  crisis,  which  is 
teaching  us  all  how  precious  icas  the  time  by  which  we  neglected  to  profit. 
For  my  own  part,  I  share  in  the  feelings  of  a  dying  man  who  reproaches 
himself  for  not  having  employed  his  life  well.  Lent  and  its  silence  will 
be  a  relief  to  me.  I  have  just  bought  a  copy  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci. 

As  you  do  me  the  honor  of  allowing  me  to  plan  your  Italian 

library,  I  would  warmly  recommend  to  you  the  Florentine  History  of  Varchi, 
if  you  can  find  a  complete  copy  of  it;  almost  all  are  mutilated.  In  read- 
ing this  author,  I  have  seen  that  we  may  be  incredibly  circumstantial,  and 
yet  rivet  the  attention.  It  will  make  you  acquainted  with  a  great  man — 
Ferrucci — of  whom  there  are  so  few  ! 

CCXCI. 

ROME,  252/4  February,  1823. 

I  have  sent  word  to  Cardinal  Gonsalvi  that  you  wish  to  be  in- 
formed of  the  state  of  his  health.-  Your  interest  in  him  has  given  him  the 
most  lively  pleasure,  and  he  eends  you  his  sincere  acknowledgments.  Alas ! 

I  have  no  agreeable  news  to  give  you  on  this  subject It  appears 

to  me  certain  that  the  seat  of  the  disease  is  the  oesophagus,  and  that  the 
nerves  of  the  ganglion  are  attacked.  I  am  not  aware  whether  you  think 
it  allowable  to  believe  in  animal  magnetism,  but  for  my  part  I  have  faith 
in  it,  and  I  believe  that  if  cure  were  possible  in  this  case,  it  must  be  sought 
in  this  remedy 

I  have  read  with  terror  the  speeches  in  the  English  parliament.  I  regret 
that  I  did  not  take  notes  of  the  number  of  the  "  Espectador^  a  journal  in 
which  M.  de  St.  Miguel  wrote  at  that  time,  in  which  last  year  his  Britan- 
nic Majesty,  now  the  ally  of.  Don  Miguel,  was  accused  of  having  poisoned 
his  daughter,  his  wife,  and  Napoleon  ! 

I  shudder  when  I  think  of  the  future.     The  infatuated  men  have  brought 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1823.  435 

us  to  the  point  of  having  pat  England,  and  the  English  ministry,  at  the 
head  of  the  revolutionary  party.  There  are  some  ministers  who  ought  to 
follow  the  example  of  Lord  Londonderry1. ..... 

CCXCII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

NAPLES,  81&  April,  1833. 

We  have  heen  here  a  week,  and,  as  is  always  the  case  with  a  season 
of  great  enjoyment,  the  time  slips  away  very  quickly,  and  it  makes  me 
sad  to  think  that  a  quarter  of  that  which  wo  can  upend  here  is  already 
over.  It  is  years  certainly  since  I  spent  such  happy  days.  In  this  elastic 
atmosphere  you  feel  elastic ;  the  sense  of  weight  and  lassitude  which  diilusea 
itself  through  your  whole  body  in  Rome,  at  least  if  you  remain  long  there 
without  a  break,  vanishes  in  Naples.  I  believe  it  was  not  without  reason, 
and  not  merely  for  the  sake  of  the  scenery,  that  the  old  Romans  regularly 
visited  their  country  houses  and  the  shores  of  this  bay.  Sky,  earth,  and 
sea,  compose  a  whole  which  certainly  far  transcends  my  expectations ;  and 
in  De  Serre's  society  I  have  all  that  my  heart  and  intellect  have  so  long 
and  sorely  missed,  and  there  is  a  friendship  between  our  families  which 
already  extends  even  to  the  children.  I  really  feel  several  years  younger, 
and  able  to  work  hard  without  a  laborious  effort. 

We  arrived  here  on  Marcus's  birth-day.  The  whole  journey  had  been 
a  festival  to  him,  and  it  was  a  deep  joy  to  us  to  perceive  his  open  suscep- 
tibilities to  all  these  new  impressions.  We  felt  how  much  he  had  developed 
and  improved  during  the  past  year,  on  comparing  him  with  his  former  self. 
It  is  an  inestimable  advantage  for  him  that  we  have  remained  here  so  long, 
for,  in  his  own  way,  he  enjoys  every  thing,  antiquities  and  nature,  like  a 
grown  person,  and  with  all  the  bliss  of  childhood  superadded.  No,  I  do 
not  think  that  any  one  ever  had  a  happier  childhood !  The  night  before 
his  birthday,  we  slept  at  a  little  place  called  St.  Agata ;  we  had  stopped 
at  mid-day  at  Mola  (it  was  a  most  beautiful  day),  to  feast  our  eyes  on  the 
bay  and  the  prospect  toward  Gaeta.  The  boy  was  intoxicated  with  delight, 
and  his  ecstasy  kept  his  soul  awake  to  the  last  second,  when  his  body  was 
long  since  quite  tired  out.  When  he  was  in  bed,  he  clung  round  his  mother's 
neck,  and  said  in  German,  "  Mother,  how  very  happy  I  am  that  God  has 
given  me  such  a  good  father  and  mother,  and  such  good  sisters!"  My 
heart  was  very  tender,  and  I  could  not  help  begging  his  pardon,  because  I 
once  punished  him  severely  for  a  piece  of  mischief  which  Lucia  had  done, 
and  not  he,  but  we  were  compelled  to  believe  that  he  was  the  culprit,  and 
was  trying  to  screen  himself  by  a  lie ;  I  said  that  I  had  been  unjust  to 
him :  "  No,  father,  that  you  never  were !"  he  answered  with  the  greatest 
warmth 

A  manuscript  which  I  must  collate,  at  least  in  all  the  important  pas- 
sages, in  order  to  be  justified  hi  editing  a  work  which  has  been  printed 
from  very  bad  copies  of  the.  same,  takes  up  much  of  my  time  which  might 
be  spent  more  pleasantly ;  but  I  think  I  ought  not  to  lose  this  opportunity, 
;is  it  is  scarcely  probable  that  any  one  else  will  be  found  to  undertake  a 
task  which  has  been  left  undone  for  three  centuries.  The  people  here  are 
very  obliging ;  and  when  I  have  finished  this  task,  I  mean  to  embrace  the 
unexpected  offer  of  permission  to  read  the  fac-simtia  of  the  Herculanean 


436  MEMOIR,  OF  NIEBUHR. 

papyrus-rolls,  the  proof  sheets  of  which  have  been  already  printed  from 
copper-plates,  but  which  are  not  yet  published. 

Of  the  knavery  of  the  people  we  had  a  strong  proof,  in  the  sum  they 
asked  for  unloading  our  carriage,  else  they  can  not  be  worse  than  those 
we  have  left,  and  their  vivacity  is  a  strong  recommendation  to  them  com- 
pared with  the  lifeless  indolence  of  the  Romans.  It  certainly  tends  to 
make  one  judge  them  more  favorably  that  we  have  lived  so  many  years 
in  Italy,  and  have  long  since  ceased  to  make  the  demands,  the  non-fulfill- 
ment of  which  plunges  any  foreigner  into  despair,  who  can  not  indemnify 
himself  by  a  general  enthusiasm.  At  Terracina  you  begin  to  meet  with 
southern  scenery  and  southern  productions  ;  the  oranges  at  Rome  are  sour, 
and  we  have  often  remarked  that  we  had  never  eaten  such  bad  ones  in 
Germany ;  the  Sicilian  ones  here  certainly  possess  a  perfection  such  as 
they  never  retain  when  brought  across  the  sea  to  the  north.  But  the  dif- 
ference of  the  climate  is  shown  most  strikingly  by  the  fact,  that  it  is  ad- 
visable here  when  the  sun  has  shone  into  a  room,  to  open  the  window  in 
the  evening  in  order  not  to  suffer  from  the  sultry  air  during  the  night; 
while  it  was  only  a  few  days  before  we  left  Rome,  that  we  could  do  alto- 
gether without  a  fire,  and  most  likely  should  not  have  given  it  up  so  soon 
except  in  prospect  of  the  journey 

CCXCIII. 

NAPLES,  <23ih  April,  1823. 

I  have  seen  a  great  deal  of  De  Serre,  and  this  short  period  of 

uninterrupted  intimate  intercourse  has  so  perfected  our  friendship  as  to 
secure  its  steady  duration,  even  if  we  should  never  meet  again.  I  revere 
him  more  than  ever,  from  seeing  him  in  all  the  relations  of  life,  and  I  now 
say,  as  an  eye-witness,  what  I  was  convinced  of  before,  from  the  picture 
which  I  had  formed  of  him  to  myself,  that  his  character  is  as  perfectly 
virtuous  and  as  spotless  in  its  purity,  as  he  is  great  as  a  man,  and  rare 
as  a  genius. 

His  family  is  certainly  one  of  the  happiest  on  the  face  of  the  earth;  a 
lively  and  sensible  wife  who  admires  her  husband,  and  is  proud  of  him, 
whom  he  loves  very  tenderly ;  his  children  are  the  objects  of  his  warmest 
affection.  All  who  belong  to  the  embassy  belong  to  the  family,  and  even 
the  servants  who  have  come  here  with  them,  seem  rather  to  be  in  the  po- 
sition of  faithful  retainers  than  domestics.  The  interior  of  the  family  has 
no  more  the  tone  of  the  fashionable  world  than  belongs  to  his  position  as 
a  representative  of  his  country,  and  this  tone  appears  only  when  his  official 
position  is  in  question,  which  is  very  seldom  ;  at  other  times  his  mode  of 
life,  notwithstanding  the  size  of  the  establishment,  and  the  elegance  of  the 
apartments,  is  quite  that  of  a  commoner,  and  you  enter  into  all  the  ar- 
rangements and  feelings  of  the  family  quite  as  you  would  with  people  of 
our  class.  De  Serre's  long  residence  in  Germany,  particularly  in  his  youth, 
during  the  emigration,  his  intimate  acquaintance  with  our  language  and 
literature,  his  taste  for  them,  the  many  vicissitudes  through  which  he  has 
passed,  the  necessity  of  earning  his  bread  as  an  advocate  after  his  return, 
have  certainly  brought  to  extraordinary  perfection,  one  of  the  rarest  spirits 
that  nature  has  ever  created.  Conscious  of  his  powers,  all  his  external 
gifts  of  fortune  are  to  him  neither  a  possession  of  value,  nor  a  fetter. 


U2TTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1823.  437 

We  see  each  other  daily,  and  often  more  than  once  in  the  day ;  we 
have  made  excursions  together  as  far  as  the  weather  would  permit,  and 
farther 

CCXCIV. 

TO  COUNT  DE  SERRE. 

ROME,  18th  March,  1823. 

The  new  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  proves  himself  incompar- 
ably superior  to  his  predecessor,  the  inept  Mr.  Vansittart,  so  extolled  in 
the  semi-official  pamphlet  which  appeared  last  year.  His  financial  state- 
ment deserves  full  confidence,  with  one  correction,  which  is,  however,  very 
essential ;  namely,  the  following  : 

I  adopt  his  estimate  of  the  receipts,  as  they  would  be  if  no  duties  had 
been  repealed,  at  52,200,0001.  Deducting  the  amount  of  these  duties, 
we  shall  have  rather  under  50,000,0001.;  but  I  do  not  doubt  that  the 
revenues  will  reach  this  amount,  or  perhaps  rather  more. 

He  has,  however,  no  right  to  add  to  these  receipts  the  4,850,OOOJ.  due 
from  the  Trustees  of  Half-pay  and  Pensions,  because  these  Commissioners 
will  only  have  this  money  by  borrowing  it ;  which  reduces  the  real  sur- 
plus to  150,0007.,  and  annihilates  the  Sinking  Fund.  I  need  hardly  re- 
mind you  that  I  do  not  regard  this  as  a  great  evil  for  England. 

Such  is  the  reality  which  I  can  vouch  for ;  and  I  suspect  that  the  very 
imperfect  manner  in  which  these  discussions  are  reported  in  the  English 
journals,  conceals  a  result  still  less  favorable.  I  do  not  find  in  the  state- 
ment of  expenses  the  2,050,000/.,  which,  with  the  2.800.000/.  constitutes 
the  4,850,000/.  to  be  advanced  by  the  Trustees  of  Half-pay  and  Pensions. 
Now  I  attribute  this  omission  simply  to  the  ignorance  of  those  who  report 
the  Parliamentary  debates  in  the  journals.  The  new  minister  has  wished 
to  make  a  sensation  to  inspire  Europe  with  admiration,  but  I  can  scarcely 
bring  myself  to  believe  that  he  has  been  guilty  of  a  piece  of  low  cunning, 
such  as  the  ministers  of  absolute  monarchy  not  unfrequently  indulge  in. 
Still,  it  seems  evident  to  me  that  this  sum  ought  to  be  added  to  the  ex- 
penses, and  then  the  balance  would  stand  as  follows  : 

Total  expenses  without  the  sum  to  be  borrowed  on  an- 
nuities for  the  Pension  List £49,852,786 

Sum  to  be  borrowed  in  order  to  pay  the  Pension  List  .         2,050,000 

£51,902,786 
Total  receipts,    after  the  suppression  of  the    duties, 

which  will  be  paid  however  for  the  first  half  year.  .      50,000,000 

From  which  will  result  a  deficit  of £1.902,786 

You  will  smile  at  my  saying  that  this  budget  merits  all  confidence, 
when  I  nevertheless  destroy  its  results.  I  ought  to  have  said  that  all  the 
facts  are  exact ;  but  that  the  calculations  should  be  corrected.* 

What  the  minister  says  respecting  the  reforms  and  retrenchments  made 

*  The  actual  receipts  of  the  year  1823.  including  £4,678,800  derived  from  the 
Trustees  of  the  Naval  and  Military  Pensions,  amounted  to  £57,672,999,  tho 
actual  expenditure  to  £50,962,014. 


438  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

in  the  administration,  admits  of  no  doubt,  and  does  great  honor  to  the 
government. 

There  is,  however,  nothing  alarming  in  this  deficit,  even  if  it  should  not 
disappear  before  the  more  ample  information  which  I  shall  endeavor  to 
obtain  from  London  itself;  it  will  simply  force  the  government  to  adopt 
at  last  the  only  existing  course  by  which  the  finances  of  England  can  be 
saved ;  namely,  to  change  the  system  of  taxation  entirely,  in  the  manner 
which  I  have  indicated.*  The  opinions  of  Mr.  Ricardo  and  Lord  Somers 
prove -that  the  most  correct  thinkers  in  England  are  beginning  to  have  a 
glimpse  of  its  necessity,  its  indispensable  necessity.  The  repeal  of  taxes 
avails  nothing,  and  is  not  the  effect  of  abundance  in  the  finances ;  it  is 
the  effect  of  an  inevitable  necessity,  and  ought  to  be  compensated  by  a 
property  tax. 

The  budget  altogether  is  not  a  financial,  but  a  political  matter.  Hence 
I  can  not  conceive  how  it  is,  that,  out  of  England,  people  do  not  examine 
it,  nor  test  the  calculations. 

This  would  frustrate  the  policy  of  the  English  minister ;  but  the  refuta- 
tion ought  not  to  exaggerate  any  thing. 

An  infinity  of  facts  have  come  to  my  knowledge  lately,  and  confirm  what 
I  have  written  upon  England.  Thus  a  landowner  declares  that  he  would 
be  content  to  sell  for  .£21,000,  an  estate  for  which  he  paid  £72,000  in 
1810. 

Have  you  heard,  M.  le  Comte,  that  Count  Munster  had  informed  the 
Hanoverian  envoys,  that  the  King  of  England,  as  King  of  Hanover,  en- 
tirely approves  the  resolutions  of  Verona ;  and  that  he  is  even  convinced 
that  Europe  would  fall  a  prey  to  revolution  if  the  allied  powers  displayed 
less  energy  ?  It  is  evident  that  they  fear  a  continental  war,  which  might 
endanger  Hanover. 

The  French  post  of  to-day  will  bring  you  deplorable  news  !  So  the  men 
who  now  exclude  a  colleague,  t  without  being  authorized  to  do  so,  by  a 
regulation  which  is  undoubtedly  too  indulgent,  but  which  is  the  law,  are  in 
part  the  same  who  rejected  your  proposition  for  increasing  the  authority  of 
the  president. 

M.  Wicar  had  promised  me  to  call  at  last  on  the  picture-dealer  to-day, 
to  examine  the  Filippo  Lippi ;  I  do  not  know  if  he  has  kept  his  promise ; 
he  has  not  come  to  inform  me  of  the  result.  The  picture-dealer,  whom  I 
requested  to  be  at  home  to  receive  Wicar,  has  sent  me  word  that  Wicar  is 
his  enemy ;  I  hope  it  has  not  come  to  poniards. 

I  rejoice  in  your  acquisitions  in  pictures.  What  a  pity  it  is  that  the 
riches  of  Italy  are  almost  exhausted  ! 

I,  too,  can  not  help  believing  that  there  are  affinities  between  the  con- 
vulsions of  the  physical  world,  and  those  of  the  moral  order  of  things.  I 
venture  to  predict  that,  in  twenty  or  thirty  years,  a  terrible  plague  will 

*  In  the  Essay  "  Ueber  England's  Zukunft." 

t  During  the  debates  in  the  French  Chamber  of  Deputies  on  the  proposed 
war  with  Spain,  in  order  to  suppress  the  Constitution  and  restore  Absolutism, 
M.  Manuel,  deputy  for  La  Vendee,  was  excluded  from  the  Chamber,  by  a  vote 
of  the  ultra-royalist  majority,  for  having  used  the  expression,  "  You  wish  to  save 
the  life  of  Ferdinand,  and  forget  that  the  Stuarts  were  overthrown  because  they 
sought  the  aid  of  France — that  Lcuis  the  Sixteenth's  head  fell,  because  foreign- 
ers mixed  themselves  in  the  cause  of  France."  These  words  were  declared  to 
be  a  defense  of  regicide,  although  Manuel  explained  that  he  had  used  them  with 
the  contrary  intention. 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1823.  439 

devastate  Europe.  In  three  or  four  hundred  years,  it  will  be  possible  to 
calculate  the  increase  or  diminution  of  the  human  race,  and  the  change  in 
the  maximum  of  heat  and  cold,  &o. 

du  revoir,  Count,  if  the  communications  of  Wicar  do  not  occasion  you 
another  letter,  before  my  departure.  Meanwhile,  permit  me  to  assure  you 
once  more  of  the  unchangeable  devotion  of  my  heart. 

NIEBUHR. 

ccxcv.* 

The  reduction  of  the  rate  of  interest  on  the  State  debt  is  extremely  facili- 
tated by  the  existence  of  another  stock,  to  which  it  is  desirable  to  reduce  it. 

If  none  such  exist,  the  fund-holder  will  estimate  the  indemnity  which  is 
due  to  him,  in  proportion  to  the  interest ;  he  will  consider  himself  injured 
if  you  do  not  offer  him  1 25  of  nominal  capital  for  1 00,  when  you  wish  to 
reduce  the  five  per  cent,  to  four  per  cent. 

If  more  than  one  kind  of  stock  exists,  at  different  rates  of  interest,  their 
respective  prices  will  have  fixed  themselves  in  very  different  proportions, 
for  they  are  regulated  by  two  efficients  of  unlike  nature ;  jiamely,  the  an- 
nual product  as  an  investment,  and  the  expectation  of  a  rise  when  it  may 
be  desirable  to  part  with  them.  Moreover,  experience  proves  that  in  all 
cant,  State  bonds  bearing  a  smaller  interest,  fetch  a  higher  price  in  pro- 
portion than  those  bearing  higher  interest.  Thus,  before  1780,  the  Dutch 
bonds  at  two-and-a-half  per  cent,  fetched  one  hundred  and  eight  per  cent., 
those  at  three  per  cent,  only  from  one  hundred  and  ten  to  one  hundred  and 
twelve.  It  is  superfluous  to  cite  the  example  of  the  English  and  American 
funds. 

Up  to  the  financial  operations  of  Mr.  Pelham,  England  had  alleviated 
the  burden  of  her  public  debt  by  arbitrary  reductions,  after  the  example  of 
Holland,  of  the  various  states  of  Italy,  of  Spain,  not  to  speak  of  France,  the 
only  one  which  it  is  usual  to  decry  as  an  act  characterized^  by  violence. 
Mr.  Pelham  found  himself  obliged  to  obtain  a  semblance  of  voluntary  assent 
on  the  part  of  the  stock-holders ;  but  the  great  difficulty  found  in  carrying 
out  Sir  John  Barnard's  plan,  arose  from  the  absence  of  a  regulating  stock, 
bearing  interest  below  four  per  cent.  For  this  reason,  it  was  necessary  to 
wait  till  the  funds  had  risen  much  above  par,  and  even  then  to  expose 
themselves  to  the  risk  of  failure. 

Mr.  Pitt  did  all  that  he  could  to  augment  the  mass  of  the  five  per  cents., 
in  order  that  his  successors  might  one  day  have  it  in  their  power  to  dimin- 
ish the  burden  of  the  debt  very  sensibly;  it  was  in  order  to  render 'this 
operation  feasible  that  he  made  so  much  effort  to  give  importance  to  the 
four  per  cents.  Through  pusillanimity  Mr.  Vansittart  did  not  accomplish 
till  1822,  what  he  might  have  done  in  1818. 

If  there  existed  in  France  a  stock  at  four  per  cent.,  as  well  as  the  five 
per  cents.,  it  is  indubitable  that  the  latter  being  at  ninety  per  cent.,  the 
four  per  cents  would  b%  at  seventy-eight  or  eighty,  instead  of  seventy-two. 
The  .foreigner,  speculating  in  the  French  funds,  would  prefer  them  to  those 
of  which  the  price  would  be  more  nearly  at  par,  for  his  imagination  would 
represent  to  him  a  profit  of  a  quarter  instead  of  that  of  a  ninth :  the 
amount  of  this  stock  would  be  more  limited  than  that  of  the  five  per  cents., 

*  This  paper  bears  no  date,  but  it  seems  to  be  in  its  place  here,  although  it 
may  possibly  have  been  written  somewhat  earlier. 


440  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

which,  would  necessarily  produce  a  more  considerable  rise  than  the  invest- 
ment of  the  same  sum ;  finally,  small  capitals  would  be  invested  in  it  to  a 
greater  extent. 

I  could  have  wished  that  the  opportunity  had  been  embraced  of  creating 
a  stock  at  five  per  cent.,  when  the  treasury  sold  the  twelve  and  a  half 
millions  of  stock,  or  else  when  the  reimbursement  took  place. 

Undoubtedly  this  operation  could  not  have  been  accomplished  without 
making  up  your  mind  to  some  loss,  since  the  exchequer  ought  to  have  the 
whole  sum  reimbursed,  which  it  had  expended  in  the  purchase  of  the  stock 
that  it  had  been  necessary  to  realize.  But  I  am  inclined  to  think — so  far 
as  one  has  a  right  to  form  an  opinion  at  such  a  distance — that  this  loss 
would  not  have  been  very  considerable :  at  any  rate,  there  would  have  been 
no  need  to  create  fifteen  millions,  instead  of  twelve  and  a  half,  to  obtain 
the  same  sum.  I  believe  that  the  commissioners  might,  have  gradually 
drawn  out  the  four  per  cents,  on  the  Exchange,  and  the  five  per  cents, 
would  have  risen  more  than  they  have  done,  and  that  they  might  have  had 
the  satisfaction  of  ending  by  investing  a  part  of  the  four  per  cents,  at  the 
same  price  at  which  the  grand  negotiation  was  concluded. 

You  will  pardon  a  foreigner  the  quaint  expression,  that  there  exists  a  spe- 
cies of  emulation  between  the  different  kinds  of  public  funds  of  the  same 
nature,  which  impels  them  all  forward  when  they  are  inclined  to  rise. 
Without  a  stock  at  four  per  cent.,  that  at  five  per  cent,  would  with  diffi- 
culty rise  above  par,  and  till  it  should  have  exceeded  par,  a  reduction  of 
the  interest  of  the  debt  could  produce  no  result  of  sufficient  importance. 

In  no  wise  personally  interested  that  this  measure  should  be  some  day 
carried  out  with  success,  and  before  long,  it  being  in  fact  rather  contrary  to 
my  interest,  since  I  am  not  at  all  inclined  to  sell  what  I  possess  in  the 
five  per  cents.,  it  is  for  the  interest  of  Europe  in  general,  that  I  desire  to 
see  those  brilliant  ameliorations  effected  in  France,  which  will  insure 
gratitude  and  respect  to  the  government. 

CCXCVI. 

ROME,  9th  May,  1823. 

My  beloved  and  revered  friend,  this  letter  to  you  is  the  first  I  have  writ- 
ten since  my  arrival  in  this  city,  now  almost  become  a  home  to  me.  Yours 
had  arrived  here  before  we  had  completed  our  tedious  journey,  and  was  the 
first  I  read  after  that  of  a  friend  of  my  youth,  who,  for  a  period  of  almost 
thirty  years,  has  guided  my  life  like  a  guardian  angel,  and  who  now  stands 
before  me  and  above  me  like  a  departed  spirit  in  a  better  world ;  a  friend 
who  has  awakened  in  me  the  best  powers  of  my  heart  and  mind,  and  roused 
them  to  action. 

I  have  no  words  to  tell  you,  how  heartily  I  love  you,  and  how  acutely  I 
miss  your  presence  and  your  society.  They  could  be  only  words  of  passion, 
which  I  can  no  longer  utter.  The  time  spent  with  you  and  yours,  was  the 
happiest  that  we  have  passed  in  Italy,  and,  through  you,  Naples  will  re- 
main a  hallowed  spot  in  our  memory  as  long  as  we  live.  Any  real  bless- 
ing we  have  once  enjoyed  is,  in  its  best  part,  imperishable  ;  and  for  old  age, 
on  the  borders  of  which  I  stand,  there  can  remain  but  little  beside  recollec- 
tions. Still  I  fancy  if  I  could  live  with  you,  I  should  grow  young  again 
instead  of  growing  old. 

I  have  learnt  to  know  you  as  a  husband  and  father  ;   and  my  affection 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1823.  441 

for  you  has  found  new  and  rich  food ;  my  wife  and  children  cling  to  you 
and  yours  with  that  cordiality,  without  which  the  friendship  of  two  men 
who  are  fathers  of -families  must  always  remain  imperfect.  1  esteem  you 
happy  in  your  household  blessings,  and  congratulate  myself  that  I  have  no 
reason  to  envy  you  in  that  respect.  I  constantly  think  of  your  wife  with 
esteem,  and  with  the  pleasure  which  her  bright,  energetic,  graceful  ways 
inspire,  and  which  is  heightened  by  all  that  surrounds  her ;  your  children 
dwell  in  my  heart  as  if  they  were  of  my  own  kindred. 

My  wife,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  frank  sociability,  had  for  years 
painfully  felt  the  want  of  it  here.  She  found  it  in  your  house,  and  if  she 
gained  strength  in  Naples,  it  was  certainly  much  less  owing  to  the  air  and 
the  neighborhood  of  the  sea,  which  she  had  been  used  to  from  her  child- 
hood, than  to  you  and  your  dear  wife.  Marcus  will  never  forget  you,  and 
the  thought  of  your  approval  or  disapproval  will,  I  trust,  ever  remain  with 
him,  as  it  is  now,  a  powerful  incentive  to  good.  As  he  grows  older,  and 
able  to  understand  it,  he  will  hear  more  and  more  of  you,  and  the  love  with 
which  he  clings  to  you,  is  a  holy  sentiment  whose  preservation  will  be  one 
of  my  first  cares.  He  and  the  little  ones  remember  your  children  with 
childish  friendship,  and  your  wife  with  gratitude  and  love. 

We  all  pray  that  God's  richest  blessings  may  accompany  you  and  yout 
family,  and  the  pious  lips  of  the  innocent  children  only  echo  the  voice  of 
their  hearts.  We  pray  that  all  the  happiness  you  possess  may  be  preserved 
to  you  ;  that  you  may  have  a  vocation  worthy  of  your  noble  mind,  and  re- 
ceive a  blessing  in  this  vocation  !  These  sentiments  are  our  thanks  for  all 
your  love  and  kindness,  and  for  the  happy  time  that  we  owe  to  yon. 

Hearty  thanks  for  your  letters,  with  which  your  father-land  will  be  no 
foreign  land  to  us.  To  your  relations  and  friends  I  shall  be  able  to  speak 
of  you  out  of  the  fullness  of  my  heart ;  here  I  can  not,  excepting  with  a 
few  young  friends. ...... 

CCXCVII. 

ROM*.  9th  May,  1823. 

My  revered  friend,  I  shall  try  a  commercial  route  to  announce  to  you 
some  tidings,  which  are  in  every  point  of  view  important  to  you. 

It  seems  an  understood  thing  that  the  King  of  Naples  will  remain  at 
Vienna  during  the  whole  of  this  summer ;  or  rather,  it  is  said  here,  that 
this  is  quite  certain. 

But  what  I  have  to  tell  you  now  will  sound  to  you  quite  incredible ;  and 
yet  on  closer  consideration  you  will  find  it  very  probable. 

It  has  been  represented  to  your  ministry,  and  they  perceive  themselves, 
that  it  might  probably  be  impossible  to  get  possession  of  the  person  of  the 
King  of  Spain  while  hunting,  and  that  yet  the  Junta  could  not  supply  the 
place  of  the  monarch  for  any  length  of  time.  It  has  therefore  been  pro- 
posed to  allow  King  Ferdinand  of  Naples,  as  his  uncle,  to  be  nominated  to 
the  regency,  but  with  ihe  condition  that  he  shall  appoint  a  substitute..  Ha 
will  hardly  choose  the  Duke  of  Angouleme  as  his  delegate.  The  nomina- 
tion is  to  take  place  when  the  Junta  is  installed  at  Madrid ;  and  it  is  pos- 
itively asserted  that  this  city  will  be  occupied  on  the  28th.*  Immediately 
upon  this,  the  Count  Brunetti  will  come  forward  in  his  capacity  of  Aus- 
trian embassador. 

*  The  Duke  of  Angouleme  entered  Madrid  on  the  24th  of  April. 
T* 


442  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

The  objects  of  all  this  are  as  clear  as  day. 

Two  Spanish  privateers  have  appeared  before  Civita  Vecchia.  This  has 
suspended  all  the  shipments  of  corn  to  Marseilles,  which  had  just  begun 
with  fair  prospects. 

I  say  nothing  to  you  about  the  proclamation  of  the  Junta.  You  prob- 
ably know  that  Eguia  is  a  decrepit,  avaricious  general,  without  any  per- 
sonal weight.  Of  the  other  two  I  know  nothing. 

Give  me  to  understand  whether  this  letter  reaches  your  hands  uninjured. 
If  you  are  sure  of  it,  write  to  me  when  you  find  it  necessary  to  be  quite 

secure  of  secresy,  under  cover  of  a  Neapolitan  firm  to  ,  at  Rome,  or 

if  I  have  left  Italy,  in  the  same  way  to  St.  Gall,  addressed  to . 

The  new  Austrian  postal  regulations,  to  which  the  unpardonable  deten- 
tion of  the  correspondence  at  Bologna  has  certainly  afforded  a  justification, 
place  the  whole  correspondence  of  Italy  under  police  surveillance.  As  re- 
gards the  speedy  dispatch  of  letters  to  Germany  this  is  evidently  an  ad- 
vantage ;  but  even  the  letters  to  Parma  must  go  by  way  of  Mantua. 

With  all  my  heart  your  friend. 

CCXCVIII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

ROME,  nth  May,  1823. 

It  goes  to  my  very  heart  to  think  that  this  is  the  last  letter  I  shall  write 
to  you  from  Rome.  We  live  now  like  travelers  in  another  house,  quite  in 
a  different  quarter.  Yesterday  I  went  with  Marcus  to  our  old  home,  which 
the  owner  is  having  altered  and  newly  arranged  for  himself.  It  was  like 
visiting  a  tomb.  During  the  most  gloomy  times  of  our  sojourn  here,  this 
house  has  always  seemed  cheerful  to  me.  The  side  entrance  is  close  to 
the  remains  of  the  semicircle  of  the  theatre,  once  so  magnificent.  The 
house  itself  is  built  upon  the  ruin.  You  ascend  a  high  and  narrow  flight 
of  steps,  enter  a  lofty,  dimly-lighted  ante-chamber,  and  turning  to  the  right, 
find  yourself  in  an  apartment,  from  which  the  different  parts  of  the  dwell- 
ing-house recede  at  right  angles,  inclosing  a  garden  on  the  same  level,  as 
both  the  house  and  the  garden  stand  on  arches  and  fragments  that  formed 
the  first  story  of  the  colossal  ruin.  Here,  all  that  we  saw  of  Rome  was 
the  point  of  a  single  cupola,  and  we  heard  no  sound,  but  the  fall  of  a  fount- 
ain in  the  garden.  The  owner  is  having  every  thing  altered ;  the  whole 
court  was  crowded  with  beasts  of  burden  bringing  building  materials  ;  our 
sitting-room  was  full  of  workmen,  who  were  employed  on  one  side  in  build- 
ing,up  the  windows,  and  on  the  other  in  breaking  through  the  walls,  in 
order  to  change  the  windows  into  glass  doors,  opening  on  the  garden.  The 
marble  steps  beneath  the  windows,  on  which  all  the  children  had  played 
in  their  turns,  were  already  broken  up — fruit-pieces,  painted  in  fresco,  which 
had  been  a  constant  source  of  delight  to  them,  were  knocked  away — where 
they  had  so  often  played  and  wept,  there  was  no  sound  but  the  pick-ax 
of  the  workmen ; — that  garden,  the  centre  of  the  whole  abode,  where  we 
had  so  often  walked  up  and  down,  unless  the  weather  were  extraordinarily 
unfavorable,  was  now  desolate  and  as  still  as  death — most  of  the  rooms 
were  shut  up,  and  of  one  or  two  only  could  we  obtain  a  glimpse  by  peep- 
ing through  shutters  or  keyholes.  The  sight  of  what  we  had  lost  had  made 
our  hearts  heavy  :  this  scene  of  destruction  and  the  death-like  silence  lac- 


LETTEES  FROM  EOME  IN  1823.  443 

erated  them.  Marcus  has  both  tender  and  deep  feelings ;  he  was  affected 
as  I  was.  The  demolition  had  even  extended  to  the  paintings  on  the  ceil- 
ing, in  which  the  stories  of  Paradise  and  the  patriarchal  times  were,  repre- 
sented, though  not  by  a  master's  hand,  still  greatly  to  the  delight  of  the 
children,  whose  eyes  were  constantly  attracted  thither  by  the  beautiful 
effects  of  color.  They  were  already  bespattered  with  whitewash,  and  -  as 
they  had  long  been  partially  injured,  while  the  poverty-stricken  owner  (who 
has  lately  made  a  rich  match)  allowed  his  princely  dwelling  to  fall  to  decay, 
they  were  now  destined  to  destruction.  We  went  round  in  silence,  and  I 
told  my  boy,  that  as  we  wished  to  visit  the  Aventine  once  more,  we  would 
afterward  return  to  gather  a  few  flowers  for  the  last  time  in  our  beloved 
garden.  We  continued  our  walk  in  silence  and  sadness ;  the  boy,  who 
always  tries  to  conceal  sorrow,  complained  that  he  was  tired,  and  that  his 
feet  hurt  him ;  we  sat  down  on  an  old  wall,  and  he  crept  close  to  me. 
Even  running  down  a  path,  along  which  I  had  often  led  him,  hardly  seemed 
to  comfort  him;  he  took  leave  of  the  river,  the  "pons  Sublicius,"  the  island. 
"  Yet  I  am  not  so  sorry  as  you  are,  papa,"  he  said,  "  for  I  shall  see  it  all 
again  when  I  grow  up."  We  went  back  to  the  desolate  house,  and  gath- 
ered flowers  from  the  plants  and  creepers  which  had  belonged  to  us  for  six 
years,  and  among  which  the  children  had  grown  up.  I  reminded  myself 
that  even  if  we  had  not  left  Rome,  we  should  not  have  been  able  to  remain 
more  than  a  few  days  longer  in  this  uncqualed  abode,  and  could  not  have 
saved  it  from  destruction.  Still,  it  was  with  heavy  hearts,  hardly  restrain- 
ing our  tears,  and  but  little  consoled  by  the  parting  greetings  which  my 
boy  gave  to  the  different  buildings  we  passed,  that  we  returned  to  our  pres- 
ent house.  Do  not  let  this  make  you  think  Marcus  too  sensitive,  dearest 
Dora ;  nothing  can  be  farther  from  the  truth.  For  God's  sake,  do  not 
fancy  him  affected,  or  acting  a  part ;  every  thing  comes  from  his  heart. 
But  the  ruins,  and  the  city,  with  its  neighborhood,  form  his  world.  'Do  not 
either  take  me  for  sentimental,  because  it  seemed  to  me  as  though  1  were 
parting  from  a  friend  when  I  stood  before  the  statue  of  Marcus  Aurelius, 
as  the  countenance  was  lit  up  and  animated  by  the  brightest  rays  of  the 
evening  sun.  1  feel  very  depressed.  I  leave  this  place  with  sorrow,  because 
I  know  that  I  leave  many  true  advantages  behind  me  which  can  not  be 
replaced,  and  do  not  know  what  awaits  me  in  my  own  country,  whither  I 

return  as  a  stranger,  and  may  probably  have  a  bitter  life  before  me 

Farewell ;  a  long  and  gloomy  period  to  us  both  lies  behind  me,  and  seems 
now  but  a  short  dark  night..  May  God  bless  you ;  may  Ho  give  Gretchen 
health,  may  He  preserve  and  develop  the  dear  children!  May  He  give 
me  energy  and  wisdom  to  make  use  of  the  evening  of  my  Ufa 

CCXCIX. 
TO   THE   COUNT  DE   SERRE. 

FLORENCE,  ZZd  May,  1823. 

MY  HOST  KXVERBIID  FRIEND — I  shall  put  numbers  to  my  letters  that 
you  may  know  and  inform  me  whether,  and  when  any  of  them  are  sup- 
pressed. I  beg  you  to  do  the  same 

We  have  again  been  delighted  with  the  waterfall  of  Terni,  and  admired 
Assisi  for  the  first  time.  I  think  you  did  not  see  this  town  of  your  great 
saint,  and  the  noble  buildings  called  into  existence  by  the  influence  of  a 
great  and  holy  poor  man  on  an  age  susceptible  to  such  influence.  Pray 


444  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

do  not  choose  any  other  route,  on  your  return,  than  that  which  will  conduct 
you  to  Terni  and  Assisi.  Near  Narni  you  will  see  some  grand  scenery, 
and  if  you  can  spare  half  an  hour,  visit  the  Bridge  of  Augustus,  one  of  the 
greatest  Roman  works  ;  in  Umbria,  you  will  be  delighted  with  the  excel- 
lence of  the  husbandry.  At  Arezzo,  I  recommend  the  Cathedral  to  your 
attention,  for  the  sake  of  its  extraordinarily  beautiful  painted  glass. 
When  you  come  to  the  Lake  of  Thrasimenus,  picture  to  yourself  (what 
no  historian  mentions  in  this  way,  but  is,  notwithstanding,  certainly  true) 
that  Hannibal,  when  the  Ptomans  were  awaiting  him  near  Rimini,  on 
the  only  high  road  then  opened — that  which  passed  through  Rimini  and 
Foligno — forced  his  way  from  Lucca  into  Etruria,  through  the  lower  val- 
ley of  the  Arno,  then  a  morass  ;  and,  while  the  Roman  army  hastened  in 
terror  through  the  most  difficult  passes  of  the  Apennines  toward  Arezzo, 
in  order  to  gain  the  high  road  to  Rome,  he  turned  to  the  right,  and,  pass- 
ing by  Cortona,  inarched  on  Chiusi  along  the  western  bank  of  the  lake;  the 
Romans  then  advanced  along  the  high  road  by  forced  marches  toward 
Perugia;  but  Hannibal  faced  round,  aud  took  the  defile  of  Passignano, 
just  as  Davoust  placed  himself  in  our  rear  at  Kosen,  on  the  unhappy  14th 
of  October.  Hannibal,  however,  extended  his  right  wing  so  far  along  the 
heights,  that  he  engaged  the  heads  of  the  Roman  columns  in  the  defile,  at 
the  same  time  that  he  pushed  back  their  whole  line  toward  the  lake. 

I  do  not  know  whether  the  unfortunate  General  Vaudoncourt — in  whom 
I  fancy  your  country  has  had  no  slight  loss — has  taken  this  view;  no  pre- 
vious writer  has ;  and  that  is  why  I  write  this  to  you  against  your  journey 
home.  Vaudoncourt's  work,  though  printed  at  Milan,  was  not  to  be  got 
at  Rome  !  I  expect  that  one  of  Bonaparte's  generals  will  have  perceived, 
-what  the  scholars  have  not  dreamt  of,  that  Hannibal's  course  before  the 
battle  of  Trevia,  was  exactly  that  of  Bonaparte  before  Marengo;  namely, 
that  he  crossed  the  Po  below  Piacenza,  and  cut  the  Roman  army  off  from 
the  road  to  Rome ;  the  Po  and  the  fortresses  were  behind  him ;  therefore, 
utter  destruction  was  his  doom  if  he  were  beaten ;  but  ho  knew  that  he 
should  be  victorious. 

Here  in  Tuscany,  the  traveler  is  gladdened  by  the  general  aspect  of  pros- 
perity and  cheerfulness;  the  people  appear  to  be  in  exactly  the  condition 
most  agreeable  to  their  true  mode  of  life  and  natural  feelings.  Their 
moral  superiority  to  the  Romans  strikes  you  immediately,  still  more  so 
their  piety,  from  its  contrast  to  the  total  absence  of  it  in  Ptome.  You 
must  not  take  it  ill  of  us  Protestants,  if,  after  seven  years'  residence  in 
Rome  (though  the  people  there  often  go  to  church  every  day),  we  regard 
this  virtue  as  quite  extinct  among  the  Italians,  because  it  is  absolutely  so 
in  the  Papal  city.  We  were  much  edified  here  on  Whit  Tuesday  by  the  real 
devotion  of  an  immense  multitude.  It  is,  I  think,  easy  to  explain  why  it 
should  be  precisely  at  Rome  that  religious  observances  are  now  simply  a 
wearisome  task-work. 

To  him,  however,  who  knows  the  history  of  Florence,  it  is  painful  to 
feel  how  insignificant  are  the  descendants  of  great  forefathers,  and  how, 
even  the  monuments  themselves  would  decay  and  be  utterly  demolished, 
if  most  of  them  were  not  built  as  if  for  eternity.  Since  we  were  here 
seven  yoars  ago,  the  fafades  of  several  old  palaces  have  been  polished  up 
with  the  chisel  and  whitewashed  !  The  hotel  at  which  we  are  staying, 
and  which  I  highly  recommend  to  you  (Madame  Hubert,  in  the  Borgo 


LETTERS  FROM  ROME  IN  1823.  445 

Santi  Apostoli),  was  the  palace  of  the  family  AcciaiuoH,  whose  lion,  carved 
in  stone,  is  still  to  be  seen  over  the  doors :  this  family,  now  almost  extinct, 
numbered,  from  the  thirteenth  century  onwards,  great  men  of  every  kind 
among  its  members.  They  are  every  where  destroying  the  old  decorations 
of  the  houses,  removing  the  pictures,  and,  instead  of  leaving  the  walls 
covered  with  paintings,  among  which  there  are  always  some  master-pieces, 
having  them  daubed  over  with  common  landscapes  by  decoration  painters. 
One  family,  Orlandini,  did  so  with  their  -villa  quite*  lately,  and  gave  the 
decorators  paintings  by  way  of  payment,  among  which,  there  was  a  por- 
trait from  RaphatVt  hand,  which  some  favorite  of  fortune  bought  of  the 
equally  ignorant  house-painter  for  300  scudi.  This  is  the  talk  among  the 
amateurs.  An  intelligent  German,  who  has  lived  here  for  a  considerable 
time,  says,  that  since  he  has  been  here,  thirteen  whole  galleries  have  been 
sold,  without  including  the  small  collections 

Literature  and  science  seem  to  have  reached  their  lowest  ebb.  During 
the  seventeenth  century,  the  Florentines  still  lived  in  the  evening  twilight 
of  their  brilliant  day ;  they  were  still  full  of  real  love  for  the  old  time,  the 
material  creations  of  which,  as  well  as  all  civil  forms  which  did  not  affect 
the  sovereignty,  yet  existed,  and  made  that  time  quite  present  to  them ; 
they  regarded  themselves  as  citizens  of  the  first  city  of  Europe.  During 
the  former  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  country  sank  into  poverty, 
and  the  inhabitants  lost  their  acuteness  and  activity  of  mind ;  then  fol- 
lowed a  wise  government,  which  restored  prosperity  to  the  country,  but 
abrogated  all  the  long-descended  forms  as  trammels,  and  did  not,  like  the 
Medicean,  link  itself  on  to  the  old  times.  The  city  began  to  understand 
that  it  was  only  a  small  part  of  Europe ;  a  literary  sect  strove  against  the 
evidence  of  this,  and,  without  a  spark  of  the  intellect  of  the  old  Florentines, 
wanted  to  retain  the  position  of  their  heirs,  and  rejected  every  thing  that 
had  not  passed  away ;  they  could  see  no  value  in  any  thing  unless  it  had 
ceased  to  exist.  It  seems  to  me,  that  there  are  ultras  in  every  branch  of 
human  affairs,  and  in  every  age,  when  a  discord  arises  between  the  old 
and  the  new.  Another  party,  to  which  all  men  of  the  world  attached 
themselves,  seized  on  the  ridiculous  side  of  the  former,  became  cosmopoli- 
tan, and  found  a  source  of  satisfaction  in  the  common  welfare  of  Europe, 
while  evading  the  obligation  of  accomplishing  any  thing  themselves.  Thus 
every  thing  has  gone  to  decay. 

The  aforesaid  literary  aristocracy  has  at  last  become  quite  democratic, 
and  is  just  now  engaged  in  collecting  from  the  mouth  of  the  porters  and 
maid-servants,  as  the  possessors  of  the  treasures  of  the  old  language,  the 
idioms  which  they  desire  to  impose  upon  the  writers  of  Italy.  Does  not 
this  union  between  that  aristocracy  which  only  consists  in  pretensions,  and 
the  proletarians  from  whom  alone  it  has  nothing  to  fear,  exist  also  in 
political  history  ?  I  have  found  it  in  that  of  Rome. 

During  the  few^lays  that  we  -were  in  Rome  it  was  impossible  to  read 
through  the  documents  laid  before  Parliament.  Very  likely  they  wUl  have 
ceased  to  be  topics  of  conversation  by  the  time  that  I  shall  have  leisure  to 
read  them  in  any  place  where  they  can  be  procured,  and  my  hasty  survey 
of  the  debates  was  enough  to  make  me  think,  like  you,  that  Canning  is 
playing  a  miserable  part ;  the  assumptions,  on  the  strength  of  which  he 
went  to  such  rash  lengths  in  his  expressions  at  the  opening  of  Parliament, 
have  not  been  confirmed,  and  therefore,  his  system  has  been  altered.  I  am 


446  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

further  certain,  that  even  the  English  Cabinet  would  have  seen  no  occur- 
rence so  unwillingly  as  the  introduction  of  guarantees  by  France;  from 
this  fear  they  are,  I  should  think,  quite  delivered.  The  declaration  of  the 
Junta  might,  however,  have  very  hazardous  consequences,  or  on  the  other 
hand,  very  favorable  ones,  if  they  adroitly  agreed  to  recognize  the  interest  due 
on  the  English  demands,  which  they  must  do  some  time,  and  made  it  pay  able. 

The  course  of  the  military  movements  in  Spain,  so  far,  is  exactly  what 
might  be  expected  in  such  a  state  of  decay  and  moral  degradation.  I 
know,  indeed,  nothing  since  the  head-quarters  were  fixed  in  Burgos.  The 
mention  of  fevers  gave  me  anxiety,  and  I  feel  grieved  that  up  to  this  time, 
as  far  as  we  can  see,  none  but  the  clergy  and  the  proletarians  have  come 
forward'  actively  in  favor  of  the  counter-revolution ;  there  is  no  mention  of 
the  higher  classes  of  the  laity.  Thus  appearances  seem  to  point  toward  a 
repetition  of  the  system  which  was  so  unfortunately  adopted  at  Naples  after 
1799.  After  all,  such  a  decay  as  that  by  which  Spain  falls  to  pieces  at  the 
first  blow,  is  a  terrible  sight !  So  rotten  has  Europe  become  through  rev- 
olution !  The  aspect  of  this  is  so  threatening  for  us  all,  that  one  can  not 
really  abandon  one's  self  to  exultation  at  the  exposure  of  the  vaunts  of  the 
Liberals.  The  disease  must  constantly  gain  ground. 

I  can  well  conceive  that  the  population  of  France  must  be  increasing  at 
an  enormous  rate,  as  ours  with  12,000,000  under  so  much  less  favorable 
circumstances,  is  increasing  at  the  rate  of  more  than  150,000  a  year.  We 
are  all  weighed  down  by  the  impossibility  of  emigration  on  a  large  scale. 
However,  we  shall  infallibly  be  one  day  visited  by  fearful  pestilences,  which 
will  again  produce  a  receding  tide  in  the  number  of  human  beings,  as  in  the 
fourteenth  century ;  when,  at  all  events,  the  greater  part  of  Italy  and  Ger- 
many wfere  much  more  thickly  peopled  than  they  are  even  now 

ccc. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

ST.  GALL,  16th.  June,  1823. 

We  have  found  the  Tyrolese  as  warm-hearted  and  lovable  as  on 

our  journey  hither ;  I  think  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  true,  noble  part 
of  the  German  character  has  nowhere  been  so  distinctly  preserved  as  among 
this  simple  primitive  people.  We  found  now,  as  before,  the  most  sincere 
desire  to  oblige.  At  Innspruck,  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  merchant, 
who  was  a  member  of  the  municipal  administration,  and  was  in  all  respects 
what  one  could  wish  a  citizen  to  be.  These  people  scarcely  read  even  the 
meagre  journal  that  appears  in  their  country ;  they  think  of  nothing  but 
their  immediate  calling  and  their  duties ;  and  the  few  who  have  heard  a 
vague  rumor  that  there  is  such  thing  as  liberalism  in  the  world,  are  quite 
anti-liberal.  As  regards  their  own  condition,  they  would  strongly  wish  that 
most  things  should  remain  in  the  old  track ;  but  they  resign  themselves 
quietly  and  cheerfully  to  what  can  not  be  helped,  and  alleviate  the  pressure 
of  the  times  by  frugality  and  contentedness.  The  communes  are  now 
obliged  to  redeem  the  heavy  communal  debts  by  very  high  rates ;  they  set 
themselves  manfully  to  the  work,  and  rejoice  that  they  can  look  forward  to 
an  end  of  it.  The  peculiar  Tyrolese  character,  cast  of  features,  and  cos- 
tume,, do  not  extend  quite  to  the  Arlberg.  Before  you  reach  the  latter,  you 
meet  with  that  curious  mode  of  building  houses  entirely  of  wood,  which  is 


EETURN  TO  GERMANY.  447 

common  in  Switzerland.  The  language,  too,  gradually  changes  into  the 
Swabian  Swiss.  The  race  is  quite  different  from  the  Tyrolese,  namely, 
Swabian ;  while  the  latter  are  Bavarians.  The  Tyrolese  have  no  gardens 
and  no  bee-hives,  while  both  are  common  in  the  Vorarlberg  and  among  the 

Swabian  Swiss 

The  little  town  of  Rheinek  is  old-fashioned  and  extremely  cheerful-look- 
ing ;  else  the  general  aspect  of  Switzerland  betrays  a  surprising  amount  of 
poverty,  even  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  beautiful  districts  I  have  de- 
scribed,* and  their  dwellings,  quite  unlike  the  villages  in  the  Vorarlberg, 
which,  nevertheless,  unquestionably  pay  much  higher  taxes.  But  Switzer- 
land is  overpeopled  beyond  endurance,  and  this  evil  is  constantly  increasing ; 
a  man,  whose  word  may  be  trusted,  says,  that  in  the  Canton  of  Appenzell, 
out  of  five  families,  scarcely  one  has  a  house  of  its  own  and  a  plot  of  ground. 
The  appearance  of  the  children  is  by  no  means  so  blooming  as  in  the 
Vorarlberg  and  the  Tyrol ;  neither  do  the  grown  people  look  so  robust  or  so 
cheerful.  While,  in  the  Tyrol,  a  stranger  is  not  charged  more  than  a  native, 
and  the  traveling  journeyman,  for  instance,  will  not  ask  you  for  any  thing, 
or  if  they  do,  it  is  incredibly  little,  and  demanded  with  embarrassment,  it 
is  notorious  how  the  Swiss  cheat  travelers,  and  try  to  suck  the  very  blood 
out  of  them.  The  Tyrolese  seem  stanch  Catholics ;  but  their  superabund- 
ant belief  is  only  a  light  outer  garment,  which  does  not  conceal  the  essence 
of  true  piety.  It  is  no  obtusely  superstitious  people  that  affix  such  proverbs 
to  their  houses  as  the  following,  which  I  have  recollected : 

"We  build  us  houses  large  and  strong, 
Where  we're  but  .guests,  nor  tarry  long, 
Careless  a  mansion  to  secure, 
Which  might  for  evermore  endure." 

"This  house  is  mine,  and  yet  not  mine, 
If  tliou  com'st  next  it  is  not  thine, 
And  if  a  third  should  take  our  place, 
He'll  still  be  in  the  self-same  case, 
The  fourth  too,  men  will  bear  away 
Whose  is  the  house  then,  can  you  say?" 

"He  who  will  bnild  beside  the  way, 
Must  little  care  what  people  say; 
But  if  he  show  his  skill  and  art, 
His  work  itself  will  take  his  part."t 

*  A  thick  forest  of  fruit  trees,  among  which  the  houses  were  scattered  sepa- 
rately at  some  distance  from  the  road, 
t  In  the  original : 

"Wir  banen  Hnuser  gross  und  fest, 

Darin  wir  nnr  seyn  frcrade  Gast: 

Und  da  wir  sollen  ewip  seyn 

Da  banen  wir  gar  weuig  ein." 
"Das  Hans  ist  mein,  und  doch  niclit  meiii. 

D^r  nach  mir  kommt,  ist  auch  nicht  sein ; 

Und  wird's  dem  Dritten  ubergeben, 

So  wird's  ihm  eben  so  ergehen. 

Den  Vierten  tragt  man  anch  hinans ; 

Ei,  sagt  mir  doch !  wess  ist  das  Haus  T" 
"  Wer  da  banet  an  der  Gasscn, 

Der  muss  die  Leute  reden  lassen. 

Doch  hat  er  seine  Knnst  erprobt,  .  t 

Alsdann  das  Werk  den  Meister  lobt." 


448  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

CCCI. 

TO  COUNT  DE  SERRE. 

ST.  GALL,  30th  June,  1823. 

Your  consolatory  letter,  my  revered  arid  beloved  friend,  reached  us  a  few 
hours  after  I  had  taken  mine  to  the  post.  We  have  thanked  God  from  our 
hearts  that  he  has  averted  the  peril  that  threatened  you  so  fearfully.  May 
He  secure  to  you  the  possession  of  the  sweet  child  by  bracing  her  feeble 
powers,  and  grant  you  and  yours  the  joy  of  living  blessings  ! 

I  thank  you  heartily  for  having  calmed  our  anxieties  ;  still  worse,  and 
apparently  later  tidings,  than  those  contained  in  your  first  letter,  had 
reached  us  from  Rome,  so  that  we  had  scarcely  any  hope  left.  Besides, 
for  a  long  time  past,  I  have  ceased  to  possess  the  faculty  of  hope,  strictly 
speaking.  I  thank  you  with  equal  warmth  for  all  the  rest  of  your  letter. 

We  are  not  able  as  yet  to  say  positively  how  long  we  shall  remain  here; 
I  can  not  exactly  calculate  how  long  it  will  take  me  to  get  through  the 
work  that  the  library  presents.  The  interesting  discoveries  I  have  made 
here,  are  fragments  of  a  panegyric  in  prose,  and  another  in  verse,  on  the 
great  jEtius,  who  defeated  Attila  at  Chalons.  Scarcely  any  contemporary 
writings  have  been  preserved  from  this  period,  which  immediately  preceded 
the  fall  of  the  Western  Empire,  and  our  knowledge  of  it  is  extremely 
scanty  ;  on  this  account,  these  relics  possess  great  interest,  and  also  be- 
cause they  bring  to  light  many  facts  that  were  previously  quite  unknown. 
They  have  also  a,  still  stronger  interest  for  me,  because  they  establish  a 
circumstance  of  which  I  had  long  been  certain,  and  had  said  so,  but  found 
few  disposed  to  believe  me ;  namely,  that  in  this  horrible  fifth  century 
there  was  much  intellect,  much  more  than  in  the  preceding  one.  During 
the  long  cheerless  apathy  of  the  Roman  Empire,  all  intellect  had  died  out ; 
people  did  not  trouble  themselves  about  the  border  war  that  was  attended 
with  no  danger,  and  were  only  occupied  with  the  lowest  sensual  enjoy- 
ments. The  irruption  of  the  Barbarians  placed  the  existence  of  each  in- 
dividual at  stake  ;  through  sheer  self-love  men  learned  that  they  had  a 
father-land.  Isolated  great  men  appeared,  and  awakened  genuine  admira- 
tion ;  these  panegyrics,  in  prose  and  verse,  have  been  inspired  by  such 
sentiments.  Religion  filled  men's  hearts  and  thoughts  ;  and  the  death- 
struggle  of  the  old  religion  (of  which  my  fragments  contain  an  unexpected 
example),  at  least  fired  the  imagination.  Another  interesting  discovery, 
of  quite  a  different  kind,  in  some  leaves,  written  at  the  latest  in  the  sixth 
century,  belonging  to  a  liturgy  much  earlier  than  any  of  those  extant ; 
morning  devotions  of  a  very  ancient  date,  that  seem  to  belong  to  the 
Stationes,  referred  to  at  the  beginning  of  the  third  century — extremely 
simple  and  venerable  prayers.  I  am  copying  them  for  a  good  and  learned 
monk,  as  a  token  of  gratitude  for  his  friendship  ;  he  can  not  read  the  de- 
faced writing,  but  he  will  be  able  to  edit  them  with  much  more  knowledge 
of  the  subject  than  I.  Besides  these,  I  have  a  Latin  Grammarian  to  copy  ont, 
who  adds  several  words,  not  occurring  elsewhere,  to  our  stock  of  pure 
Latinity.  This  is  a  tedious  job,  and  1  wish  some  one  else  were  here  to  do 
it ;  however,  there  is  no  one  else  here. 

From  hence  We  go  to  Zurich,  where  I  also  intend  to  look  at  the  MSS., 
and  shall  perhaps  find  something.  I  wonder  if  our  stay  there  will  be  more 
agreeable  than  here  ?  I  do  not  believe  it  will,  except  that  the  Lake  of 


RETURN  TO  GERMANY.  449 

Zurich  affords  a  very  different  prospect  from  the  uninteresting  valley  in 
which  this  town  is  situated,  and  the  view  we  have  from  the  heights  here, 
where  the  shapeless  outlines  of  the  nearer  and  remoter  mountains  appear 
to  form  but  one  range.  The  cheerless  part  of  the  business  lies  in  the  dis- 
positions of  the  people.  The  Revolution  has  dispelled  all  illusions;  it  was 
the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  that  brought  death  in  the  day  hi  which 
it  was  eaten. 

For  here  every  thing  dates  from  1803  and  1814.  Men  between  thirty 
and  forty  years  of  age,  who  belong  to  the  government,  have  not  an  idea 
what  the  constitution  was  before  1798.  The  dissatisfaction  and  discom- 
fort which  are  every  where  blighting  all  happiness,  exist"  here,  quite  as 
much  as  in  those  monarchies  which  are  the  farthest  removed  from  fancied 
perfection — but  no  one  seems  to  ask  the  reason  of  it.  Is  it  not  clear,  how- 
ever, that  any  constitution  must  produce  miserable  results,  which  calls  far 
too  great  a  number  from  the  midst  of  absolute  mediocrity,  to  power  and  a 
conspicuous  station  ?  In  this  new  canton,  numbering  about  130,000  souls, 
among  whom  the  inhabitants  of  the  little  capital  (amounting  to  8000) 
hold  the  name  relation  as  those  of  any  metropolis  to  the  provincials,  nine 
individuals  are  to  be  found  for  the  Little  Council  and  the  government; 
then,  further,  the  judges  of  a  Court  of  Appeal,  150  deputies  for  the  Legisla- 
tive Council,  a  dozen  tinder-prefects,  more  than  forty  mayors,  a  dozen 
courts  of  justice,  besides  municipalities,  &c.  Civil  and  criminal  codes  are 
formed,  laws  compiled,  innumerable  resolutions  and  enactments  passed. 
Such  a  system  can  inspire  no  respect. 

The  ferment  in  Ireland  is,  perhaps,  the  most  unmistakable  symp- 
tom of  the  sickness  that  has  spread  through  the  whole  body  of  tociety  in 
Europe,  from  which  the  spirit  of  civil  union  has  more  or  less  taken  its 
departure.  Sooner  or  later  the  constitution  will  have  to  be  annulled  in 
Ireland. 

The  revolution  in  Chill  is  very  unfortunate.  The  wisdom  of  the  dictator, 
O'Higgins,  was  incontestably  proved  by  the  instructions  he  gave  to  the  en- 
voy whom  he  dispatched  to  Rome.  I  should  rather  look  upon  the  recovery 
of  Spanish  America  as  easy  than  impossible,  if  your  government  can 
venture  to  afford  assistance  to  Spain.  But  that  would,  perhaps,  be  too 
dangerous  a  step. 

cccn. 

FRANKFORT,  \Ttk  Angutt,  1823. 

I  thank  you  with  my  whole  heart  for  your  faithful  and  wise 

counsel  about  our  future  :  but  you  are  quite  wrong  in  apologizing  for  it. 
I  will  write  yon  a  full  answer  as  soon  as  we  have  found  a  place  where  I 
can  have  a  room  besides  the  nursery  to  write  in.  We  hope  for  this  at  Bonn, 
where  we  shal.  arriv^in  four  or  five  days  from  now. 

Up  to  this  time,  Heidelberg  is  the  only  place  where  I  have  enjoyed  my- 
self since  we  left  the  Tyrol.  -  No  doubt  you  know  the  town  ;  it  is  impos- 
sible for  an  inland  place  to  be  more  finely  situated.  I  could  not  tear  my- 
self away  from  it,  and  remained  there  day  after  day.  I  saw  again  there  a 
friend  of  my  youth.  I  had  looked  forward  with  some  dread  to  the  meet- 
ing, because  he  has  been  involved  in  an  acrimonious  literary  contest  with 
Savigny,  who  is  my  nearest  and  dearest  friend  ;  and  also  because  thirty 
years  ago  he  was  a  fanatical  admirer  of  the  Revolution.  I  found  that  bin 


450  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

misunderstanding  with  Savigny  had  terminated  reasonably,  and  that  his 
views  of  the  world  were  as  sensible  as  possible  :  such  conversions  are,  how- 
ever, rare  among  us.  But  there  is  a  feud  between  him  and  an  aged  man, 
of  great  celebrity  in  our  literature,  Voss,  the  translator  of  Homer,  with 
whom  I  have  remained  on  terms  of  friendship  from  my  childhood  up,  in 
spite  of  a  thousand  circumstances  calculated  to  disturb  it,  and  upon  whom 
I  can  not  turn  my  back,  now  that  he  is  in  his  seventy-second  year;  and  it 
is  impossible  to  remain  neutral  between  them,  else  we  should  probably 
have  decided  on  stopping  at  Heidelberg. 

My  noble  friend,  since  you  take  so  much  interest  in  the  account  of  my 
journey,  I  have  still  much  to  tell  you  ;  and  this  shall  be  my  first  employ- 
ment at  Bonn,  as  afterward  you  will  be  my  Muse  of  history.  I  have  seen 
and  experienced  some  remarkable  things,  of  which  I  will  certainly  send 
you  an  account  by  post. 

Please  God,  the  Spanish  war  is  approaching  its  termination ;  and  yet  I 
see  no  other. end  for  it  than  absolute  despotism,  on  the  whole,  with  exten- 
sive provincial  privileges.  I  rejoice  in  your  successes ;  this  is  clear,  that 
success  has  been  never  less  abused  than  by  your  noble  prince  and  your 
army.  But  shall  I  not  also  tell  you  that  now,  since  we  have  become  so 
closely  bound  together,  I  sympathize  in  all  that  relates  to  your  father-land, 
as  if  it  concerned  myself,  while  I  had  already  regarded  it  with  very  differ- 
ent feelings  from  my  former  ones,  ever  since  you  had  appeared  as  a  pure 
light  in  the  firmament  of  your  political  world ;  that  is,  ever  since  the  ad- 
vent of  freedom  in  connection  with  royalty,  and  your  own  appearance  on 
the  political  stage  ? 

We  are  on  our  way  now  to  visit  Savigny,  while  he  is  at  a  watering- 
place,  I  wish,  both  for  his  sake  and  yours,  that  you  knew  each  other. 
My  wife  unites  with  me  in  best  greetings  to  yourself,  your  wife,  and  the 
dear  children ;  Marcus  keeps  both  parents  and  children  in  his  faithful 
heart.  It  is  a  pity  that  the  interruptions  of  the  journey  encourage  his  in- 
dolence  

CCCIII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

FRANKFORT,  iBth  August,  1823. 

The  stream*  was  full  and  the  spectacle  grand;   still   the  rocks 

between  which  it  forces  its  way,  have  an  uncouth  shape,  and  one  should 
visit  the  place  before  one  goes  to  Italy,  not  after  one  has  seen  the  purely 
beautiful  forms  of  the  Velino  and  the  Arno  at  Tivoli.  The  Swiss  mount- 
ains in  general  have  a  painfully  rude  and  mis-shapen  aspect,  from  their 
jagged,  quite  inharmonic  forms  ;  the  Tyrolese  mountains  are  much  more 
beautiful,  and  so  are  the  mountains  near  Heidelberg,  which  are  really  not 
inferior  to  the  graceful  outlines  of  the  most  beautiful  Italian  mountains ; 
they  only  want  the  coloring  and  the  sky. 

The  promised  beauties  of  the  valley  of  the  Neckar  did  not  show  them- 
selves till  about  a  [German]  mile  before  Heidelberg,  when  indeed  they  far 
exceeded  my  expectation,  and  would  have  exceeded  it.  even  if  every  thing 
Bince  we  left  the  Tyrol  had  not  been  so  far  below  rny  conceptions.  The 
scene  was  so  lovely  that  I  left  the  carriage,  with  Marcus,  and  went  on  foot 
to  the  town.  It  was  evening,  and  we  did  not  visit  our  acquaintance  till 
*  The  falls  of  the  Rhine  at  Schaff  hausen. 


RETURN  TO  GERMANY.  451 

the  next  morning ;  Thibaut  was  gone  into  the  country,  his  wife  at  church. 
We  set  off,  not  without  some  uneasiness,  on  the  long  walk  to  Voss's  Gar- 
den. His  reception  was  not  cordial,  and  not  unfriendly  in  its  shy  way ; 
painful  subjects  were  not  touched  upon,  and  I  could  soon  see  my  way  so 
as  to  avoid  them.  On  subsequent  occasions  Voss  often  alluded  to  his  posi- 
tion toward  Thibaut,  but  never  so  directly  as  to  make  it  unavoidable  for 
me  to  understand  him,  and  reply  to  him.  Not  till  the  fourth  day  did  he 
speak  of  his  attack  upon  Stolberg,  when  he  brought  me  his  last  publica- 
tion,* not  his  first.  I  warded  off  all  explanation,  and  it  went  no  further. 
To  my  great  astonishment  he  judges  very  correctly  with  respect  to  the  rest 
of  the  Wessenbergians.f  He  is  not  disinclined  to  believe  that  the  youth 
are  led  astray  by  their  instructors,  because  philology  has  been  very  badly 
treated  by  the  Liberals.  Any  one  who  has  watched  the  course  of  history, 
as  I  have  done,  during  the  last  seven  years,  in  Western  and  Southern  Eu- 
rope, must  be  roused  to  indignation  by  the  lies  of  the  Neckar  Journal,  which 
guides  public  opinion  here.  But  the  most  exasperating  thing  is  the  Na- 
poleonism  of  South  Germany. 

Voss  did  not  look  in  the  least  aged  since  1803  ;  he  is  perfectly  unchanged 
in  body  and  mind ;  his  wife  is  weak  and  infirm.  Fearing  that  we  might 
probably  find  it  difficult  to  get  on  with  him,  we  only  expressed  the  inten- 
tion of  remaining  a  single  day.  But  as  every  thing  seemed  likely  to  go 
on  more  smoothly  than  we  could  have  expected,  and  the  neighborhood  was 
more  beautiful  than  we  could  hope  to  see  it  again,  we  lingered  day  after 
day,  and  did  not  leave  till  Friday,  instead  of  Monday.  We  divided  all  this 
time  between  the  Vosses  and  the  Thibauts.  I  have  found  Thibaut  very 
unprejudiced,  and  very  sound  in  his  views  upon  all  general  subjects  ; 
friendly,  and  open.  His  children  are  admirably  brought  up,  and  the  eld- 
est boy  has  a  singularly  noble  and  amiable  disposition.  Our  children  were 
as  if  in  heaven  in  his  exquisitely  beautiful  garden,  and  their  loveliness  won 
all  hearts ;  Marcus  was  quite  admired  for  his  ability  and  acuteness.  One 
evening  the  children  were  there  alone,  and  Marcus  delighted  every  body  by 
the  sharpness  of  his  answers,  combined  with  his  perfectly  childlike  man- 
ners. 

I  have  made  the  acquaintance  of  one  truly  excellent  man  there,  the  his- 
torian Schlosser  (from  Jever).  This  I  see,  that  my  History  has  now  ac- 
quired an  authority  which  no  attacks  can  shake.  I  staid  a  day  at  Darm- 
stadt, and  looked  through  the  MSS.,  which  contain  nothing  of  consequence. 
We  are  staying  a  day  and  a  half  here  in  Frankfort,  to  have  the  opportu- 
nity of  writing  some  letters  in  a  hotel  where  we  are  not  packed  quite  so 
closely  together.  I  have  only  one  old  acquaihtance  here,  for  whom  a  few 
hours  will  suffice ;  in  those,  however,  I  shall  gain  much  information  from 
him.  The  embassadors  I  mean  to  ignore 

*  "  Wie  F.  L.  Stolberg  unfrei  geworden  ist." 

t  Westenberg  was  a  liberal  Catholic  ecclesiastic,  who  wuhed  for  a  reform  in 
the  Catholic  Church,  and  had  many  followers  in  Germany.  Niebuhr  believed 
him  to  be  a  well-intentioned,  but  superficial  man,  quite  uulit  to  play  the  part  of 
a  reformer. 


CHAPTER   XL 

NIEBUHR'S   RESIDENCE   IN   BONN,  FROM  AUGUST,  1823, 
TO  JANUARY,  1831. 

1823,  1824. 

NIEBUHR  had  scarcely  arrived  in  Bonn  when  Steinacker's  at- 
tack on  him  in  his  edition  of  Cicero  "De  Republica,"  fell  into  his 
hands,  which  wounded  him  more  deeply  than  it  prohably  would 
have  done  at  another  time,  because  it  embittered  his  return  to  his 
own  country.  It  gave  rise  to  two  pamphlets  in  his  own  defense 
on  Niebuhr's  part.  For  himself,  the  controversy  had,  however,  one 
favorable  result ;  for  while  engaged  in  investigating  the  points  in 
dispute,  he  suddenly  perceived  the  solution  of  a  difficulty  which 
had  been  the  chief  cause  of  his  delay  in  continuing  the  History  of 
Rome.  This  discovery  decided  him  to  resume  the  work,  which 
had  been  so  long  laid  aside,  and  he  received  it  as  a  happy  omen 
that  the  day  on  which  he  formed  this  resolution  was  the  an- 
niversary of  his  betrothal  with  his  first  wife,  to  whom  he 
had  promised  on  her  death-bed  that  he  would  finish  his  great 
work. 

In  September,  1823,  he  paid  a  visit  to  M.  Von  Stein  at  Nas- 
sau, but  postponed  his  intended  journey  to  Berlin  on  account  of 
the  absence  of  the  Crown  Prince.  On  his  return,  he  set  to  work 
on  his  Roman  History,  at  which  he  labored  with  such  assiduity, 
that  he  completed  the  half  of  the  third  volume  in  the  course  of 
the  winter,  except  its  final  revision.  Indisposition  afterward  in- 
terrupted his  studies.  He  then  began  to  revise  the  two  former 
volumes  for  a  second  edition  (the  first  being  out  of  print),  in 
which  he  wished  to  embody  the  results  of  his  maturer  researches. 
He  would  have  preferred  to  finish  the  sketch  of  the  third  volume 
at  once,  but  the  alterations  necessary  in  the  two  earlier  volumes 
occupied  him  so  deeply  that  they  withdrew  his  thoughts  from  the 
later  portion. 

His  studies  were  again  interrupted  in  the  spring  by  his  wife's 
confinement  with  a  second  son,  and  afterward  by  his  journey  to 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  453 

Berlin,  before  which,  however,  he  found  time  to  prepare  a  new 
edition  of  Merobaudes  for  publication. 

In  May,  1824,  -he  went  to  Berlin,  visiting  M.  Von  Stein  on  his 
way.  There  he  presented  himself  to  the  King,  saw  the  Crown 
Prince,  with  whom  he  renewed  his  former  friendship,  and  greatly 
enjoyed  the  meeting  with  his  friends.  But  his  happiness  was  soon 
disturbed  by  tidings  from  home  :  all  his  four  younger  children 
were  taken  ill  in  succession,  and  the  infant  died  on  the  4th  of  June, 
after  severe  suffering.  Niebuhr,  however,  experienced  at  this 
time  a  circumstance  which  often  occurs  in  human  life— that  a 
greater  calamity  helps  to  lift  us  above  smaller  evils,  and  quickens 
our  sense  of  the  blessings  still  left  to  us.  The  death  of  the  child 
raised  him  above  other  crosses  and  cares,  and  turned  his  thoughts 
to  that  which  he  still  possessed,  but  might  also  lose.  The  recol- 
lection of  the  advantages  he  had  enjoyed  in  Rome,  and  the 
uncertainty  which  hung  over  his  future  prospects,  had  hitherto 
frequently  exercised  a  very  depressing  influence  on  him.  He  now 
resolved  to  request  a  definite  release  from  his  duties  as  embassa- 
dor,  and,  after  repeated  applications,  at  length  obtained  it,  with  a 
provisional  salary  equal  in  amount  to  what  he  had  received  before 
he  left  Berlin.  He  thus  at  last  obtained  leisure  to  devote  himself 
to  the  studies  which  he  had  always  regarded  as  his  true  vocation. 
He  had  now  decided  to  settle  in  Bonn,  but  the  course  of  his  em- 
ployments was  interrupted  by  a  summons  to  Berlin,  to  attend  the 
sittings  of  the  Council  of  State  during  the  ensuing  winter.  He 
therefore  returned  to  Berlin  toward  the  end  of  November,  and 
spent  the  winter  principally  in  working  with  two  Commissions, 
appointed  by  the  Council  of  State  to  deliberate  on  the  erection  of 
a  National  Bank,  and  the  tenure  of  land  among  the  Westphalian 
peasantry. 

The  death  of  De  Serre,  in  the  autumn  of  1824,  affected  him 
deeply.  Madame  de  Serre  wished  that  he  should  write  her  hus- 
band's life,  and  invited  him  to  come  to  Paris  in  order  to  examine 
the  documents  whi^i  she  could  not  send  him.  It  was  Niebuhr's 
full  intention  to  raise  this  monument  to  the  memory  of  his  friend, 
but  various  circumstances  hindered  his  visit  to  France,  and  at 
length  his  own  sudden  death  frustrated  the  design. 


454  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

Letters  from  September,  1823,  to  May,  1825. 
CCCIV. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

BONN,  10th  September,  1823. 

I  get  constantly  more  and  more  ill  at  ease  the  longer  this  existence 
without  a  present  and  a  future  continues;  all  that  comes  under  my  notice 
makes  an  unfavorable  impression  on  me.  Wherever  you  go,  you  hear 
nothing  but  dissensions  and  quarrels,  without  being  able  to  sympathize 
with  any  party.  The  feuds  between  the  various  factions  and  nuances 
among  the  Catholics  for  instance,  naturally  strike  me  in  this  way,  as  also 
their  discussions  with  the  Protestants.  The  people  know  that  I  understand 
the  points  in  question,  and  am  logically  fair.  I  know  very  well  too,  what 
is  logical,  just,  and  true ;  but  in  such  disputes  I  can  not  take  any  kind  of 
interest.  It  is  the  same  with  every  thing.  Literature  seems  to  me  as 
good  as  dead,  the  moral  condition  of  the  nation  mournful,  according  to  the 
accounts  I  hear  from  persons  of  the  most  opposite  tendencies,  some  of  whom 
are  far  from  finding  offensiveness  offensive.  Frivolity,  a  striving  after  ease 
and  leisure,  and  the  want  of  a  proper  sense  of  duty  pervade  the  whole  of 
society.  In  these  pursuits  our  nation  cuts  a  very  awkward  figure,  as  Jacobi 
prophesied  more  than  forty  years  ago. 

I  find  myself  greeted  here  with  a  malicious  and  rancorous  literary  attack, 
by  people  whose  waters  I  never  thought  to  trouble.  And  so  this  then  is 
my  reception  to  the  bosom  of  my  father-land  ! 

We  must  give  up  our  journey  to  Paris ;  there  are  too  many  difficulties 
in  the  way.  I  shall,  therefore,  leave  for  Berlin  the  day  after  to-morrow, 
and  visit  M.  von  Stein  in  my  way  thither ;  he  has  repeatedly  invited  me, 
and  loss  of  time  and  extra  distance  must  not  be  taken  into  the  account  in" 
visiting  a  man  so  far  advanced  in  years. 

Brandis  has  received  us  with  his  old  heartiness  and  warmth. 

Another  acquaintance  of  ours  is  a  Catholic  Professor  of  Theology,  who 
staid  for  some  time  in  our  house  at  Rome — Dr.  Scholz — as  thoroughly 
good  a  man  as  Brandis.  A  Protestant  theologian,  named  Nitsch,  seems 
a  man  of  extremely  distinguished  talent. 

cccv. 

TO  COUNT  DE  SERRE. 

BONN,  8th  October,  1823. 

Such  an  affront  as  the  pamphlet  1  have  alluded  to  could  not  be 

left  unnoticed  in  the  face  of  our  reading  (and  only  reading)  nation  ;  I  1/e- 
gan  an  answer  to  it,  and  five  times  without  success.  A  last  attempt 
pleased  me  better,  though  it  is  by  no  means  what  I  could  have  produced 
in  the  beat  years  of  my  youth.  But  while  engaged  on  it,  a  light  unex- 
pectedly broke  in  upon  my  mind,  illustrating  a  point  in  the  Roman  history, 
of  whose  elucidation  I  had  despaired  for  twelve  years.  This  consoled  me, 
and  inspired  me  with  fresh  vigor.  It  happened  that  this  light  related  to 
the  great  change  in  the  comitia,  as  regards  the  electoral  law,  and  I  now 
gained  a  complete  insight  into  its  import,  which  I  had  previously  misun- 
derstood to  a  great  extent,  as  most  others  have  done  entirely ;  namely,  I 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  455 

saw  that  its  tendency  was  to  bring  the  elections  under  the  influence  of  the 
landed  proprietors  and  hereditary  citizens,  without  excluding  the  trade*  and 
the  citizens  not  possessing  an  ancestry.  You  were  constantly  in  my  mind 
while  I  was  writing ;  and  my  heart  beat,  when  I  discovered  who  the  great 
Roman  was,  who  once  effected  what  you  too  have  accomplished ;  and  as  a 
reward  for  his  work,  was  surnamed  Maximus  by  his  nation,  a  title  which 
five  consulates  and  triumphs  had  not  been  sufficient  to  procure  for  him. 

It  so  happened  that  I  gained  this  new  light  on  the  anniversary  of  my 
betrothal  to  -my  late  wife,  whose  last  wish  was  that  I  should  finish  my 
History ;  and  the  coincidence  kindled  my  courage  to  undertake  the  con- 
tinuation which  had  been  so  long  delayed.  Thus  my  life  is  no  longer 
without  a  vocation,  and  my  melancholy,  therefore,  is  vanquished.  Do  you 
know  what  has  made  me  recognize  most  clearly  all  that  you  are  to  me? 
That  in  my  dejection,  I  longed  inexpressibly  to  see  you,  and  no  less  when 
serenity  was  restored  to  my  overclouded  mind.  Do  not  understand  me  as 
Betting  any  value  upon  the  little  essay  that  you  are  expecting  and  shall 
have ;  the  execution  of  the  great  work  will  not  interfere  with  it 

The  inclosed  is  the  first  of  a  series  of  communications  respecting  the 
state  of  Germany,  the  continuation  of  which  you  shall  receive  from  time 
to  time.*  God  bless  you  and  yours,  my  only  late-found  friend  t  May  He 
keep  and  defend  you  !  My  wife  and  children  unite  with  me  in  hearty  love 
to  you  and  your  dear  family. 

CCCVI. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

Bonn,  29/A  October,  1823. 

I  have  now  worked  through  a  very  difficult  chapter  in  the  His- 
tory. I  have  no  lack  of  ideas,  but  I  feel  that  I  have  grown  old  and  drier 
than  I  should  be  under  other  circumstances ;  outward  things  disturb  me, 
even  the  dear  interruptions  caused  by  the  children.  It  is  but  too  certain 
that  there  is  a  perfection  in  authorship  unattainable,  except  where  the 
author  has  no  children,  or  acts  as  if  he  had  none ;  which  God  forbid ! 
Another  great  difficulty  arises  from  the  absence  of  my  own  library. 

We  have  made  an  excursion  to  Cologne,  which  has  not  disappointed  my 
expectations,  but  in  many  respects  exceeded  them ;  although  the  city  is 
ugly,  and  has  been  despoiled  of  most  of  its  works  of  art.  The  prebends, 
who  were  never  reduced  to  actual  want,  sold  many  of  the  treasures  during 
their  emigration,  and  even  a  part  of  the  golden  shrine  that  contains  the 
pretended  relics  of  the  Three  Holy  Kings— the  jewels  as  well  as  the  gold 
plate.  A  mere  accident  saved  the  greater  part  of  them  from  destruction. 
Such  was  the  conduct  of  the  men  who  made  an  outcry  about  sacrilege, 
because  they  had  been  driven,  it  must  be  confessed  very  unjustly,  from 
their  benefices  1  ^ 

It  is  cheering  to  see  the  universal  prosperity  in  the  Prussian  Rhenish 
provinces,  which  proves  that  the  government  has  at  least  the  merit  of 
pressing  very  lightly  on  the  people.  You  see  improvements  making  in  all 
directions,  and  fresh  land  brought  under  tillage  wherever  it  is  capable  of 
it.  I  hear  that  this  is  particularly  the  case  along  the  Moselle,  where  the 
wines  have  reached  a  higher  price  than  has  ever  been  known  before. 

*  The  paper  alluded  to  is  on  the  political  condition  of  Switzerland,  and  is 
published  in  the  Lebensnachrichten,  vol.  iii.  p.  423. 


456  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

The  population  of  Cologne  has  increased  by  8000 ;  for  centuries  houses 
have  been  pulled  down ;  now  new  ones  are  building,  and  it  is  said  that 
rents  have  risen  to  double  their  former  amount.  The  same  change  is  tak- 
ing place  to  a  still  greater  extent  here,  at  Diisseldorf,  at  Coblentz,  and  at 
every  town  you  hear  of. 

But  for  the  difference  of  religion,  the  people  would  soon  be  reconciled  to 
their  new  rulers,  because  they  are  really  well  off;  but  unhappily  the  Rhen- 
ish Catholics  are  either,  on  the  one  hand,  free-thinkers  and  Jacobins,  or, 
on  the  other,  bigots,  who  can  feel  no  attachment  to  a  heretical  sovereign. 

The  government  really  makes  incredible  efforts  for  public  instruction, 
and  quite  without  regard  to  expense ;  but  the  priests  look  upon  all  these 
institutions  with  jealousy  and  mistrust,  although  the  government,  which 
committed  some  errors  at  first,  now  wisely  avoids  every  thing  which  could 
really  give  them  occasion  for  uneasiness. 

If  you  compare  the  state  of  these  provinces  with  the  aspect  of  things  in 
Baden,  Wiirtemberg,  Darmstadt,  where  impoverishment  and  misery  every 
where  betray  themselves,  you  feel  how  much  better  off  the  people  are  under 
present  circnmstances  in  great  States  than  in  small  ones.  Moreover,  you 
are  often  reminded  how  much  fewer  blunders  are  made  in  a  large  State 
than  in  a  small  one :  because,  as  soon  as  you  go  beyond  the  limits  of  a 
city,  the  problem  of  the  government  is  always  the  same ;  and  supposing, 
in  both  cases,  the  same  want  of  skill  in  the  choice  of  competent  persons, 
yet  in  small  States  the  number  of  such  is  necessarily  so  much  smaller,  and 
there  is  less  chance  of  their  appointment  by  a  fortunate  accident. 

The  Catholic  religion,  such  as  it  is  in  these  parts,  is  called,  even  by 
orthodox  Catholics,  benighted  heathenism.  For  example,  on  processions 
to  a  place  in  this  neighborhood,  a  fellow  dances  on  a  tight  rope,  with  a 
banner  in  his  hand,  to  the  sound  of  Turkish  music,  as  soon  as  the  Litany 
is  over.  These  absurd  exhibitions  were  forbidden  under  the  French  rule  ; 
they  have  been  allowed  to  creep  into  use  again  by  the  mildness  of  our 
government,  and  1  myself,  were  I  in  authority,  should  fear  to  act  tyranni- 
cally in  forbidding  them.  The  clergy  is  constantly  sinking  into  deeper 
ignorance ;  the  Vicar-general  promotes  fellows  who  have  been  to  no  school 
whatever,  and  refuses  to  receive  those  who  have  studied  at  the  University. 
What  is  to  become  of  the  Catholic  religion  God  knows  !  It  may  re-estab- 
lish itself  in  the  same  way  that  it  did  after  the  suppression  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, and  then  the  ignorance  prevailing  in  the  Catholic  countries  of  Ger- 
many will  become  still  denser.  But  this  proves,  above  all  things,  how 
powerless  Protestantism  is  nowadays. 

Events  in  Spain  are  turning  out,  step  for  step,  just  as  I  expected ; 
among  other  things,  the  fall  and  banishment  of  the  noblest  men,  such  as 
the  Marquis  de  las  Amarillas,  who,  after  having  in  vain  endeavored  to 
induce  the  King  to  give  guarantees  against  the  renewal  of  his  tyranny, 
remained  in  the  palace  on  the  night  of  the  7th  of  July,  in  order  to  die 
with  the  royal  family,  if  a  10th  of  August  followed;  not  to  speak  of  the 
proscription  of  the  noble-hearted  Valdes,  who  did  indeed  pursue  a  phantom 
in  his  attachment  to  the  Constitution,  but  whose  whole  conduct  had  been 
without  a  spot  for  four  years,  and  who  had  prevented  the  shedding  of 
blood  after  the  7th  of  July,  at  the  peril  of  his  own  life.  I  have  foreseen 
all  this,  and  yet  my  wishes  have  been  on  the  side  of  the  result  which  has 
actually  ensued.  We  have  witnessed  a  strange  issue  of  affairs,  which 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  457 

mas';  force  us  to  look  with  profound  contempt  upon  our  age ;  it  has  been 
for  years  impossible  to  hope  for  a  happy  issue,  because  the  revolutionist* 
hav<-  rendered  that  out  of  the  question.  Of  the  two  extreme  results,  the 
actual  s«'<?rn.s  to  me  the  preferable  one,  though  a  shocking  abuse  will  be 
made  of  it  every  where.  As  a  member  of  the  middle  class,  for  the  sake 
of  my  son,  the  consolidation  of  a  decaying  aristocracy  is  a  subject  of  re- 
gret ;  but  with  us,  in  Germany,  it  can  never  become  so  loathsome  as  Lib- 
eralism. The  burning  fever  of  the  Revolution  has  spent  itself,  like  a  pes- 
tilence that  at  last  vanishes  spontaneously.  A  very  unintellectual  period 
will  come  now,  but  we  shall  have  repose,  and  be  able  to  return  to  the 
quiet  life  of  our  grandfathers,  who  were  not,  however,  threatened  like  our- 
selves with  subjugation  by  barbarians. 

I  recognize  and  duly  estimate-  the  force  of  your  reasons,  dear  Dora, 
against  resigning  my  post  at  Rome ;  but  yon  can  not  understand  how  im- 
possible it  would  be  to  take  Gretchen  back  there,  since  her  health  is  cer- 
tainly much  better  in  the  air  of  Germany,  and,  above  all,  she  has  so  great 
a  dislike  to  the  life  we  led  in  Italy 

CCCVII. 

BONN,  llth,  December,  1823. 

I  turn  to  answer  one  part  of  your  letter.     It  must  certainly  be 

owing  to  some  carelessness  in  expressing  myself,  that  you  could  suppose  I 
meant  to  say  any  thing  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  Germans  as  compared 
with  the  Italians.  God  forbid !  What  I  mean  is,  that  1  ought  to  have 
an  adequate  compensation  for  what  I  give  up  in  point  of  health  and  com- 
fort, and  the  variety  of  interesting  objects  of  contemplation,  if  I  am  not  to 
feel  that  I  have  lost  by  the  exchange.  The  case  is  different  with  any  one 
who  has  retained  his  youthful  connections  in  Germany.  I  come  back  to  a 
world  in  which  the  opposing  parties  are  impelled  and  guided  by  vague 
sentiments  and  heated  passions,  and  all  alike  have  adopted  their  opinions 
on  the  authority  of  newspapers,  periodicals^  and  the  Conversations-Lexi- 
con ;  and  in  these  authorities  they  put  such  faith,  that  they  anathematize 
every  one  who  has  more  insight  than  themselves.  I  would  just  as  soon 
talk  about  religion  with  a  bigoted  Catholic  peasant,  as  converse  with  such 
people  about  the  weightiest  concerns  of  the  world.  Such  wisdom  I  may 
dare  to  despise,  when  three  ment  of  three  such  different  nations,  and  each 
of  them  the  first,  or  among  the  first  men  of  their  own  nation,  as  JI.  Von 
Stein,  M.  de  Serre,  and  Lord  Colchester,  give  me  credit  for  a  profound 
knowledge  of  the  material  and  intellectual  condition  of  the  leading  states 
of  Europe,  ask  me  for  my  opinion,  and  take  my  verdict  on  matters  as  an 
authority,  while  in  these  trivial  circles  every  one  is  wiser  than  I. 

Although  1  grant  you  that  the  state  of  affair?  in  Germany  might  be 
much  more  cheering,  £  the  governments  were  better,  you  must  also  con- 
cede to  me  that  these  governments  are  a  part  of  the  nation  ;  so  much  so 
that  the  difficulty  would  not  be  so  much  to  find  one  man  with  right  views, 
but  how  such  a  one  would  form  a  ministry;  and  supposing  he  accom- 
plished this,  where  would  he  find  his  subordinate  officials,  and  members 
of  the  provincial  government*  There  is  the  great  difficulty.  It  is  easy 
to  say  that  you  must  set  bounds  to  arbitrary  power  by  Chambers  and 
municipalities ;  I  say  so  too,  for  it  is  true ;  only  no  effectual  assistance  Is 
to  be  hoped  from  them.  For  instance.  I  have  always  opposed  the  system 

U 


458  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTOR. 

of  regulating  public  instruction  throughout  the  monarchy  by  the  central 
government,  and  wished  that  the  schools  should  again,  as  formerly,  be 
placed  under  the  superintendence  of  the  clergy  and  local  authorities.  But 
then  we  are  met  by  examples  which  show  how  much  worse  things  are 
where  this  is  the  case  ;  not  only  here,  where  the  Catholic  priests  aim  at 
excluding  the  laity  of  their  own  chureh  from  the  schools,  or  in  Coblentz, 
where  men  who  wore  the  red  cap  during  the  Revolution,  and  carried  the 
goddess  of  Reason  about,  having  now  turned  devotees,  though  remaining 
as  arrant  Jacobins  as  ever  in  politics,  are  straining  every  nerve  to  displace 
or  worry  to  death  the  upright,  learned  Catholic  Director  of  the  Gymnasium 
— but  even  in  Berlin  itself,  where  the  civic  authorities,  and  very  respect- 
able men  among  them,  openly  avow  the  wish  (and  actively  exert  them- 
selves to  further  it  in  the  Gymnasium  which  is  under  their  jurisdiction)  to 
depress  the  study  of  philology,  and  to  make  instruction  in  the  so-called 
useful  branches  of  knowledge  predominant.  The  nobility  cherish  oligarch- 
ical pretensions,  and  yet  Will  on  no  account  consent  to  strengthen  the 
basis  of  their  order ;  our  order  does  not  know  what  it  wants.  Had  the 
men  in  whose  hands  the  decision  lay,  attempted  to  erect  a  constitution 
among  us  in  1816,  every  thing  would  have  gone  to  pieces  by  now.  Our 
gymnastic  heroes  would  have  managed  no  better.  I  have  never  ceased 
to  mourn  over  the  persecutions  which  were  set  on  foot  at  that  time ; 
but  if  a  terrible  Fate  has  decreed  that  these  severities  should  have  been 
committed,  or  that  we  should  have  continued  on  the  path  we  were  then 
treading,  and  suffered  the  whole  youth  of  the  country  to  be  turned  into 
madmen  and  savages,  at  all  events  the  least  of  two  bitter  evils  has  be- 
fallen us.  What  fellows  they  were  who  then  excited  universal  sympathy 
as  martyrs  !  Very  many  of  them  have  veered  round  to  the  opposite  ex- 
treme. The  better  members  of  this  sect  had  learnt  nothing,  and  made  at 
least  as  extravagant  claims  to  be  supported  by  the  State,  as  you  could  find 
among  any  young  scions  of  nobility.  I  can  nowhere  see  solid  ground ; 
and  truly  I  am  not  alone  in  my  dark  forebodings.  With  the  most  irre- 
proachable intentions,  and  sincerely  thinking  to  benefit  the  agricultural 
population,  they  are  ruining  the  whole  peasant  class  by  giving  them  power 
to  sell,  to  cut  up,  and  to  mortgage  their  land ;  and  every  thing  is  tending 
in  the  same  direction.  The  lowest  and  most  superficial  views  have  be- 
come universally  prevalent ;  and  whether  ministries  or  Chambers  have  to 
decide  upon  measures,  you  obtain  the  same  results.  Men  are  not  ill-in- 
tentioned ;  but  in  all  the  German  states  that  are  not  stationary,  the  ten- 
dency of  the  legislation  is,  according  to  the  saying  of  a  distinguished  man, 
to  bring  our  nation  to  the  level  of  the  Italians:  in  the  towns,  half-skilled 
artisans  and  petty  tradesmen ;  in  the  country,  miserable  tenants-at-will, 
and  day  laborers.  With  an  agricultural  population  like  that  of  Wurtem- 
burg,  can  you  ask  for  freedom? 

Believe  me,  dearest  Dora,  these  are  not  prejudices.  I  have  studied  the 
history  of  the  legislation  of  many  nations,  through  a  series  of  centuries,  and 
hence  I  know  where  we  are  standing,  and  whither  we  are  going.  In  our 
nation  there  are  men  as  excellent,  both  in  mind  and  heart,  as  are  to  be 
found  any  where,  and  such  as  many  nations,  the  Italians  for  instance,  do 
not  possess  at  all,  or  very  rarely.  Here  is  Brandis,  Nitzsch  (an  extraor- 
dinary man),  and  several  others  among  the  professors  in  Bonn,  are  worthy 
of  all  honor.  One  of  the  most  distinguished,  whom  1  should  probably  never 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  459 

have  heard  of,  in  his  retired  corner,  if  he  had  not  sent  me  some  essays 
through  M.  Von  Stein,  is  a  Dr.  Scbulze,  in  Hainm.  unquestionably  a  real 
historical  genius,  and  moreover  an  admirable  writer  :  so  too  I  became  ac- 
quainted with  Pertz  and  Bluhme  when  in  Rome.  But  sound  sense  and 
sound  morality  are  not  general  among  us,  as  they  were  with  our  forefathers. 
In  the  pettiest  towns  there  ore  billiards  and  clubs,  and  family  life  exists  no 
longer.  The  Revolution  is  vanquished,  and  whoever  now  fears  revolts, 
sees  phantoms ;  but  as  to  what  will  come  next,  I  have  no  presentiment  of 
good. 

M.  Von  Stein  has  invited  us  all  warmly  and  repeatedly  to  his  house.  At 
this  time  of  the  year  it  is  impossible  to  take  all  the  children  ;  but  I  shall 
go  myself  alone  to  Nassau  for  two  or  three  days.  He  warns  us  toucWngly 
to  remember  his  age,  and  that  if  we  do  not  see  each  other  as  often  as  pos- 
sible our  meeting  may  soon  become  impossible  forever.  He  has  become 
quite  gentle,  and  his  behavior  toward  me  has  a  sort  of  fatherly  tenderness. 
I  believe  that  he  has  much  to  bear 

CCCVIII. 

BONN,  6th.  January,  1824. 

Marcus  has  had  a  violent  attack  of  influenza.  The  child  was  obliged  to 
keep  his  bed  two  days  :  I  remarked,  altogether,  that  the  physician  here 
had  returned  to  the  old  precautionary  measures.  This  will  therefore  prob- 
ably be  the  present  fashion  in  medicine,  with  which  I  8m  very  well  satis- 
fied if  it  only  lasts.  That  medical  art  consists  in  fashion  is  indeed  nothing 
new  :  we  may  thank  God  when  no  desperate  systems  happen  to  be  in  vogue. 
Marcus  was  very  good  and  amiable  during  his  illness ;  he  is  certainly  a 
much  better  child  than  I  was,  though  I  may  have  been,  perhaps,  more  easy 
to  educate.  Goschen  teases  him  too  much  with  learning  hymns  by  rote. 
I  have  no  objection  at  all  to  learning  by  rote,  particularly  as  the  boy  finds 
a  difficulty  in  it,  while  all  his  recollections  of  principles  and  observations 
are  ineffaceabl^.  I  wish,  I  strive  with  all  my  heart,  that  he  may  grow  up 
with  the  most  absolute  faith  in  religion,  yet  so  that  his  faith  may  not  be 
an  outward  adhesion  that  must  fall  away  from  him  afterward,  when  his 
reason  comes  into  play,  but,  that  from  his  earliest  years  the  tray  may  be 
prepared  for  the  union  of  faith  and  reason.  I  should  therefore  quite  ap- 
prove hymns,  but  that  the  number  of  those  adapted  to  a  child  not  yet  seven 
years  old  is  so  small ;  for  where  they  can  present  no  idea  to  his  mind,  the 
difficult  sentences  are  a  torment  to  him.  To  a  happy  child,  hymns  de- 
ploring the  misery  of  human  life  are  without  meaning;  so,  likewise  to  a 
good  child,  are  those  expressing  self-accusation  and  contrition.  In  all  de- 
partments of  education,  it  is  certainly  a  main  point  not  to  come  to  any 
thing  too  early,  and  that  holds  good  here  as  well  as  in  learning.  I  am 
succeeding  admirably  in  exercising  the  powers  of  his  mind,  by  efforts  ex- 
actly proportioned  to  them,  so  that  I  can  say  with  confidence,  that  he  has 
not  a  single  thought  beyond  his  age,  none  that  is  not  quite  suitable  to  a 
child ;  and  yet  he  often  delights  us  with  the  originality  of  his  ideas.  I 
always  oblige  him  to  reflect,  and  to  set  himself  right  within  his  own  sphere* 
It  was  not  departing  from  it  that  he  asked,  during  his  illness,  "  in  Latin 
there  are  already  five  tenses ;  but  what  tense  of  a  verb  is  that  when  you 
want  to  express  that  you  are  on  the  point  of  doing  something  ?  It  can  not 
be  the  present  tense,  but  yet  it  is  not  the  future,  ia  it?"  From  a  boy 


460  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

with  a  decided  taste  for  grammar,  which  displays  itself  in  the  great  eas 
with  which  he  now  learns  the  forms  already  familiar  to  him  in  reading,  such 
a  speech  is  no  more  a  sign  of  precocity,  than  the  discovery  of  a  mathemat- 
ical proposition  was  in  Pascal,  that  born  mathematician 

CCCIX. 

TO  COUNT  DE  SERRE. 

BONN,  4th  February,  1824. 

England  will,  without  a  doubt,  lower  her  old  four  per  cent,  funds 

during  the  present  session  ;  the  amount  of  this  stock  is  not  very  large,  but 
this  step  will  prepare  the  way  for  a  similar  operation  with  the  three  per 
cents,  next  year,  by  which  the  national  burdens  will  be  very  considerably 
lightened.  But,  in  order  to  effect  this,  peace  is  necessary,  and  I  venture 
to  hope  that,  after  the  experiment  in  Spain,  your  government  has  renounced 
all  idea  of  attempting  to  recover  America.  Posterity  will  pronounce  a  woe 
upon  those  through  whom  Spanish  America  was  rent  away,  and  could  not 
again  be  brought  into  subjection.  I,  however,  do  not  see  in  these  countries 
seminaries  and  models  of  the  democratic  republic ;  but  I  see  that  a  portion 
of  them  will  be  converted  into  negro  States,  like  St.  Domingo ;  the  rest 
will  be  dissolved,  and  become  a  prey  to  the  greatest  anarchy,  unless  a  dic- 
tator arise.  It  is  now  too  late  to  prevent  this ;  and  it  is  England  that 
will  have  the  greatest  reason  to  repent  her  conduct,  since  North  America 
must  immediately  obtain  the  superiority,  and  she  will  infallibly  lose  her 
West  Indian  possessions.  What  a  fatal  confusion  reigns  there  already  ! 
If  it  is  really  true  that  the  resolutions  of  Parliament  respecting  the  treat- 
ment of  the  negroes,  have  raised  a  ferment  among  the  latter,  it  would  fol- 
low that  you  must  tolerate  the  greatest  atrocities  on  the  part  of  those  who 
are  under  your  authority,  if  they  are  resolved  to  persevere  in  their  commis- 
sion, and  if  their  opposition  to  your  reforms  would  produce  still  greater 
calamities^  Is  not  this  a  much  more  difficult  case  of  clashing  duties  than 
that  of  the  casuists,  where  it  is  a  question  of  saving  life  ?  The  regulations 
which  the  parliament  has  not  even  commanded,  but  simply  recommended, 
do  not  at  all  affect  political  rights ;  have  not  even  a  remote  reference  to 
emancipation,  but  solely  to  moral  enormities,  the  abolition  of  which  has 
been  fruitlessly  recommended  by  the  government  in  private.  In  these  isl- 
ands, the  white  population  will  be  exterminated,  if  at  any  time  the  power 
of  the  mother  country  should  be  insufficient  to  suppress  a  general  out- 
break ;  in  the  Spanish  colonies,  the  whites  will  -be  merged  in  the  colored 
population ;  in  many  countries,  the  Spanish  language,  which  is  even  now 
very  little  spoken  by  the  Creoles,  will  die  out ;  entirely  new  nations  will 
arise,  but  they  will  be  barbarous. 

My  country  will  owe  me  no  slight  thanks  if  I  have  excited  your  interest 
in  it,  my  beloved  friend.  Your  remarks  upon  the  projected  provincial  Cham- 
bers are  full  of  weight :  would  to  Heaven  that  you  lived  among  us,  and 
could  make  them  practically  influential.  You  remind  me  how  it  was  re- 
cognized in  France,  before  the  Revolution,  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
govern,  if  the  whole  kingdom  had  consisted  of  provinces  each  possessing 
Chambers.  Has  not  this  principle  a  still  wider  application,  and  is  it  not 
always  impossible  to  govern  without  despotism,  where  no  diversity  of  rights 
exists — rights  appertaining  to  provinces  or  classes  ?  So,  again,  there  is  a 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  461 

period  when  this  diversity  can  not  be  maintained,  because  it  has  ceased  to 
exist  in  practice.  It  seems  to  me  that  we  have  committed  a  great  error 
in  making  the  provinces  too  large.  Had  the  old  provinces  been  left  as 
they  were  and  not  thrown  together,  a  sufficient  number  of  people,  of  sound 
understanding  and  upright  character,  would  have  been  found  in  them, 
who  would  have  managed  their  domestic  affairs  unassumingly  and  well ; 
but  in  our  Westphalia,  people  assemble  from  such  distant  parts  that  they 
are  strangers  to  each  other,  and  get  upon  general  topics,  because  the  one 
mows  nothing  of  the  municipal  affairs  of  the  other,  and  takes  no  interest 
in  them ;  in  fact,  the  very  man  who  best  feels  where,  as  we  say,  the  shoe 
pinches,  is  frequently  outvoted  by  the  rest,  if,  as  is  very  often  the  case,  the 
majority  of  the  other  counties  are  not  concerned  in  the  question  under  dis- 
cussion. But  it  is  the  least  of  my  fears  that  the  ministers  will  prevent 
the  project  from  coming  into  effectual  operation  at  all,  by  giving  the 
Chambers  nothing  to  deliberate  on  but  trifles.  It  is  worthy  of  note,  how 
nearly  all  who  have  had  to  do  with  the  scheme,  while  really  any  thing  but 
liberal  themselves,  yet  secretly  believe  that  none  but  liberal  ideas  are  sens- 
ible ;  and,  from  fear  of  seeming  unenlightened,  take  steps  which  even 
popular  opinion  would  not  call  for,  if  they  would  do  something  better.  In 
all  parts  of  our  territory,  except  the  country  on  this  side  of  the  Rhine,  we 
possess  manorial  estates,  and  with  them  the  means  of  forming  an  order  of 
nobles,  and  an  excellent  criterion  for  selecting  the  members  of  it,  viz.,  the 
possession  of  such  an  estate,  coupled  either  with  an  hereditary  and  unfor- 
feited  nobility,  or  with  the  attainment  of  a  certain  grade  in  the  military  or 
civil  service.  Formerly,  the  possessor  of  a  manor  was  only  eligible  to  the 
Diet  when  of  noble  descent,  and  because  this  was  preposterous  (thus,  for 
example,  in  one  of  the  Saxon  circles,  there  is  only  a  single  proprietor  of 
noble  descent  remaining),  they  have  now  gone  to  the  other  extreme,  and 
make  the  simple  fact  of  possession  the  sole  condition.  At  the  same  time, 
the  nobility,  who  are  deeply  encumbered,  are  selling  one  estate  after  an- 
other, and  the  new  proprietors  are  generally  men  of  the  lowest  extraction. 
Well,  the  nobles  are  now  remonstrating  against  this  in  provinces  where 
they  have  on  the  whole  maintained  their  ground,  as  in  Miinster,  for  in- 
stance ;  and  what  do  they  demand  ?  The  old  law ;  that  none  but  noble- 
men by  birth  or  creation,  shall  be  eligible  to  the  Chambers.  Now  every 
grand  duke  will  grant  patents  of  nobility  on  the  payment  of  fees,  and,  in  con- 
sequence, a  commoner  who  prides  himself  upon  the  honor  of  his  class,  will 
not  allow  himself  to  be  ennobled.  Thus  I  should  be  excluded ;  every  con- 
tractor in  Darmstadt  or  Carlsruhe,  who  is  willing  to  spend  a  few  thousand 
florins  for  it,  would  be  admissible.  Had  I  been  able  to  make  my  voice 
heard,  when  I  made  the  assertion,  in  attestation  of  which  I  adduced  evi- 
dence from  the  President  Renault,  that  this  was  formerly  the  casein  France, 
and  supported  it  by  Obvious  proofs,  that  thus  alone  a  self-renewing  order 
of  nobles  could  exist,  the  public  would  have  been  delighted.  As  it  is, 
they  are  more  displeased  that  the  aristocracy  should  exist  as  an  order,  than 
pleased  that  it  should  have  been  divested  of  all  moral  significance.  One 
hopeless  circumstance  is  the  despotic  influence  exercised  by  revolutionary 
ideas  among  us  Germans,  wherever  absolute  power  can  avail  itself  of  them 
for  its  own  purposes.  In  Westphalia  and  in  other  parts,  we  have  in  the  en- 
tailed freeholds  an  hereditary  yeomanry,  in  whom,  wherever  they  exist,  we 
possess  a  highly  respectable  peasantry  aristocracy,  wealthy  enough  to  give 


462  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTTHR. 

their  younger  sons  a  good  education,  with  the  consciousness  of  an  honorable 
descent  and  a  youth  not  depressed  by  poverty,  and  thus  to  add  respectable 
members  to  the  middle  class,  especially  to  the  clergy  of  both  confessions.  But 
wherever  the  Code  Napoleon  has  been  introduced,  its  adherents,  who  have 
gained  the  public  ear  by  assuming  to  be  the  representatives  of  public  opinion, 
insist  upon  the  divisibility  of  landed  property.  They  had  already  surrepti- 
tiously obtained  a  confirmation  of  the  French  and  Westphalian  ordinances ; 
and  though  this  is  suspended,  Heaven  knows  how  the  matter  will  be  de- 
cided at  last.  Yet  people  have  before  their  eyes  the  example  of  other 
German  countries,  where  this  cursed  divisibility  has  existed  for  centuries, 
and  the  whole  agricultural  population  are  beggars.  In  the  district  of  Mon- 
tabaur,  now  belonging  to  Nassau,  no  deputy  can  be  chosen  for  the  Diet, 
because  it  does  not  contain  a  single  elector.  The  qualification  for  an  elec- 
tor consists  in  paying  one  florin  land-tax.  This  sounds  incredible,  but  my 
informant  lives  close  to  the  district,  and  has  known  that  part  of  the  coun- 
try from  his  infancy. 

Here  on  the  Hhine,  the  larger  estates  are  entirely  disappearing,  and  the 
smaller  ones  are  constantly  divided  and  subdivided ;  and  what  a  class  are 
the  peasantry  !  An  estate  which  is  considered  one  of  the  largest  was  sold 
lately  for  about  85,000  francs.  Manufacturers,  advocates,  &c.,  buy  plots 
of  land  and  farm  them  out,  so  that  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  towns  the 
peasant  proprietors  are  vanishing,  as  hi  Italy.  The  agriculturists,  except- 
ing the  vine-growers,  are  suffering  severely  from  the  low  prices ;  yet  their 
condition  is  incomparably  better  than  in  Suabia  and  in  Holstein,  where  a 
manor,  which  I  know,  was  sold  lately  for  a  quarter  of  what  the  deceased 
possessor  expended  on  its  purchase  twenty-five  years  ago,  and  in  real  im- 
provements ;  in  a  village  belonging  to  it,  every  peasant  is  bankrupt.  One 
great  difficulty,  is  the  really  frightful  increase  of  population,  to  which 
people  are  now  beginning  to  turn  their  attention  after  having  long  child- 
ishly rejoiced  in  it.  You  will  scarcely  believe  that  with  us  in  Prussia, 
where  the  population  does  not  yet  amount  to  eleven  millions,  it  is  increas- 
ing at  the  rate  of  more  than  200,000  a  year.  In  these  parts,  however, 
you  see  new  houses  springing  up  in  great  number ;  I  hear  the  Moselle 
districts  are  particularly  flourishing  in  this  respect,  in  consequence  of  the 
increased  protective  duties  on  foreign  wines ;  that  new  houses  are  building 
in  all  directions,  and  fresh  land  brought  under  cultivation,  but  in  other 
parts  of  Germany  this  is  not  the  case.  Our  manufacturers  are  maintain- 
ing their  ground  better  than  I  expected  ;  in  many  articles  in  which  twenty 
years  ago  the  English  manufactures  quite  predominated,  they  no  longer 
compete  with  our  own ;  for  instance,  in  broadcloth,  other  kinds  of  woolen 
goods,  and  leather ;  the  demand  for  foreign  iron-wares  is  constantly  dimin- 
ishing. The  misfortune  is  that  the  manufacturers  over-produce,  and  then 
the  necessity  of  selling  makes  them  vulnerable  to  every  accident.  As  the 
price  of  the  raw  material  falls,  the  manufacturer  is  obliged  to  reduce  the 
prices  of  the  articles  manufactured  when  it  was  higher.  The  number  of 
paupers  is  increasing  immensely.  Cologne  has  recovered  itself  to  an  ex- 
traordinary extent  since  1814;  houses  have  more  than  doubled  in  value, 
the  population  has  greatly  increased,  but  one  learns  with  horror  that  out 
of  55,000  inhabitants,  there  are  20,000  in  the  receipt  of  alms.  What 
will  be  the  position  of  Europe  within  a  century  ? 

I  turn  from  statistics  to  a  subject  which  indeed  our  statists  do  not  over- 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  463 

look  in  their  tables — namely,  literature.     Poetry  ia  quite  at  an  end.     No- 
thing but  novels — precisely  what  we  can   not  write — are  written  now; 
their  favorite  scene  at  present  is  Greece.     Of  philosophy  people  seem  to 
have  had  enough  at  present,  and  during  the  lull,  a  few  here  and  there  are 
actively  prosecuting  really  profound  researches  into  the  Greek  philosophers, 
and  coming  to  perceive  that  speculation  has  been  exhausted  in  its  results. 
The  study  of  Roman  jurisprudence  is  carried  on  with  great  vigor.     Some 
excellent  and  many  monstrous  works  have  seen  the  light,  in  consequence 
of  the  shock  which  I  have  given  to  the  criticism  of  ancient  history.     One 
book  that  I  should  rejoice  to  see  in  your  hands  is  Menzel's  History  of  the 
period  from  1786  to  1815,  of  which  the  first  part  has  just  appeared.     It 
is  pervaded  by  the  soundest  views,  the  most  thorough  contempt  for  the 
miserable  wisdom  of  the  revolutionists,  and  such  a  correct  tact  in  discover- 
ing truth,  that  one  is  astonished  to  see  a  professor  in  Breslau  able  to  pass 
judgment  upon  facts  as  if  he  lived  in  the  busy  scene  of  action.     Unfor- 
tunately the  book  has  been  written  too  hastily,  as  is  usually  the  case  with 
us,  namely,  while  the  printing  is  in  progress,  and  hence  it  is  wanting  in 
finish.     It  is  far  superior  to  another  work,  the  latter  half  of  which  relates 
to  a  portion  of  the  same  period,  F.  C.  Schlosser's  History  of  the  Eighteenth 
Century.     I  am  acquainted  with  the  author  of  the  latter;  he  is  a  most 
upright  man,  and  his  moral  sense  is  pure ;  hence  he  abhors  and  despises 
the  Revolution  in  reality :  but  he  fell  in  with  Guizot  at  Paris,  nay  with 
Gregoire  and  it  has  led  him  into  ugly  inconsistencies   here   and  there. 
For  this  reason  a  translation  of  his  work  is  coming  out  in  Paris.     Out  of  a 
hundred  of  those  who  speak  on  such  matters  hi  Germany,  you  would  hardly 
find  one  who  would  not  regard  Liberalism  as  the  lesser  of  two  evils,  and 
hardly  five  who  would  not  regard  it  as  absolutely  excellent.     Manuel's 
portrait  has  hung  beside  that  of  Mina  in  all  the  print-shops,  but  he  seems 
at  last  to  be  forgotten  for  a  time. 

In  the  Frankfort  reading-room,  there  are  two  copies  of  the  "  Constitu- 
tional," and  the  people  quarrel  who  shall  get  it  first.  Here  the  police 
prohibit  that  paper,  and  foolishly  enough  admit  the  "  Courier,"  which  it  is 
scarcely  possible  to  see  the  first  day,  while  it  is  very  seldom  that  any  one 
takes  up  the  "Journal  des  Debats."  The  "Allgemeine  Zeitung"  has 
drawn  in  its  claws  a  little  after  very  serious  threats,  still  it  often  gives 
vent  to  its  spite.  An  Ultra  journal  has  been  set  on  foot  here,  which  is 
injured  by  the  contemptible  character  of  its  editor  (he  was  an  agent  of 
King  Chris tophe,  at  Hayti,  to  hire  artisans),  and  an  affectation  of  bigoted 
Catholicism ;  but  some  very  remarkable  documents  appear  in  its  pages, 
and  some  very  unpleasant  truths  for  the  opposite  faction.  All  such 
writers,  however,  carp  at  your  Richelieu  ministry,  t  t,  in  the  "Allge- 
meine Zeitung,"  who  now  swears  by  the  present  ministry,  will  probably  in 
two  months  adore  trffcse  whose  opposition  he  has  hitherto,  on  many  occa- 
sions, gently  blamed. 

For  what  place  do  you  stand  ?  You  will  easily  fancy  that  I  am  as 
much  interested  about  that  as  about  the  general  results  of  the  election ; 
though  my  wish  is,  that  you  may  remain  in  peace  under  your  lofty  blue 
sky.  But  is  this  my  real  wish  ?  I  will  not  be  too  sure  about  it,  for  when 
we  are  considering  where  we  shall  live  for  the  future,  as  it  will  most  likely 
not  be  in  Berlin,  there  is,  in  fact,  only  one  reason  J.hat  decides  us  to  take 
up  our  abode  here  ;  it  is  the  desire  to  settle  at  no  impassable  distance  from 


464  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

you — a  thought  that  pierces  my  heart  when  Berlin  is  talked  about,  and 
makes  it  almost  impossible  for  me  to  think  of  living  there.  If  you  retire 
into  your  province,  we  shall  be  quite  near  each  other ;  and  even  if  you 
live  in  the  capital,  you  will  no  doubt  sometimes  visit  Lorraine.  And  as 
nothing  binds  me  to  Bonn,  we  might  perhaps  settle  at  Treves,  if  you  lived 
at  Metz.  I  shall  never  forget  your  saying  in  your  last  letter,  that  you  and 
your  wife  felt  the  want  of  my  presence  in  your  afflictions.*  I  can  not  tell 
you  how  deeply  I  thank  you  for  it.  How  we  miss  you  ! 

cccx. 

BONN,  29th  March,  1824. 

I  think  I  understand  you  that  the  12th  was  your  birthday.     We 

celebrated  it  quite  in  private,  and  Marcus  entreated,  in  his  childish  pray- 
ers, that  you  and  yours  may  receive  every  blessing,  and  for  us — that  we 
may  see  you  again.  Tell  me,  dear  friend,  whether  I  was  wrong  in  the 
day,  though  a  factual  error  about  the  date  would  be  of  no  more  conse- 
quence, than  a  mistake  as  to  the  historical  object  of  your  worship 

I  can  not  write  to  you  any  more  to-day,  as  I  have  charge  of  the  children, 
and  the  hour  is  come  at  which  I  am  to  give  my  eldest  little  girl  a  lesson 

I  can  not  obtain  a  certainty  with  respect  to  my  future  position.  You 
will  agree,  that  I  must  have  a  very  strong  party  feeling  when  I  say  that, 
in  spite  of  these  circumstances,  I  am  rejoiced  to  hear  of  the  reduction  of 
the  rate  of  interest  in  France,  though  it  affects  the  greater  part  of  my 
fortune,  provided  that  the  emigrants,  &c.,  are  to  receive  some  compensa- 
tion  

CCCXI. 

TO    MADAME   NIEBUHR. 

BERLIN,  18^  May,  1824. 

I  arrived  here  on  Sunday,  with  which  ends  the  first  act  of  this  drama. 
It  was  still  broad  daylight  when  I  arrived,  and  I  would  much  rather  have 
got  in  at  a  later  hour.  I  went  the  same  evening  to  Savigny,  where  I 
found  old  acquaintances  assembled  at  tea.  You  can  imagine,  my  Gretchen, 
how  the  meeting  with  friends  and  acquaintance,  and  the  sight  of  Berlin 
with  all  its  painful  recollections,  agitated  my  heart 

As  to  the  essential  part  of  our  concerns,  I  have  received  as  yet,  simply 
a  recommendation  to  return  to  Rome,  to  which  I  replied,  that  the  same 
reasons  which  necessitated  the  abandonment  of  my  post  there  forbade  my 
return ;  that  my  grounds  for  this  step  were  well  known,  and  were  not 
founded  in  self-interest  or  ambition. '  So  much  was  clear,  that  Count 
Bernstorf  would  willingly  consent  to  granting  my  leave  of  absence,  but 
this  would  be  a  mere  postponement  of  the  decision,  which  would  not  be 
of  any  use.  In  the  afternoon  I  saw  the  Crown  Prince ;  his  reception  of 
me  was  most  cordial.  I  was  with  him  three  hours,  and  he  invited  me  to 
spend  some  time  with  him  regularly  every  afternoon. 

I  have  dined  with  the  King  to-day  :  his  reception  of  me  was  gracious 

As  you  will  easily  imagine,  I  am  every  where  assailed  by  persuasions 
to  remain  here 

The   attempts  to  embellish  the  city  do  not  please  me,  but  I  have  not 
*  De  Serre  had  lost  his  mother  and  a  child  daring  this  year. 


VISIT  TO  BERLIN.  465 

yet  seen  any  of  the  country  houses,  which  may,  perhaps,  show  more  taste. 
I  do  not  at  all  like  the  theatre,  nor  the  guardhouse  with  its  Doric  portico. 
The  Potsdam  gate  has  been  pulled  down,  and  is  to  be  replaced  in  a  lighter 
style,  by  no  means  such  as  befits  a  large  city,  the  capital  of  a  military 
State 

CCCXII. 

BERLIN,  2U<  May,  1824. 

Would  to  God  you  were  here,  that  I  might  have  the  comfort  of 

talking  over  things  and  deliberating,  if  our  fate  is  to  be  decided  now. 
What  with  the  dizzy  whirl  of  gayety,  and  my  complete  solitude  when  at 
home — where  such  innumerable  recollections  crowd  in  upon  me,  that  I 
seem  like  a  spectre  to  myself — my  mind  is  not  less  overclouded  than  this 
tide  of  my  outward  life. 

The  Crown  Prince  has  improved  beyond  description.  His  heart  remains 
what  it  ever  was,  and  his  mind  is  enriched  by  an  extensive  knowledge  of 
facts.  Prince  William  appears  equally  warm-flearted  and  good.  In  truth, 
the  man  who  is  not  satisfied  with  these  Princes  must  make  unwarrantable 
demands  upon  the  world.  Both  received  me  as  cordially  as  if  I  had  been 
a  friend  of  their  own  rank.  The  circle  of  my  acquaintance  is  very  large, 
indeed,  much  larger  than  I  was  aware  of  till  now;  hence,  my  time  is  split 
up  in  a  way  that  distracts  and  confuses  me.  But  I  am  received  with  the 
greatest  kindness  and  cordiality  both  by  my  old  friends  and  by  those  of 
recent  date.  I  rind  nearly  all  (not  Koeder,  who  is  very  fortunate)  grown 
old,  and  most  of  them  stout. 

There  is  much  less  life  and  gayety  among  them  than  formerly ;  on  the 
other  hand,  show  and  luxury  have  increased. 

Now  I  think,  my  dear  wife,  that  this  last  circumstance  decides  the 
question  of  our  removal  to  Berlin ;  unless,  contrary  to  all  probability,  a 
moral  obligation  should  compel  it.  But  really  I  see  no  reason  why  we 
should  settle  here ;  for,  although  my  heart  beats  when  I  think  of  the 
Crown  Prince — though  some  friends  and  the  places  which  awaken  melan- 
choly recollections  (for  instance,  the  Thiergarten,  where  I  long  to  go)  are 
dear  to  me — though  the  Library  would  be  a  great  advantage,  and  I  might 
have  much  refreshing  intercourse;  yet,  I  feel  at  every  step  that  all  which 
belongs  to  my  former  life  has  passed  away,  and  that  you  and  the  children 
alone  make  up  my  world ;  a  world  for  which  I  had  a  precious  setting  in 
the  lovely,  the  glorious  sky  that  encircled  us  with  its  brightness  and  beau- 
ty :  and  then,  too,  De  Serre's  presence  !  I  miss  these  blessings  now,  but 
in  weighing  the  considerations  that  present  themselves  with  regard  to  the 
choice  of  our  abode,  I  must  look  to  it  that  my  leisure  and  repose  of  mind 
are  not  destroyed 

The  changes  in  the  city  are  in  some  parts  very  great,  but  in  general  it 
is  a  mere  dressing  up.  The  shops  have  increased  very  much,  and  betray 
a  fearful  amount  of  luxury 

cccxm. 

BERLIN,  30/A  May,  1824. 

You  have  misunderstood  one  sentence  in"  my  letter,  dear  wife. 

If  I  merely  spoke  of  you  and  the  children  in  expressing  my  hopes  for  the 
future,  I  did  not  mean  that  I  expected  none  but  positively  gloomy  days 

r* 


466  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

for  myself,  but  that  it  is  only  with  and  through  you  all,  that  serenity  and 
cheerfulness  can  be  diffused  over  the  evening  of  my  life.  My  youthful 
life,  which  had  up  to  that  time  been  one  connected  whole,  ended  with 
my  fortieth  year,  and  the  roots  which  had  nourished  it  were  cut  away. 
A  new  life  had  to  grow  up.  I  am  now  limited  to  this  new  state  of  exist- 
ence for  the  remainder  of  my  days  with  you  and  the  children. 

Meanwhile,  you  maybe  quite  satisfied,  my  dear  wife,  that  all  will  go  on 
much  better  if  we  can  but  have  a  settled  future  to  look  forward  to,  with 
an  income  sufficient  for  our  wants.  If,  in  addition  to  this,  I  can  find  full 
occupation,  and  God  preserves  us  from  severe  misfortunes,  and  continues 
to  me  my  mental  powers,  you  may  be  sure  that  I  shall  recognize  thank- 
fully what  I  possess. 

I  need  only  look  at  many  other  families  to  be  conscious  what  I  have  in 
my  wife  and  children,  and  I  assure  you  that  I  feel  myself  much  less  deter- 
iorated by  the  influences  of  time  than  most  of  my  acquaintance.  May 
God  preserve  me  from  living  so  completely  under  the  influence  of  the  world 
as  many  do  here ;  whatever  may  be  the  contrast  between  their  life  and 
mine  in  point  of  splendor.  The  elasticity  of  the  intellect  is  destroyed  but 
too  easily  by  splendor  and  dissipation ;  particularly  when  one  mixes  with 
people  of  very  different  stations. 

I  should  like  to  have  sent  you  a  copy  of  my  application  to  Bernstorf,  but 
I  have  not  time.  I  have  reminded  him  that  the  embassadorship  was 
granted  me  unasked,  and  how  the  King  had  given  me  a  promise,  to  which 
I  limited  my  requests. 

How  could  I  think  of  returning  to  Rome,  dearest  wife,  when  you  say  you 
are  "trying  to  familiarize  yourself  with  the  thought  of  it,"  and  beg  me  to 
"forget  you  in  the  matter!"  What  stronger  expression  of  your  dislike  to 
Rome  could  I  quote  to  Count  Bernstorf?  And  what  must  I  be,  if  in  the 
knowledge  of  your  feelings  on  the  subject,  I  would  decide  in  opposition  to 
them  ?  But  do  not  suppose,  my  darling  Gretchen,  that  t  did  not  know 
them  to  their  full  extent  before  you  wrote 

I  always  receive  messages  to  you  from  many  friends.  At  Madame  Von 
Savigny's,  I  met  his  sister  Bettina  several  times.  A  few  days  ago  she 
threatened  to  pay  me  a  visit  in  my  room.  I  shall,  of  course,  anticipate 
her. 

Give  my  love  and  kisses  from  me  to  the  dear  children,  and  tell  me  all 
you  can  about  them.  Every  trifle  that  happens  with  you  interests  me. 
Little  Charles's  paleness  makes  me  almost  more  uneasy  than  any  thing. 

CCCXIV. 
TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

BERLIN,  31st  May,  1824. 

Here  the  recollections  of  former  times  rise  up  like  ghosts  before  me  at 
every  step ;  in  the  Thiergarten,  where  there  is  not  a  path  that  does  not  re- 
mind me  of  the  past,  it  is  sometimes  almost  more  than  I  can  bear,  and  yet 
I  can  not  help  going  there  again  and  again.  It  is  so  distinctly  before  my 
eyes,  how  we  used  to  walk  there  in  1810,  Amelia,  and  you,  and  I;  how 
in  the  autumn  after,  and  in  the  following  winter,  and  spring  and  summer, 
when  I  was  full  of  life  and  energy,  and  my  history  was  daily  growing  be- 
neath my  hands,  I  found  recreation  and  refreshment  there  in  Amelia's 


VISIT  TO  BERLIN.  467 

society:  so  too,  in  1812  and  1813,  in  the  intense  political  excitement  in 
which  every  other  feeling  was  merged  j  and  then  came  afterward,  those 
heart-rending  drives  with  my  dying  wife,  &c. 

My  sorrow  is  seldom  relieved  by  tears. 

When  I  pass  the  house  where  my  highest  happiness  departed,  a  shudder 
runs  through  me.  A  very  worthy  man  lives  there,  a  M.  Von  Schonberg, 
who  would  be  happy  to  see  me,  but  I  can  not  enter  the  house. 

Savigny,  Nicolovius,  Eichhorn,  and  other  friends,  are  what  they  were  to 
me.  I  saw  Goschen  in  Gottingen.  He  is  a  true  pattern  of  self-sacrifice 
for  his  family. 

My  Lucia  is  very  ill,  my  angel  child  !  If  the  worst  were  possible !  I 
at  a  distance,  my  poor  Gretchen  alone  in  her  grief! 

cccxv. 

TO  MADAME  NIEBUHB. 

BERLIN,  Itt  June,  1824. 

Your   letter  reached  me.  darling  wife,  as  I  had  written  these 

words.  I  tore  it  open  with  a  strange  sudden  feeling  of  anguish.  You  can 
tell  how  I  am  since.  The  violence  of  my  anguish  is  proportioned  to  the 
strength  of  my  previous  security.  My  Lucia,  my  beloved  child !  It  is  like 
another  pang  to  me,  and  yet  a  consolation  that  the  child  has  seemed  to 
cling  to  me  so  lately.  I  can  not  realize  the  idea  of  losing  her.  And  I  do 
not  despair  yet;  but  I  shall  await  the  post  with  torturing  anxiety.  If  you 
want  me,  I  shall  hasten  to  you.  Every  thing  else  must  be  put  aside  if  I 
must  come  to  you,  comfort  you,  help  you  to  bear  up. 

May  God  grant  us  quiet!  How  thankful  I  will  be  for  all  that  I  have 
often  hitherto  not  esteemed  at  its  true  value  ! 

The  present  position  of  our  affairs  does  indeed  require  my  presence,  but 
it  is  not  absolutely  necessary.  Sympathy  would  induce  Count  Bernstorf  to 
hasten  the  decision  as  much  as  he  can.  The  Crown  Prince  too,  and  Presi- 
dent Von  Schonberg  would  do  all  in  their  power  to  further  it. 

Be  quite  easy  on  this  subject,  therefore,  if  you  want  me.  With  all  this 
it  will  be  a  hard  ta.sk  for  me  to-day  to  accompany  Count  B.  to  Tegel.  Ma- 
dame Von  Humboldt  was  sympathizing  just  as  she  used  to  be  at  Rome, 
and  sends  her  hearty  love  to  you.  Count  B.  was  extremely  friendly  and 
communicative. 

God  reward  the  dear  children  for  comforting  you 

CCCXVI. 

TO  COUNT  DE  8EERE. 

BERLIN,  6/A  June,  1824. 

MY  BEAR  FRIEND — My  long  silence  after  the  receipt  of  the  last  letter 
you  wrote  me  in  the  past  year,  deprives  me  of  all  right  to  complain  of  fate 
if  I  obtain  no  letters  from  you — these  precious  blessings  of  my  later  years. 
Therefore  I  will  not  murmur,  but  I  have  long  been  sad  at  hearing  nothing 
at  all  of  you,  and  now  I  begin  to  be  anxious.  Three  cases  are  possible ; 
my  two  letters,  or  one  from  you  may  have  been  lost ;  you  may  not  have 
liked  to  write, with  a  heavy  heart;  lastly,  some  circumstance  may  have 
robbed  me  of  your  friendship.  Of  these  three  cases,  the  first  would  be 


468  MEMOIR  OF  N1EBUHR. 

bearable ;  the  second,  God  forbid  ;  the  third,  I  can  not  even  picture  to  my- 
self. I  know,  that  at  a  great  distance  misrepresentations  and  perversions 
of  facts  may  sever  the  most  perfect  friendships ;  but  I  know  also  that  you 
have  given  me  your  friendship  as  fully  as  I  have  devoted  mine  to  you.  I 
know  that  all  the  arts  of  hell  could  as  little  induce  me  to  believe  any  thing 
against  you  as  against  my  wife.  I  know  that  if  you  could  have  seen  all 
the  thoughts  that  have  passed  through  my  mind  since  we  have  known 
each  other — nay,  since  I  first  loved  you,  before  we  met — there  might  be 
many  of  them  that  would  need  all  your  indulgence  toward  human  weak- 
ness ;  but  none  relating  to  yourself  that  would  be  inconsistent  with  our 
friendship — none  that  could  make  me  unworthy  of  this  blessing.  But  dis- 
pel rny  fears,  dear  friend  ;  I  have  no  scruple  in  imploring  you  only  just  to 
tell  me  that  you  are  unchanged  toward  me,  and  how  you  are.  ,1  trust,  in 
God,  that  you  have  no  bad  news  to  give  me. 

As  it  is  possible  that  my  letters,  I.  and  II.,  may  never  have  reached  you, 
I  will  at  any  rate  repeat  here,  that  in  the  first,  I  asked  you  conditionally, 
to  stand  godfather  to  my  expected  child ;  and  in  the  second,  that  in  anti- 
cipation of  your  consent,  I  had  united  our  new-born  infant  to  you  in  this 
bond.  His  birth  freed  us  from  great  anxieties  on  his  mother's  account. 

But  while  I  am  thus  writing  to  you,  I  am  uncertain  whether  we 

still  possess  him,  for  since  I  left  the  Rhine,  the  baby  and  Lucia  have  both 
been  attacked  with  inflammatory  colds,  which  are  epidemic  there,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  horrible  weather ;  Lucia  has  recovered — at  least  her  mother 
thinks  so — but  when  she  last  wrote,  the  infant  lay  so  ill  that  she  had 
scarcely  any  hope  of  him  ;  and  was  suffering  so  dreadfully,  that  his  mother 
prayed  to  God  for  his  release,  unless  he  should  completely  recover.  This 
sorrow  she  has  had  to  bear  separated  from  me,  and  without  the  consola- 
tion of  sympathy  and  help  from  any  female  friend.  My  anxiety  about  her 
and  the  children,  especially  my  favorite  Lucia,  1  am  forced  to  endure  amidst 
the  bustle  of  the  metropolis,  where  I  am  endeavoring  to  obtain  the  decision 
of  our  fate,  which  I  found  it  impossible  to  accomplish  through  letters.  But 
I  am  looking  forward  now  with  a  beating  heart  to  a  probably  decisive  let- 
ter, and  shall  try  to  divert  my  thoughts  by  writing  to  you. 

This  journey  to  Berlin  is  a  new  and  decisive  step  in  our  life,  of  which  it 
is  worth  while  to  give  an  account  to  a  friend.  All  my  letters  representing 
that  I  could  not  return  to  Rome  on  account  of  my  wife,  whether  it  was 
owing  to  her  absolute  incapability  of  enduring  the  climate,  or  to  a  home- 
sickness that  made  every  thing  insupportable  to  her  ;  that  my  mission  had 
only  been  intended  as  a  temporary  one,  and  that  I  had  an  express  promise 
under  the  King's  hand,  that  after  the  completion  of  the  treaty  I  should  re- 
turn to  resume  my  former  position ;  all  these  letters  remained  without  any 
answer  at  all,  and  it  was  only  indirectly  that  Count  Bernstorf  gave  me  to 
understand  that  I  had  better  come  here  to  submit  my  application  myself. 
The  Crown  Prince  also  insisted  on  my  coming  to  Berlin  from  different  mo- 
tives. It  was  almost  unendurable  to  come  here  as  a  solicitant  in  order  to 
hear  anew  the  exhortations  already  repeated  to  weariness,  to  do  what  I 
should  so  gladly  do  if  I  could — return  to  Rome ;  and  to  be  obliged  still  to 
repeat  the  same  answer,  and  to  be  reduced  to  beg  for,  as  an  uncertain  and 
special  favor,  a  right  assured  to  me  by  the  royal  word,  and  the  fulfillment 
of  which  places  me  in  a  less  favorable  position  than  any  of  those  who  for- 
merly stood  on  a  level  with  me.  But  the  period  of  my  furlough  had  ex- 


VISIT  TO  BERLIN.  469 

pircd,  and  what  else  could  I  do,  as  I  could  get  no  written  answer  ?  As  to 
the  result  of  my  visit,  I  can  not  well  say  any  thing  till  the  King's  decision 
is  before  me. 

The  investigations  connected  with  the  disturbances  of  the  past  years  are 
still  proceeding,  and  the  dispositions  of  several  young  men,  above  all  those 
of  Witt  Doring,*  who  is  now  in  captivity  at  Bayreuth,  seem  to  prove,  that 
about  the  time  of  Sand's  assassination,  there  was  really  a  sort  of  con- 
spiracy on  foot  among  the  student*  and  those  immediately  connected  with 
them,  led  by  the  so-called  captains,  the  spirit  and  aims  of  which  were  sedi- 
tious and  mischievous,  though  in  many  cases  varnished  over  with  a  show 
of  piety,  &c. ;  but  their  incapacity  for  any  thing  except  to  commit  single 
acts  of  assassination,  was  evidently  as  great  as  the  criminality  of  their 
delusion.  No  one  can  discover  the  slightest  indication  that  this  con- 
spiracy ever  extended  into  the  army,  or  into  the  other  classes  of  society ; 
it  seems  to  have  been  confined  to  wicked  and  foolish  students'  vagaries. 

What  sort  of  a  figure  shall  we  make  in  history,  when  the  government 
of  a  great  kingdom,  supported  by  an  army  of  whose  fidelity  there  is  not 
even  a  suspicion,  fears  such  an  enemy,  while  in  France,  the  government 
are  taking  advantage  of  victory  to  demonstrate  their  security  by  pardoning 
open  rebels ! 

Throughout  Germany  the  political  fever  seems  almost  to  have  ceased, 
though  it  certainly  must  have  run  very  high  some  years  ago.  Each  has 
given  up  his  particular  castle  in  the  air,  and  if  all  Greece  were  to  experi- 
ence the  fate  of  Chios,  it  would  only  produce  a  transient  effervescence.  I 
can  not  properly  make  out  with  what  people  now  seek  to  replace  the  want 
of  some  powerful  excitement ;  they  have  not  returned  to  the  old  quiet  fam- 
ily life.  The  churches  are  well  attended ;  and,  as  far  as  you  can  judge 
from  outward  appearances,  there  seems  to  be  much  piety ;  external  irre- 
ligion  has  really  disappeared,  and  since  the  exaggerations  of  a  few  secta- 
ries are  not  countenanced  by  the  government,  they  do  not  call  forth  any 
re-action.  Unhappily,  irritation  frequently  arises  between  Catholics  and 
Protestants,  for  which  some  priests  among  the  former,  and  officials  among 
the  latter,  are  equally  in  fault.  In  legislation  the  most  shallow  liberal 
principles  prevail  among  the  different  ministries,  and  even  among  the  most 
able  of  the  men  high  in  office.  Do  not  think  it  a  contradiction  that  I 
speak  of  the  shallowness  of  the  principles  of  those  to  whom  I  allow  the 
possession  of  more  than  common  ability  in  administration.  Since  I  have 
.  been  here,  I  have  met  once  more  a  friend  of  high  political  standing,  who 
unites  to  unspotted  integrity  and  extraordinary  talent  in  the  conduct  of 
all  kinds  of  business,  an  obstinate  persistence  in  revolutionary  principles, 
though  he  is  a  decided  monarchist;  an  inflexibility  in  his  opinions,  and 
contempt  for  all  that  contradicts  them,  which  drive  an  old  acquaintance, 
of  a  direotly  opposit^way  of  thinking,  to  despair.  Formerly  we  often 
agreed  negatively.  A  great  void  is  felt  by  all,  which  leads  to  amusements 

*  This  Witt  Doring  was  a  hot-headed  and  unstable  character,  who  had,  when 
a  member  of  the  Burachcnschaft  committed  acts  of  violence  in  spite  of  the  re- 
monstrances of  his  fellow  members.  When  he  was  afterward  imprisoned,  rind- 
ing that  the  stream  set  against  his  party,  or  perhaps  in  a  fit  of  repentance  at  his 
really  unjustifiable  conduct,  he  tamed  round,  and  by  his  exaggerated  confessions 
led  the  government  to  arrest  many  of  his  associates,  who  were  thus  brought  into 
undeserved  misfortune.  He  afterward  accepted  office  under  the  Austrian  gov- 
ernment. 


470  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

without  pleasure.  Luxury,  such  as  was  unknown  even  before  1806,  per- 
vades all  classes,  and  the  booksellers  state,  that  owing  to  this:  though 
every  thing  except  houses  has  become  so  much  cheaper,  and  the  public 
salaries  have  been  raised,  yet  that  scholars,  and  people  of  the  classes  who 
receive  a  liberal  education,  do  not  buy  more  books  than  during  the  time 
when  the  country  was  under  the  yoke  of  Napoleon ;  a  time  to  -which  good 
men  look  back  with  regret,  because  then  community  of  feelings,  an  intense 
interest  in  the  general  welfare,  and  noble  determination  reigned  in  every 
breast.  The  landed  proprietors  are  universally  complaining,  yet  if  they 
were  not  so  deeply  hi  debt,  their  position  would  be  far  from  desperate  in 
the  manufacturing  provinces,  and  in  those  where  they  have  skill  enough  to 
avail  themselves  of  other  productions  besides  corn.  Manufacturers  are 
making  more  progress  than  is  confessed,  and  both  our  own  and  the  French 
manufactured  goods  are  competing  with  the  English  as  they  never  did  be- 
fore. The  average  physical  well-being  is  undoubtedly  raised ;  and  even 
where  the  proprietors  are  not  prospering,  the  workmen  and  day-laborers 
are  only  so  much  the  better  off.  The  prices  of  all  manufactured  articles 
have  fallen  so  amazingly,  that  stuffs  which  were  consumed  exclusively 
among  the  richer  classes  only  eight  years  ago,  are  now  within  reach  of 
quite  the  lower  orders.  But  one  species  of  luxury  opens  the  way  to  every 
other,  and  such  as  you  see  here  is  intolerably  unsuitable  in  a  State  like 
ours.  Stock-jobbing  has  found  its  way  here,  too ;  and  if  we  go  on  in  our 
present  course,  among  us,  too,  even  the  women  will  soon  begin  to  take  an 
interest  in  the  exchanges.  It  seems  as  if  this  sort  of  gambling  helped  to 
relieve  the  want  of  some  violent  mental  excitement,  which  politics  do  not 
afford.  Contentment  exists  nowhere.  This  is  not  only  true  of  Berlin,  but 
also  of  the  smallest  and  most  flourishing  provinces.  It  surprised  me  to 
hear  from  an  excellent  man  in  Brunswick,  that  the  people  acknowledge  this 
to  themselves  ;  while  he  recognized  expressly  how  impossible  it  is  for  us  to 
esteem  ourselves  happy  as  a  nation,  because  of  our  mental  and  moral  defi- 
ciencies. At  most,  he  said  it  was  but  a  North  American  prosperity ;  in 
fact,  the  people  did  not  wish  for  more. 

I  am  concluding  this  letter  on  the  eleventh.  Meanwhile,  I  have  re- 
ceived news  of  the  death  of  my  youngest  child ;  the  mother  has  borne  his 
sufferings  and  his  loss  with  a  heroic  and  heavenly  spirit.  May  God  spare 
us  any  fresh  calamity  and  support  the  poor  mother  till  I  return,  and  help 
her  to  endure.  It  has  not  been  the  child's  fate  to  have  the  happiness  of 
growing  up  in  a  peculiar  relationship  to  you,  my  dear  friend.  God  protect 
you  from  the  repetition  of  a  similar  misfortune.  I  long  to  hear  from  you, 
embrace  you  in  thought,  and  send  my  hearty  greetings  to  your  noble-minded 
wife  and  the  dear  children,  who  will  by  this  time  be  scarcely  able  to  recol- 
lect us.  Write  to  me  at  Bonn. 

With  my  whole  heart  your  friend. 

CCCXVII. 

TO  MADAME  NIEBUHR. 

BERLIN,  9^  June,  1824. 

Presentiments  are  nothing !  I  had  drawn  hopes  from  the  conclusion  of 
your  last  letter  that  almost  amounted  to  confidence.  Hence,  I  broke  open 
your  letter  with  less  anxiety.  I  thank  God,  my  beloved  wife,  that  he  has 


VISIT  TO  BERLIN.  471 

given  and  preserved  to  you  the  strength  of  heart  which  has  enabled  you  to 
endure  this  terrible  time  with  such  fortitude. 

Even  the  day  before  yesterday  my  first  impulse  was  to  hasten  to  you ; 
how  much  more  so  now  that  1  know  you  are  sitting  by  the  corpse  of  our 
beloved  little  one,  with  a  heart  heavy  with  tears  !  But  as  our  fate  will 
now  most  likely  be  decided  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  it  would  be  thought 
a  piece  of  madness  on  my  part,  if  I  left  without  having  taken  leave  of  the 
King  and  thanked  him,  in  order  to  gain  a  day  or  two.  So  I  can  not  yet  fix 
the  time  of  my  departure. 

Let  us  consult  together  upon  our  future  plan  of  life  with  perfect  openness 
and  tender  confidence.  I  have  learnt  to  appreciate  you,  and  your  whole 
worth  thoroughly,  my  Gretchen,  and  this  misfortune  has  brought  us  nearer 
to  each  other,  and  perfected  my  love  for  you  more  than  any  happiness 
could  have  done.  And  therefore  we  will  take  this  affliction  as  another 
blessing  from  God's  hand. 

All  that  you  tell  me  of  the  grief  of  our  two  elder  children  is  a  consola- 
tion to  me.  I  press  each  and  all  of  them  to  my  faithful  heart. 

Give  my  best  remembrances  to  Brandis.  I  am  buying  little  presents  for 
the  children,  but  with  what  a  weight  at  my  heart !  I  feel  as  though  I  had 
lost  all  security  that  they  were  still  mine ! 

cccxvni. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

BONN,  2d  September,  1824. 

I  thank  you  for  your  sympathy  with  me  about  De  Serre's  death. 

It  is  an  immense  loss  for  me,  no  man  was  so  dear  to  me  ;  no  human  being 
esteemed  me  so  highly.  He  had  no  secrets  from  me,  and  I  was  more  to 
him  than  all  the  world  besides,  beyond  his  own  family.  Under  the  suc- 
cession of  heavy  blows  that  fell  upon  him  and  his  wife  during  the  past 
year,  their  sigh  was,  if  only  Niebuhr  was  here  !  He  has  departed  to  God, 
and  his  warm  affection  for  me  he  has  carried  with  him,  and  his  family 
look  upon  me  as  a  kinsman,  the  more  so,  as  most  of  their  relations  have 
been  unfaithful  to  them.  Our  age  has  not  seen  a  more  brilliant  or  power- 
ful genius.  I  purpose  to  write  his  life  if  the  family  can  supply  me  with 
data  for  some  periods  of  it.  I  possess  many  from  his  own  accounts  to  my- 
$elf.  His  life  would  be  the  history  of  France  since  1814 :  I  have  courage 
enough  to  write  it,  though  it  will  not  even  be  the  liberals  who  will  make 
the  greatest  outcry  against  my  work.  What  bound  De  Serre  and  myself 
so  indissolubly  together  was,  that  our  views  harmonized  so  completely  from 
the  very  centre  of  our  being,  that  each  could  read  into  the  soul  of  the  other, 
and  no  clashing  of  opinion  could  ever  arise  between  us.  He  had  the  purest 
aoul,  and  the  most  loving  heart  on  earth.  Why  have  you  never  known 
him  ?  Farewell.  * 

CCCXIX. 

BERLIN,  I4lh  December,  1694. 

That  my  taking  a  part  in  the  deliberations  of  the  Council  of  State  can 
be  productive  of  any  good,  is  a  delusion  springing  from  my  dear  Prince's 
affection  for  me.  Moreover,  I  come  to  the  subjects  now  under  discussion 
without  local  knowledge,  and  they  relate  to  a  measure  so  completely 
spoiled  long  ago  by  earlier  laws,  that  there  would  be  little  hope  of  effect- 


472  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

ing  any  improvement,  even  if  I  were  better  prepared.  Many,  in  other  re- 
spects, intelligent  people  do  not  know  the  consequences  of  their  own  votes, 
and  in  a  mixed  assembly  you  can  not  call  their  attention  to  them,  or  else 
you  lose  other  votes.  Thus  some  voted  yesterday  against  the  claims  of 
the  poor  cotters  to  right  of  common,  from  a  misunderstanding,  over  which 
I  could  have  wept ;  and  some  aristocrats  had  the  humanity  to  vote  in  their 
favor.  Thus,  too,  I  am  certain  not  to  succeed  in  carrying  motions  for  the 
rescue  and  maintenance  of  the  peasant  order,  though  important  voices 
among  the  aristocracy  will  be  on  my  side. 

The  Bank  project  does  not  come  under  discussion  in  the  Council  of  State, 
but  is  referred  to  special  conferences.  It  has  not  yet  been  communicated 
to  me,  I  expect  it  to-day  or  to-morrow.  It  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  know 
that  one  is  separated  from  one's  family  for  real  reasons,  not  imaginary 
ones,  for  about  the  Bank  I  certainly  have  a  voice,  and  very  few  people  here 
have  one. 

I  see  no  prospect  of  returning  home  in  less  than  two  or  three  months 
from  this  time ;  I  shall  not  know  when  I  may  seriously  begin  to  think  about 
it,  till  the  Bank  business  is  ended,  which  can  not  be  dragged  on  to  an  in- 
terminable length  like  other  things,  as  the  bankers  demand  a  decision. 

I  have  met  with  little  of  a  cheering  kind  here,  excepting  the  disposition 
of  the  Crown  Prince.  I  shun  society  and  decline  all  evening  assemblies, 
except  formal  presentations,  which  can  not  be  avoided.  My  old  connections 
are  broken  up  on  all  sides,  and  I  do  not  know  how  we  should  make  a  place 
for  ourselves  here,  even  if  we  had  a  superfluity  of  wealth. 

There  are  some  good  souls,  especially  among  the  nobility  and  at  court, 
who  see  me  again  with  a  sort  of  superstitious  hope  ;  but  I  tell  them  my- 
self, that  though  their  hopes  touch  my  heart,  they  are  illusory,  and  will 
not  be  justified.  Such  expressions  give  me  no  pleasure,  just  because  they 
rest  upon  a  delusion. 

How  Gretchen  will  get  through  this  winter  God  knows  !  Her  compan- 
ion does  not  come  till  the  middle  of  March 

cccxx. 

TO  MADAME  NIEBUHR. 

BERLIN  Christmas  evening,  1824. 

I  was  at  Buttmann's  on  Sunday  evening.     Dr.  Waagen,  who  has 

written  upon  Van  Eyck  was  there.  Of  all  the  people  who  have  written 
upon  the  history  of  art,  he  appears  to  me  to  have  incomparably  the  most 
clear  and  acute  mind,  and  he  really  comes  to  practical  results  that  solve 
questions  which  I  had  hitherto  laid  before  all  other  historians  of  art  in 
vain.  Eauch,  too,  is  in  a  delightful  state  of  activity. 

CCCXXL 

BERLIN,  5^  January,  1825 

I  had  just  begun,  the  night  before  last,  to  re-arrange  what  I  had 

written  at  first  about  the  Bank  scheme,  in  order  to  bring  it  into  a  definite 

shape,  when  a  note  came  from  Count  L ,  to  request  that  I  would  now 

proceed  to  draw  up  my  remarks.  I  now  set  about  the  work  with  redoubled 
zeal.  I  had  concluded  my  scrutiny,  I  had  tested  all  the  separate  points, 
and  was  clear  about  them ;  all  I  had  to  do  (the  arrangement  I  had  also 


VISIT  TO  BERLIN.  473 

settled  in  thought)  was  to  write.  I  finished  writing  it  last  night,  and  as 
I  had  got  the  address  of  a  copyist  I  was  saved  this  labor.  But  I  had  after- 
ward a  long  job  to  do  for  the  next  sitting  of  the  Council  of  State.  Savigny 
is  appointed  to  make  a  report  upon  the  same  subject.  I  wish  his  health 
may  not  give  way.  It  is  not  good  just  now,  and  he  is  quite  overladen 
with  work.  He  has  frequent  returns  of  violent  pain  in  the  head.  He  is 
going  on  with  his  History,  delivering  his  lectures,  and  added  to  these, 
there  is  the  work  for  the  Council  of  State,  and  the  Court  of  Revision.  It 
is  too  much  for  one  man's  shoulders  ;  and  then  there  is  his  infirm  health. 
Thinking  about  the  Bank  scheme  really  puts  me  into  a  sort  of  feverish 
state.  I  believe  it  to  be  fraught  with  ruin,  and  yet  see  that  there  is  dan- 
ger of  its  passing ;  there  are  so  many  and  such  important  persons  interested 
in  it.  The  speculators  must  have  some  sort  of  security  of  its  success,  for 
even  now,  promissory  notes  for  shares  in  the  Bank  are  selling  on  the  Ex- 
change, which  certainly  is  mere  gambling;  still  it  shows  how  eager  people 
are  in  this  game.  The  consequences  would  show  afterward  that  I  had 
been  in  the  right,  but  then  it  would  be  too  late.  I  write  to  you  about  thia 
business,  my  Gretchen,  because  my  head  is  full  of  it ;  and  you  must,  at 
least,  share  my  interests,  and  know  what  I  am  busied  with,  although  you 
can  not  enter  into  the  subject.  Besides,  its  importance  will  help  to  recon- 
cile you  to  the  absence  of  your  husband. 

CCCXXII. 

BERLIN,  10/A  January,  1825. 

I  have  sent  in  my  report,  and  have  received  since,  a  written  an- 

•wer,  with  many  fair  words  about  the  "  importance  of  my  observations,' 
"  the  value  of  such  a  report,"  &c.  I  do  not  know  if  I  am  right,  but  2 
fancy  that  all  this  conceals  a  rejection  of  my  services  in  this  matter. 
Well,  I  must  be  contented  with  having  done  my  part.  The  result  doe» 
not  depend  upon  me.  Still,  it  will  be  difficult  to  submit  to  it  when  I  have 
such  decided  opinions,  and  know  that  I  understand  the  matter.  All  who 
were  interested  in  the  projects  of  the  share-brokers,  and  all  who  reckon  on 
places  and  salaries  connected  with  the  Bank  will  become  my  enemies;  this 
I  can  not  help,  any  more  than  that  others  will  blame  me  who  have  no  such 
aims,  but  have  allowed  themselves  to  be  deluded. 

I  have  got  a  letter  from  M.  Von  Stein.  He  calls  it  criminal  if  I  spare 
myself  on  your  account  and  the  children's ;  he  dreams  that  I  could  confer 
important  benefits  on  the  State,  from  which  I  withdraw  myself  in  an  un- 
conscientious  way,  from  selfish  motives,  &c.  I  will  send  a  mild  answer 
to  the  noble  old  man,  but  not  before  all  is  decided ;  then  I  will  show  him 
that  I  am  capable  of  acting  fearlessly ;  but  he  shall  not  delude  me  with 
his  pictures  of  the  imagination.  For  the  rest,  the  letter  expresses  much 
affection,  and  a  high  esteem  for  me.  Happy  are  they  who  live  in  obscurity 
and  quiet ! 

Yesterday  there  was  a  dinner  at  Count  Lottum's,  a  ball  and  supper  in 
the  evening  at  the  Brockhausens' ;  I  went  away  before  supper.  I  am 
going  to  dine  with  Humboldt  to-day,  to  have  a  conversation  with  him 
about  Champollion's  work  on  the  hieroglyphics.  You  very  seldom  get 
conversations  of  this  kind  here.  These  discoveries  are  the  most  brilb'ant 
of  our  age,  and  one  can  not  rejoice  in  them  too  much ;  they,  too,  confirm 
Herodotus 


474  MEMOIR  0^  NIEBTJHR. 

CCCXXIII. 

BERLIN,  1st  February,  1825. 

As  Amsterdam  is  nearer  to  Bonn  than  to  Berlin,  you  will  have  had  the 
pleasure  of  learning  the  safe  arrival  of  the  ship  from  Leghorn,  laden  with 
our  goods,  earlier  than  I,  dearest  wife.  I  have  really  rejoiced  greatly  to 
hear  of  it,  for  I  looked  upon  the  ship  as  lost,  and  I  am  not  ashamed  to 
confess,  that  next  to  your  present  of  the  She-wolf  and  Zurlo's  vase,  our 
dear  Marcus's  pebbles  are  my  greatest  subject  of  joy.  It  has  often  gone 
to  my  heart  to  think  that  the  darling  child  should  lose  these  treasures.  I 
only  hope  that  the  injury  to  the  pictures  will  prove  inconsiderable. 

After  this  joyful  news,  and  a  walk  along  old  accustomed  ways  and 
paths,  I  should  write  to  you  in  excellent  spirits,  if  the  aspect  of  affairs 

were  but  better They  are  hastening  to  the  goal,  and  seem  to  have 

assured  themselves  of  a  majority.  As  soon  as  I  can  know  positively  that 
it  is  so,  I  think  of  writing  to  the  King  and  conjuring  him  for  the  last  time 
to  listen  to  my  warning,  and  to  grant  me  leave  to  explain  my  views  to  him 
by  word  of  mouth.  How  the  King  will  take  this,  it  is  impossible  to  fore- 
see. Certainly  not  ungraciously,  unless  others  prejudice  him  against  me  ; 
else,  it  must  be  confessed,  all  hope  of  court  favor  is  over.  If  he  did,  such 
a  reward  for  long-tried  fidelity  and  integrity  would  grieve  me,  but  it  would 
not  injure  me,  and  as  soon  as  I  can  sing  with  Paul  Gerhard — 

"Nnn  geht  frisch  drauf,  es  geht  nach  Haus  ; 
Ihr  Rosslein  regt  die  Beine ;" 

the  time  will  have  come  when  the  innocent  gayety  of  our  children,  and 
the  approach  of  the  spring,  will  enable  us  to  drive  these  gloomy  subjects 
from  our  minds. 

Now  to  other  things. — Dear  Savigny  is  very  unwell  again I 

will  write  to  M.  Von  Stein.  Let  us  look  upon  the  dear  noble  old  man  as 
a  father,  and  receive  what  he  says  in  that  light;  he  means  it  all  kindly, 
and  if  he  conies,  show  him  every  kindness  you  can,  dear  Gretchen.  His 
petulance  is  really  almost  his  only  fault :  and  you  are  obliged  to  bear  mine, 
which  certainly  is  of  another  kind,  but  I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  any 
better  on  that  account 

CCCXXIV. 

BERLIN,  29th  January,  1825. 

It  is  an  old  maxim,  to  let  the  log  lie  when  you  can  not  lift  it. 

But  when  you  find  yourself  unable  to  avert  a  coming  evil,  when  you  see 
the  object  frustrated  on  which  you  have  expended  your  best  powers  from 
the  purest  motives,  you  draw  back  at  last,  and  cease  to  interfere,  but  leave 
things  to  take  their  own  course,  and,  for  your  own  part,  only  try  to  think 
no  more  about  them  :  and  this  is  a  most  unhappy  result ;  for  that  love  for 
the  general  welfare  which  makes  us  forget  ourselves,  has  a  purifying  and 
ennobling  influence.  I  have  said  to  many  persons,  "  If  you  would  speak 
out,  and  make  known  what  you  say  is  your  conviction,  without  considering- 
whether  it  would  give  offense  or  not,  such  a  weight  of  opinion  would  be 
formed,  that  the  project  would  inevitably  founder."  But  then,  they  ex- 
cuse themselves  by  saying  it  would  be  presumption.  &c.  Things  look 
.  rather  better  than  when  I  last  wrote.  They  are  talking  of  proposing  an- 


VISIT  TO  BERLIN.  475 

other  scheme ;  which  would  perhaps  be  less  pernicious,  and  just  on  that 
account  can  not  succeed  in  passing;  it  would  not  allow  sufficient  profits 
to  share-broking 

cccxxv. 

BERLIN,  8th  February,  1825. 

When  I  have  finished  my  business  here,  I  shall  enter  a  new 

epoch  of  my  life  with  a  firm  step ;  and  with  our  dear  children,  above  all 
with  my  better  self  Marcus,  and  in  home  pleasures,  particularly  those  which 
our  garden  will  give  us,  for  which  a  strong  taste  and  desire  have  awakened 
in  me,  I  trust  wo  shall  lead  not  merely  a  life  of  serene  resignation,  but  of 
bright  happiness.  We  will  make  little  excursions  too.  The  impression 
of  the  scenery  and  ruins  of  Heidelberg,  stands  quite  apart  from  all  that  I 
have  seen  in  Germany,  except  the  Tyrol ;  we  will  go  there  again  before 
long. 

While  one  translation  of  my  History  is  already  begun,  a  second  trans- 
lator has  applied  to  me.  At  the  same  time,  the  Duke  of  Broglie  is  writing 
a  treatise  on  its  contents.  On  the  other  hand,  a  pamphlet  has  appeared 
at  Warsaw,  in  which  I  am  called  a  Radical  of  the  Cato-street  school 
(where  Thistlewood  and  his  accomplices,  who  wanted  to  murder  the  min- 
isters, used  to  assemble),  and  it  is  said  that  Sand's  mind  was  formed  by 
my  lectures !  What  nonsense !  This  comes  from  a  certain  Zinserling, 
who  printed  a  eulogy  of  Jerome  Bonaparte,  in  1814.  The  late  Christian 
Stolberg  threatened  to  horsewhip  him  for  it,  and  he  bolted.  He  had  had 
an  appointment  in  the  Westphaliaa  police. 

CCCXXVI. 

BERLIN,  16th  February,  1825. 

The  pay  for  the  attendance  in  the  Council  is  so  large  that  I  do  not 

use  it  all.  It  seemed  to  me  dishonorable  to  take  more  than  I  wanted ;  but 
I  am  told  that  it  would  be  considered  unbecoming  to  decline  it.  So  I  will 
apply  the  surplus  to  assist  those  who  have  suffered  in  Dithmarsh  by  the 
floods.  You  would,  no  doubt,  approve  of  my  doing  so,  if  I  could  consult 
you.  I  will  send  the  money  to  Dora,  that  she  may  see  that  is  divided  BO 
as  to  be  a  real  benefit,  not  among  too  many. 

If  our  things  have  not  been  shipwrecked  in  the  Texel,  I  shall  buy  some 
more  plate ;  else  the  money  must  go  to  replace  what  we  have  lost. 

Give  my  kind  remembrances  to  Bran  die.  I  often  talk  of  him  with  poor 
Cousins  :  to  whom  people  are  extremely  polite  now 

CCCXXVII. 

BERLIN,  21*/  February,  1825. 

Yesterday,  on  my  little  Cornelia's  birthday,  my  thoughts  were 

more  than  usually  with  you.  The  weather  was  beautiful,  and  I  hope  you 
took  a  drive  to  Godesberg.  I  went  with  Perthes  to  dine  at  the  Reimers'. 
Not  until  to-day  did  I  think  of  the  arrival  of  the  Cossacks  on  this  day  in 
1813.  Thus  do  we  forget !  You  are  no  doubt  right  in  thinking  that  it  is 
wiser  not  to  give  the  children  so  many  presents  as  I  send  them  in  my  im- 
patience   23d. — There  was  much  that  cheered  me  in  your  letter. 

First,  that  your  companion  is  really  an  assistance  to  you ;  next,  that  you 
have  found  time  to  take  up  Italian  again  with  my  sweet  little  Amelia. 


476  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTJHR. 

This  reminds  me  that  I  must  in  future  devote  a  few  hours  every  week  to 
reading  the  Italian  Grammar  with  Marcus.  Then,  too,  I  am  glad  that  we 
seem  likely  to  be  able  to  hire  the  garden  in  the  first  place.  Do  not  you 
think,  too,  that  as  soon  as  we  can  be  quite  certain  of  remaining  in  Bonn, 
which  can  scarcely  indeed  be  any  longer  considered  as  doubtful,  we  might 
as  well  buy  the  garden  of  Dr.  V.  at  his  price  ?  I  do  not  properly  under- 
stand myself  what  it  is  that  gives  me  such  a  downright  passionate  longing 
to  possess  this  garden ;  it  is  as  if  I  had  a  certainty  that  we  shall  spend 
many  happy  days  there  with  the  children.  Give  me  commissions  to  buy 
seeds  for  you.  With  the  sad  state  of  corn  cultivation,  it  may  even  become 
a  public  service  to  introduce  the  culture  of  vegetables  that  have  been  hitherto 
neglected.  One  can  distribute  seeds;  in  this  way  a  demand  for  them 
gradually  arises,  and  from  the  demand  cultivation.  From  next  autumn, 
we  can  begin  to  raise  fruit  trees.  What  pleasure  I  have  often  received, 
when  a  child,  from  the  blossoming  and  fruit-bearing  trees  in  my  father's 
garden ! 

May  it  not  be  our  duty  to  follow  a  noble  example,  though  at  considerable 
cost  to  ourselves  ?  You  have,  no  doubt,  heard  that  several  persons  in  Paris, 
of  right  feeling,  but  of  quite  opposite  opinions  on  other  points,  have  joined 
together  to  assist  Greece,  and  among  other  things  are  trying  to  raise  ten 
or  twelve  millions  of  francs  as  a  loan.  If  the  Greek  government  can  pro- 
cure a  tolerable  sum  of  money  now,  we  may  hope  that  it  will  be  able  to  put 
down  the  rebels,  and  break  their  power  entirely  ;  and  perhaps  even  win  over 
the  Turkish  pashas. 

The  Crown  Prince  has  given  me  some  volumes  of  Piranesi,  of  which  he 
has  a  double  set 

1  am  just  about  to  take  the  step  at  which  I  hinted  lately  in  a  few  words 
to  you.  I  hope  that  upon  mature  consideration  you  will  approve  of  it. 
This  step  is,  to  send  in  a  letter  to  the  ministry  of  Public  Instruction,  re- 
questing that  if  I  should  wish  to  deliver  lectures  at  Bonn,  I  may  be  permit- 
ted to  do  so  without  the  formality,  which  in  my  case  would  be  unsuitable, 
of  an  examination  by  the  other  professors  of  my  faculty.  I  do  not  thereby 
take  upon  myself  any  obligation,  but  I  mean  to  act  as  if  I  did.  This  kind 
of  work  satisfies  my  sense  of  honor,  and  my  need  of  a  sphere  of  active  use- 
fulness ;  it  will  keep  my  mind  fresher,  to  be  thus  daily  stimulated  to  intel- 
lectual communication ;  and  further,  it  will  also  give  me  a  reasonable 
ground  for  declining  frequent  journeys  hither,  as  I  can  not  then  frequently 
interrupt  my  lectures.  And  will  not  the  lectures  be  their  own  reward  ? 
In  many  respects,  too,  it  would  remind  me  of  the  happy  time  that  I  passed 
after  resolving  to  deliver  lectures  in  1810.  Then,  as  now,  after  protracted 
wanderings,  I  regained  my  books  and  tranquillity.  I  think  I  should  choose 
the  History  of  Greece,  in  the  first  instance,  and  only  lecture  this  time  till 
about  July,  and  then  make  a  tour  with  you.  A  new  existence  has  now 
been  created  for  us ;  and  I  feel  it  to  be  of  inexpressible  importance  to  keep 
fast  hold  of  it,  not  to  begin  afresh  again  and  again. 

CCCXXVIII. 

BERLIN,  Zd  March.  1825. 

The  wind  was  very  high  last  night.     At  every  gust  I  think  of 

the  poor  dwellers  in  the  marshes.     Vinche*  is  such  a  thoroughly  excellent 
*  He  was  at  this  time  President  of  Westphalia. 


VISIT  TO  BERLIN.  477 

man  !  He  has  written  to  the  King,  asking  permission  to  make  a  collection 
for  the  East  Frieslanders,  and  requesting  a  donation  from  his  Majesty  him- 
self in  aid  of  his  former  subjects.  The  King  has  given  3000  dollars,  and  a 
permission  for  the  subscription.  I  have  contributed  twenty-five  dollars  to 
begin  with,  and  think  we  can  give  a  second  subscription  of  the  same 
amount.  These  low  landers  are  like  kinsmen  to  me,  and  it  grieves  me 
deeply  that  East  Frieslund  should  be  separated  from  our  monarchy.  I 
think  very  highly  of  this  race.  Vinche  goes  on  all  occasions  BO  straight  to 
the  point,  without  questioning  and  fear  of  consequences ;  he  is  so  mild  of 
heart,  and  yet  so  open  and  straightforward,  and  so  thoroughly  loyal.  He 
has  become  still  dearer  to  me  than  he  ever  was  before 

I  have  just  been  reading  in  Cicero  a  maxim  of  some  worldly-minded 
Greek  philosophers,  which  he  finds  detestable  ;  that  in  friendship  we  should 
never  forget  that  we  may  cease  to  bo  friends.  With  the  noblest  class  of 
human  beings  this  is  certainly  detestable,  and  wherever  there  is  a  warm, 
mutual  attachment.  But  in  other  cases  it  has  really  a  good  meaning. 
You  ought  to  be  cautious  in  your  acquaintanceship  how  you  overstep  the 
bounds  of  friendly  good-will,  unless  you  are  absolutely  certain  that  your 
connection  can  not  be  interrupted  and  broken  off  on  one  side  or  the  other. 
This  occurred  to  me  in  reading  what  you  tell  me. 

Did  you  notice  again  in  Marcus's  letter  a  hint  of  his  desire  to  learn  Greek  ? 

CCCXXIX. 

BERLIN,  \»th  March,  1825. 

It  gives  a  peculiar  satisfaction  to  read  what  is  frequently  asserted  at  the 
present  day,  that  the  rate  of  mortality  is  much  diminished  as  compared  to 
former  times.  Formerly  I  refused  to  believe  in  it,  because  it  is  certainly 
hard  to  understand.  Now  that  I  hare  children  I  am  too  much  interested 
in  the  question  not  to  believe  it. 

I  sent  off  my  letter  to  the  King  yesterday.  As  I  wrote  the  date  at  the 
end,  my  father's  birthday,  I  felt  quite  clear  that  he  would  have  disapproved 
of  this  step  had  he  been  living.  Entirely  without  ambition  for  himself  ho 
would  have  wished  me  to  yield  in  all  points  not  involving  a  positive  violation 
of  my  conscience,  rather  than  give  up  the  possibility  of  attaining  a  brilliant 
position.  The  remembrance  of  this  has  not,  however,  in  the  least  confused 
my  perceptions,  the  propriety  of  my  step  admits  of  no  doubt.  I  have  re- 
quested the  King's  permission  to  leave  in  either  of  two  cases,  first,  that  if 
the  commission  communicate  the  bill  to  me  I  may  leave  as  soon  as  I  have 
made  my  report  to  the  King ;  secondly,  that  if  I  hear  that  they  have  sent 
in  their  report  at  once  to  the  King,  as  soon  as  my  connection  with  the 
commission  is  dissolved.  I  think  that  the  King  will  grant  this  without 
difficulty.  But  I  have  further  said  that  Itegard  it  as  my  duty  to  lay  before 
His  Majesty  a  final  expression  of  my  opinions  on  the  project,  and  predictions 
of  its  consequences. 

I  dined  to-day  with  the  Crown  Prince  as  usual  after  the  Council  of  State, 
and  was  some  time  alone  with  him  afterward 

The  English  newspaper  is  a  sort  of  luxury,*  but  it  is  not  a  mere  luxury; 
and  it  is  always  a  pity  to  break  off  any  study  in  which  you  have  acquired 
a  certain  degree  of  proficiency.  Thus,  I  am  very  sorry  not  to  have  carried 

*  Niebabr  bad  commissioned  his  wife  to  order  an  English  newspaper,  saying, 
"If  I  quite  leaveoff  reading  English  papers,  IshalllosemyknowledgeofBngland." 


478  MEMOIR  OF  N1EBUHR. 

on  Persian  and  Arabic Tell  Brandis  that  Cousins  is  on  very  in- 
timate terms  with  Hegel,  which  is  indeed  owing  to  Hegel's  interposition  hi 
his  favor  during  his  captivity.  Still  it  is  somewhat  extraordinary.  Ask 
Brandis  if  he  ever,  when  in  Paris,  heard  such  strange  expressions  as  the 
following  fall  from  him,  that  the  gradual  formation  of  Christianity  had 
commenced  from  the  earliest  ages,  but  that  Judaism  was  not  its  historical 
source.  That  Christ  himself  knew  very  little  of  Christianity ;  the  system 
was  completed  in  the  seventh  and  following  centuries  :  that  the  Reformers 
were  quite  in  error  in  desiring  to  go  back  to  the  first  centuries,  in  which 
religion  had  not  yet  attained  its  maturity  :  that  Hegel  perceived  this,  but 
that  the  rest  of  us  did  not,  &c.  In  this  way  these  gentlemen  may  come  to 
a  compromise  with  Catholicism.  Such  cloudly  utterances  from  a  French- 
man disgust  me.  Among  us  Germans  they  are  not  quite  unheard-of. 

cccxxx. 

BERLIN,  22d  March,  1825. 

I  too  like  to  think  of  Bonn  as  our  future  place  of  abode,  and  am 

persuaded  that  we  could  not  have  a  better  lot.  I  mean  to  try  to  enter 
into  the  local  interests  of  the  place.  By  so  doing  you  identify  yourself 
more  closely  with  the  inhabitants.  Besides,  it  is  a  necessity  of  my  nature 
to  concern  myself  with  the  weal  and  woe  of  those  who  belong  to  the  same 
community  as  myself. 

I  rejoice  in  the  idea  that  our  garden  will  furnish  us  with  an  occupation 
that  is  neither  literary,  political,  nor  administrative ;  that  sort  of  interest 
which  has  been  so  completely  out  of  my  reach  ever  since  my  childhood, 
and  had  become  so  foreign  to  me.  that  I  did  not  believe  I  should  ever  be 
so  happy  as  to  experience  it  again.  It  is  a  great  blessing  that  my  health 
continues  so  remarkably  good ;  although  it  is  the  case  with  me  as  with 
sickly  children  who  attain  to  a  permanent  state  of  health ;  I  feel  myself 
much  less  intellectual  than  at  the  period  when  every  impression  made  it- 
self felt  through  my  whole  nature  physical  as  well  as  moral. 

Marcus's  affectionate  disposition  shows  itself  in  his  expressions  about 
Goschen  and  Lieber  in  his  letters.  I  can  not  imagine  how  he  should  have 
recollected  Lieber's  birthday. 

It  had  been  said  that  Lieber  was  to  be  released  on  his  father's  birth- 
day,* but  nothing  has  come  of  it.  Such  carelessness  in  leaving  a  good 
man  to  languish  in  fetters  makes  me  indignant,  though  no  cruelty  is  in- 
tended  

CCGXXXI. 

BERLIN,  2<f  April. 

I  wrote  to  poor  Lieber,  and  he  has  sent  me  an  answer  that  has 

touched  me  deeply.  The  poor  fellow  is  quite  broken-hearted,  I  wish  1 
could  find  time  to  make  an  excursion  to  Kopenick  and  comfort  him.  Per- 
haps I  shall  be  able  on  Monday. t 

I  am  glad  to  hear  that  the  people  will. receive  my  lectures  kindly,  only 
they  must  not  carry  their  kindness  too  far.  It  is  my  earnest  wish  that 
more  of  the  professors,  &c.  should  attend  the  course 

*  He  had  been  arrested  on  suspicion  of  belonging  to  a  secret  association, 
t  In  the  following  letter,  dated  6th,  Niebuhr  says,  "  I  visited  poor  Lieber  yes- 
terday, in  the  Bastile  of  Kopenick,  oh  my  God!" 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  479 

CCCXXXII. 

BERLIN,  nth  April  1824. 

This  morning  I  have  at  last  finished  my  final  application  to  the  King. 
To  write  thus  for  the  fourth  time  about  the  same  thing,  and  each  time  to 
have  to  answer  the  same  objections  over  again  is  very  wearying ;  you  can 
not  invent  new  arguments  when  you  have  once  exhausted  the  subject  in 
your  representations.  You  can  only  try  to  put  it  in  new  points  of  view 
from  which  it  may  appear  somewhat  clearer,  more  self-evident. ...... 

I  have  yet  to  write  to  Schuckenan  for  poor  Lieber.  In  the  evening  I 
shall  take  leave  of  the  dear  Crown  "Prince. 


1825-1831. 

WE  now  enter  on  the  last,  and  for  posterity,  the  most  import- 
ant section  of  Niebuhr's  life,  if  we  except,  perhaps,  the  three  years 
of  his  professorship  in  Berlin.  From  his  letters  it  has  been  seen 
already  that  he  had  determined  to  deliver  lectures  at  the  "Univer- 
sity, though  holding  no  official  appointment  there.  His  freedom 
from  other  occupations  and  cares,  enabled  him  at  last  seriously  to 
undertake  the  accomplishment  of  his  promise  to  his  Amelia,  and 
continue  his  Roman  History..  He  returned  to  the  vocation,  which 
had  in  his  youth  floated  before  him  as  the  true  ideal  of  his  life, 
namely,  the  position  of  a  public  instructor  ;  and  found  ample  op- 
portunity to  redeem  the  vow  he  had  made  in  his  early  years,  to 
extend  guidance  and  assistance  to  any  young  men  who  might 
hereafter  encounter  the  same  intellectual  difficulties  through  which 
he  had  had  to  wend  his  own  way. 

Niebuhr  commenced  his  lectures  with  a  course  on  the  History 
of  Greece  after  the  battle  of  Chseronea,  and  had  a  numerous  audi- 
ence. This  course  was  followed  by  others  on  Roman  Antiqui- 
ties, in  the  winter  of  1825,  repeated  in  1827  ;  Ancient  History, 
in  the  summer  of  1826  ;  Ancient  Ethnography  and  Geography, 
in  the  winter  of  1827  ;  the  History  of  Rome  to  the  Fall  of  the 
Empire,  in  the  wiifler  of  1828  ;  the  History  of  the  last  Forty 
Years,  and  of  Rome  under  the  Emperors,  in  the  summer  of  1829  ; 
and  a  second  course  of  Roman  History,  in  the  summer  of  1830. 

We  have  seen  that,  at  Berlin,  Niebuhr  delivered  his  lectures 
verbatim  from  written  notes.  At  Bonn,  on  the  contrary,  his  only 
preparation  consisted  in  meditating  for  a  short  time  on  the  subject 
of  his  lecture,  and  referring  to  authorities  for  their  data  when  he 


480  MEMOIR  OF  NlUBTJHR. 

found  it  necessary,  and  he  brought  no  written  notes  with  him  to 
the  lecture-room.  His  success  in  imparting  his  ideas  varied  great- 
ly at  different  times,  as  it  depended  almost  entirely  on  his  mental 
and  physical  condition  at  the  moment.  He  always  felt  a  certain 
difficulty  in  expressing  himself.  He  grasped  his  subject  as  a 
whole,  and  it  was  not  easy  to  him  to  retrace  the  steps  by  which 
he  had  arrived  at  his  results.  Hence  his  style  was  harsh  and 
often  disjointed  ;  and  yet  he  possessed  a  species  of  eloquence  whose 
value  is  of  a  high  order — that  of  making  the  expression  the  exact 
reflection  of  the  thought — that  of  embodying  each  separate  idea 
in  an  adequate  but  not  redundant  form.  The  discourse  was  no 
dry  impersonal  statement  of  facts  and  arguments,  or  even  opin- 
ions ;  the  whole  man,  with  his  conceptions,  feelings,  moral  senti- 
ments, nay  passions  too,  was  mirrored  forth  in  it.  Hence  Niebuhr 
not  merely  informed  and  stimulated  the  minds  of  his  hearers,  but 
attracted  their  affections.  That  he  did  this  in  an  eminent  degree, 
was  not  indeed  owing  to  his  lectures  alone,  but  also  to  his  kind 
and  generous  conduct.  All  who  deserved  it  were  sure  of  his  sym- 
pathy and  assistance,  whether  oppressed  by  intellectual  difficul- 
ties, or  pecuniary  cares.  During  the  first  year  he  delivered  his 
lectures  gratis ;  afterward,  on  its  being  represented  to  him  that 
this  would  be  injurious  to  other  professors,  who  could  not  afford 
to  do  the  same,  he  consented  to  take  fees,  but  employed  them  in 
assisting  poor  scholars  and  founding  prizes.  He  often,  however, 
still  remitted  the  fee  privately,  when  he  perceived  that  a  young 
man  could  not  well  afford  it,  and  never  took  any  from  friends. 

But  those  who  were  admitted  to  his  domestic  circle  were  the 
class  most  deeply  indebted  to  him.  His  interest  in  all  subjects 
of  scientific  or  moral  importance  was  always  lively ;  and  it  was 
impossible  to  be  in  his  company  without  deriving  some  accession 
of  knowledge  and  incentive  to  good.  From  his  associates  he  only 
required  a  warm  and  pure  heart,  and  a  sincere  love  of  knowledge, 
with  a  freedom  from  affectation  or  arrogance.  Where  he  found 
these,  he  willingly  adapted  himself  to  the  wants  and  capacities 
of  his  companions ;  would  receive  objections  mildly,  and  take 
pains  to  answer  them  even  when  urged  by  mere  youths,  and 
weigh  carefully  every  new  idea  presented  to  him.  He  was  fond 
of  society,  and  while  his  great  irritability  not  seldom  gave  rise  to 
misunderstandings  and  contemporary  estrangement  in  the  circle 
of  his  acquaintance,  there  were  some  friends  with  whom  he  al- 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  481 

ways  remained  on  terms  of  unbroken  intimacy ;  among  whom 
may  be  named  Professors  Brandis,  Arndt,  Nitzsch,  Bleek,  Nake, 
Welker,  and  Hollweg.  He  enjoyed  wit  in  others,  and  in  his 
lighter  moods  racy  and  pointed  sayings  escaped  him  not  unfre- 
quently. 

His  intercourse  was  not  confined  to  the  literary  circles.  In  all 
the  civil  affairs  of  the  town  and  neighborhood,  he  took  an  active 
interest  from  principle  as  well  as  inclination,  for  he  considered  a 
man  as  no  good  citizen  who  refused  to  take  his  share  of  the  public 
business  of  the  neighborhood  in  which  he  lived.  The  loss  which 
left  so  great  a  blank  in  the  world  of  letters,  was  also  deeply  re- 
gretted by  his  fellow-townsmen  of  Bonn. 

Niebuhr's  mode  of  life  at  Bonn  was  very  regular,  and  his  hab- 
its simple.  He  hated  show  and  unnecessary  luxury  in  domestic 
life.  He  loved  art  in  her  proper  place,  but  could  not  bear  to  see 
her  degraded  into  the  mere  minister  of  outward  ease.  His  life  in 
.his  own  family  showed  the  erroneousness  of  the  assertion  that  a 
thorough  devotion  to  learning  is  inconsistent  with  the  claims  of 
family  affection.  He  liked  to  hear  of  all  the  little  household 
occurrences,  and  his  sympathy  was  as  ready  for  the  little  sorrows 
of  his  children  as  for  the  misfortunes  of  a  nation.  He  was  in  the 
habit  of  rising  at  seven  in  the  morning,  and  retiring  at  eleven. 
At  the  simple  one  o'clock  dinner  he  generally  conversed  cheerfully 
upon  the  contents  of  the  newspapers  which  he  had  just  looked 
through.  The  conversation  was  usually  continued  during  the 
walk  which  he  took  immediately  afterward.  The  building  of  a 
house,  or  the  planting  of  a  garden  had  always  an  attraction  for 
him,  and  he  used  to  watch  the  measuring  of  a  wall,  or  the  break- 
ing open  of  an  entrance  with  the  same  species  of  interest  with 
which  he  observed  the  development  of  a  political  organization. 
They  drank  tea  at  eight  o'clock,  when  any  of  his  acquaintance 
was  always  welcome.  But  during  the  hours  spent  in  his  library 
his  whole  being  was  absorbed  in  his  studies,  and  hence  he  got 
through  an  immense  amount  of  work  in  an  incredibly  short  time. 

The  principal  epochs  of  his  life,  from  1823  to  the  beginning  of 
1830,  were  marked  by  the  works  in  which  he  was  engaged.  In 
October,  1825,  he  began  to  work  again  regularly  at  the  History 
of  Rome.  It  was  his  intention  to  finish  the  outline  of  the  third 
volume  up  to  the  end  of  the  first  Punic  war,  and  to  conclude  it 
with  three  treatises  on  the  primitive  metrical  art  of  the  Roman?, 

X 


482  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

on  their  religion,  and  on  their  ancient  manners  and  customs.  He 
thought  it  impossible  to  attempt  the  final  revision  and  publication 
of  the  third  volume  till  the  two  former  ones  were  finished,  on 
account  of  the  references  to  them.  This  plan  he  did  not  live  to 
carry  out ;  it  was  reserved  to  the  friendship  of  his  disciple  and 
friend,  Professor  Classen,  to  revise  the  manuscript  of  Niebuhr's 
third  volume  for  the  press.  The  second  edition  of  the  first  vol- 
ume was  finished  in  the  summer  of  1826,  exactly  as  Niebuhr 
completed  his  fiftieth  year.  It  had  cost  him  great  labor,  for  he 
had  thought  it  necessary  to  alter  the  arrangement  so  considerably, 
and  to  rewrite  so  many  passages,  that  it  was  substantially  a  new 
work.  His  literary  conscientiousness  led  him  not  seldom  to  sac- 
rifice favorite  passages  because  they  did  not  quite  correspond  to 
his  riper  convictions,  or  disturbed  the  symmetry  of  the  proportions. 
But  above  all,  he  was  most  careful  to  express  the  exact  degree 
of  confidence  which  he  felt  with  regard  to  each  of  his  assertions. 

The  reception  which  his  work  met  with,  not  only  in  Germany, 
•where  half  the  copies  of  the  new  edition  were  ordered  before  the 
last  sheets  had  left  the  press,  but  also  in  foreign  countries,  caused 
him  great  delight.  Even  from  Boston,  U.  S.,  he  received  an 
enthusiastic  review  of  his  History  and  an  academical  diploma, 
a  most  unexpected  honor  to  him  as  coming  from  that  quarter. 
Various  applications  were  made  to  him  by  booksellers  and  literary 
men  in  France  and  England  who  were  desirous  of  obtaining  his 
sanction  and  assistance  in  the  translation  of  the  work.  The  lat- 
ter he  readily  granted,  sometimes  at  the  cost  of  considerable  in- 
terruption to  his  other  occupations.  Niebuhr  was  not  easily  sat- 
isfied ;  the  care  with  which  he  wrote  rendered  it  the  more  annoy- 
ing to  him  when  the  exact  sense  and  color  of  his  thoughts  had 
not  been  preserved,  or  when,  in  the  attempt  to  do  so,  the  genius 
of  a  foreign  language  was  violated,  and  thus  the  impressions 
which  he  wished  to  produce  destroyed.  He,  however,  considered 
the  translation  executed  by  Messrs.  Thirlwall  and  Hare,  at  the 
cost  of  the  University  of  Cambridge,  a  more  perfectly  successful 
attempt  than  he  had  even  thought  possible. 

About  this  time,  Niebuhr  undertook  the  joint  editorship,  with 
Brandis  and  Hasse,  of  the  "  Rheinische  Museum,"  a  periodical 
for  jurisprudence,  philology,  and  the  history  of  philosophy. 

In  February,  1826,  he  established,  with  Brandis  and  a  few 
others,  a  philological  society,  similar  to  that  which  had  afforded 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  483 

him  so  many  pleasant  hours  in  Berlin  in  the  years  1810  and  1811. 
During  this  year,  he  was  much  depressed  by  the  defeat  of  the 
Greeks,  whose  struggle  he  had  watched  with  his  usual  ardeut 
sympathy  in  human  welfare,  and  also  by  the  death  of  his  friend 
Voss,  the  last  of  his  friends  belonging  to  the  former  generation. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  was  reminded  of  all  that  he  still  possessed 
in  his  friends  by  the  visits  of  M.  von  Stein,  Professor  Falk,  M. 
Pertz  from  Hanover,  and  several  others.  Most  of  the  foreigners 
who  came  to  Bonn  visited  him.  He  had,  in  particular,  so  many 
connections  with  England,  that  scarcely  any  Englishman  of  note 
came  unprovided  with  letters  of  introduction  to  him.  The  num- 
ber of  these  casual  visitors  caused  him  serious  interruption  to  his 
studies.  In  this  year,  the  present  King  of  Prussia,  then  Crown 
Prince,  visited  the  Rhine  repeatedly.  His  presence  was  always 
a  source  of  real  gratification  to  Niebuhr,  who  still  preserved  the 
affection  for  him,  and  high  esteem  for  his  character,  which  he 
had  formed  when  the  Prince  was  his  pupil  in  Berlin. 

The  winter  of  1826—27  was  passed  in  laborious  and  cheerful 
application  to  his  studies.  He  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  dispensa- 
tion from  attendance  on  the  sittings  of  the  Council  of  State,  but, 
at  the  request  of  this  body,  prepared  a  report  for  the  Westphalian 
Chambers  on  the  establishment  of  a  projected  Bank.  In  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1827,  he  commenced  the  revision  of  the 
second  volume  of  the  Roman  History,  and  soon  found  that  it 
would  be  necessary  entirely  to  re-write  this  portion  also,  contain- 
ing the  period  down  to  the  decemviral  constitution.  In.  addition 
to  this  work  he  drew  up  a  prospectus  for  a  new  edition  of  the 
Byzantine  historians  for  the  publisher  Weber  in  Bonn,  of  which 
he  edited  the  Agathias  himself,  besides  superintending  the  pro- 
giewof  the  whole  undertaking.  Niebuhr  always  rejoiced  in  being 
able  to  further  such  schemes,  both  for  the  sake  of  the  literary 
objects  which  he  thus  promoted,  and  because  it  gave  him  the 
opportunity  of  exciting  and  aiding  others  to  similar  pursuits.  In 
a  short  time  a  thiA  edition  of  the  first  volume  was  required ;  in 
this  he  had  comparatively  little  to  alter,  but  here  also  he  made 
additions,  particularly  with  respect  to  the  history  of  the  primitive 
races,  of  Alba,  the  Luceres,  the  election  of  consuls,  &c.  It  was 
printed  in  the  autumn  of  this  year.  Toward  the'  end  of  the  sum- 
mer, Professor  Twesten,  of  Kiel,  paid  a  visit  to  Niebuhr,  accom- 
panied by  his  wife,  who  was  a  cousin  of  Madame  Niebuhr,  and 


484  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

had  been  one  of  her  earliest  friends.  Twesten  had  also  been  a 
pupil  of  Niebuhr 's  in  Berlin,  and  one  in  whom  he  had  always 
felt  a  particular  interest.  Excepting  his  sister,  who  had  visited 
him  in  1825,  he  had  seen  none  of  his  relations  since  1816.  This 
was  the  first  renewal  of  personal  intercourse  with  them,  and  gave 
rise  in  his  mind  to  the  resolution  of  taking  a  journey  to  Holstein. 
Up  to  this  time  he  seems  to  have  dreaded  the  impression  which 
the  recollection  of  former  times  would  make  upon  him,  but  after 
he  had  once  decided  on  the  journey  he  eagerly  rejoiced  in  the 
prospect  of  revisiting  the  home  of  his  youth,  and  thus  Unking 
together  the  present  and  the  past. 

In  the  winter  of  1827-28,  M.  Classen,  of  Hamburgh  (now 
Professor  in  Lubeck),  entered  Niebuhr's  family  as  tutor  to  Marcus, 
and  a  very  warm  friendship  rapidly  sprang  up  between  him  and 
Niebuhr.  In  letters  to  his  intimate  friends  Niebuhr  often  ex- 
presses his  satisfaction  in  having  secured  such  a  tutor  for  Marcus, 
and  his  own  pleasure  in  Classen's  society.  Classen  continued  to 
reside  in  the  family  till  the  death  of  Niebuhr ;  he  watched  over 
his  dying  bed,  and  superintended  the  education  of  his  orphan  son 
with  the  utmost  care  and  affection.  It  was  Classen  too  who  pre- 
pared the  third  volume  of  the  History  of  Rome  for  the  press, 
which  Niebuhr  left  in  a  half-finished  state.  In  the  spring  of 
1828,  Niebuhr  had  the  great  pleasure  of  receiving  a  visit  from 
his  friend  and  successor  in  Rome,  Chevalier  Bunsen. 

The  increasing  ill-health  of  Madame  Niebuhr  during  this  win- 
ter, threatened  to  put  a  stop  to  the  projected  journey  to  Holstein, 
but  she  improved  as  the  spring  advanced,  and  in  May  the  whole 
family  set  out  for  Kiel.  There  they  passed  the  summer  in  the 
house  of  Madame  Hensler,  and  surrounded  by  their  friends,  whom 
they  had  not  seen  for  twelve  years.  The  time  was  spent  in 
happy  social  intercourse  and  excursions  into  the  beautiful  scenery 
of  that  part  of  Holstein.  On  such  occasions,  Niebuhr  was  always 
the  centre  of  a  group  of  children,  who  had  soon  discovered  the 
willingness  with  which  he  entered  into  all  their  amusements,  and 
his  inability  to  refuse  them  any  gratification.  One  fortnight  he 
devoted  to  a  visit  to  Copenhagen,  in  company  with  his  son  and 
Twesten.  He  was  gratified  by  the  evident  signs  of  increasing 
wealth  in  his  country,  but  the  growing  luxury  and  love  of  amuse- 
ment disturbed  him.  He  writes — "  Every  one  must  allow  that 
the  population  of  Holstein  equals  that  of  any  province  of  Germany 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  485 

in  cultivation  and  intelligence,  though  it  is  subject  to  many  disad- 
vantages from  its  position  on  the  outer  edge  of  literary  Germany. 
"What  struck  me  most,  in  my  last  visit  to  Kiel,  is  the  sort  of 
Viennese  life  I  remarked  there,  ou  Von  s'acquitte  consdencieuse- 
nient  du  devoir  gu'on  s"est  impose  de  s'amuser." 

The  following  account  of  the  last  year  of  Niebuhr's  life  is  from 
the  pen  of  his  friend  Professor  Classen,  from  whose  essay  on 
"  Niebuhr's  life  and  sphere  of  action  in  Bonn"*  many  of  the  facts 
in  the  former  part  of  this  section  are  derived. 

"  The  peace  of  Niebuhr's  life  in  Bonn  was  broken  by  the  storms 
of  the  year  1830  ;  first  came  the  personal  calamity  that  his  new 
house,  in  the  arrangement  of  which  he  had  taken  so  much  pleas- 
ure, was  burnt  down  in  the  night  of  the  6th  of  February ;  and 
before  order  and  comfort  could  be  created  afresh  from  the  ruins 
of  his  domestic  existence,  the  news  arrived  of  the  second  French 
revolution.  The  former  misfortune  affected  him  deeply,  for  he 
found  his  dearest  happiness  in  the  peace  and  order  of  home  ;  but 
his  noble  nature  was  beautifully  displayed  on  the  night  of  the  fire. 
As  soon  as  he  had  recovered  from  the  first  fearful  shock,  and  had 
seen  his  wife  and  children  safe  in  the  house  of  a  kind  neighbor, 
he  compared  the  weight  of  this  blow  to  other  events  of  his  life, 
and  said,  sadly,  but  with  composure,  to  a  friend,  'It  is  indeed  a 
misfortune,  but  I  do  not  feel  nearly  so  overcome  and  depressed  as 
I  did  in  the  night  after  the  battle  of  Bautzen,  when  I  was  near 
head-quarters,  and  believed  the  cause  of  my  country  to  be,  if  not 
lost,  in  the  most  imminent  peril.  If  only  the  manuscript  of  the 
second  volume  of  my  Roman  History  is  found  again,  I  can  get 
over  every  thing  else  ;  and,  at  the  worst,  I  feel  I  have  still  power 
enough  left  to  replace  my  History,  and  will  set  to  work  again 
with  God's  help  in  a  few  days.'  He  conversed  thus  for  some 
hours  with  noble  calmness,  while  watching  the  flames  as  they 
devoured  their  rich  booty.  Once  only  he  inquired  anxiously  after 
the  fate  of  the  She-wolf,  a  beautiful  cast  of  the  well-known  group 
in  the  Capitol,  which  had  been  given  him  by  his  wife,  and  always 
stood  in  his  library ;  and  he  expressed  the  strongest  desire  that  it 
might  be  saved  ;  he  had  always  liked  to  consider  it  as  the  guard- 
ian getu'us  of  the  house.  Some  of  his  younger  friends  hurried  into 
the  burning  house,  reached  the  room,  and  with  much  difficulty 

*  Lcbcninachrirhtcn,  vol.  iii.  p.  283. 


486  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHB. 

brought  away  the  heavy  cast ;  but  in  the  hasty  descent  of  the 
staircase,  it  was  knocked  in  several  places,  and  reached  the  bot- 
tom  in  ruins.  JXTiebuhr  huried  the  fragments  with  melancholy 
feelings  in  his  garden. 

"  For  the  first  few  days  after  the  fire,  the  sight  of  the  desolation 
it  had  caused  rendered  his  regret  more  poignant  than  it  had  been 
in  the  first  moment.  He  was  especially  grieved  by  the  destruc- 
tion, as  he  feared,  of  his  library;  for  all  his  books  had  been 
thrown  out  of  the  windows  of  the  second  story  in  a  heap  on  the 
snow  and  mud  of  the  street,  and  had  not  been  placed  under 
shelter  till  the  morning.  It  cost  him  many  days'  labor  to  look 
through  what  was  saved,  and  bring  it  into  order  ;  but  tnere  was 
great  rejoicing  when  here  and  there  a  precious  treasure  was  found 
again  which  had  been  looked  on  as  lost ;  and  the  re-appearance 
of  the  longed-for  manuscript  of  the  second  volume  was  greeted 
with  hearty  cheers :  only  a  few  sheets  written  out  ready  for  the 
press  were  missing,  the  sketch  of  the  whole  had  been  preserved 
entire.  It  was  scarcely  less  than  miraculous  that  his  loss  in  books 
turned  out  after  all  to  be  very  slight ;  many  indeed  were  more  or 
less  injured.  Many  papers  and  letters  were  gone,  among  the  rest 
his  correspondence  with  his  father. 

"  A  new  house  was  soon  taken,  while  the  other  one  was  rebuilt 
on  an  enlarged  scale.  In  the  prospect  of  a  speedy  change  Nie- 
buhr  endured  the  inconvenience  of  the  new  and  necessarily  hasty 
household  arrangements  with  unruffled  cheerfulness ;  still  he 
could  not  feel  quite  at  ease  in  them,  and  the  recollection  of  his 
misfortune,  combined  with  his  fears  for  its  effects  on  his  beloved 
wife,  rendered  him  no  doubt  more  than  usually  susceptible  to 
gloomy  impressions.  It  was  in  this  mood  that  he  first  heard  the 
news  of  the  Three  Days  of  July,  news  which  would  have  affected 
him  most  profoundly  under  whatever  circumstances  they  had  first 
reached  him.  Few  of  his  contemporaries  took  such  deep  and  con- 
stant interest  in  all  the  events  of  the  day — few  had  the  same 
power  of  appreciating  all  their  bearings  and  consequences.  In 
such  a  mind  as  his,  this  was  naturally  not  the  result  of  fluctuating 
curiosity,  nor  the  want  of  a  passing  amusement,  but  of  a  thorough 
comprehension  of  the  antecedents  and  tendencies  of  his  age,  as  far 
as  such  can  be  possessed  by  one  individual.  And  he  now  saw 
himself  most  bitterly  deceived — disappointed  in  all  his  hopes  and 
expectations  ;  he  had  never  given  the  court  party  credit  for  such 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  487 

blindness,  nor  believed  the  people  of  Paris  capable  of  such  resist- 
ance, whether  it  may  have  been,  the  consequence  of  momentary 
excitement,  or  of  a  concerted  plan.  Enough — the  revolution  had 
taken  place,  and  brought  in  its  train  many  violent  changes,  while 
it  threatened  to  spread  the  sphere  of  its  activity  to  other  countries. 
But  however  much  he  might  be  distracted  and  saddened,  during 
the  five  months  in  which  he  was  still  a  spectator  of  the  world's 
history,  by  the  feverish  convulsions  of  the  age,  and  yet  more  by 
the  strife  of  opinions  as  to  their  real  significance,  he  never  failed 
to  recognize  with  perfect  clearness  and  distinctness  in  the  uni- 
versal confusion,  which  evil  was  in  truth  the  lesser ;  never 
wavered  in  his  attachment  to  his  country  and  his  king,  but 
exerted  himself  on  every  opportunity  to  awaken  and  invigorate 
the  patriotism  of  those  around  him. 

The  last  political  occurrence  in  which  Niebuhr  was  strongly 
interested  was  the  trial  of  the  ministers  of  Charles  the  Tenth  ;  it 
was  indirectly  the  cause  of  his  death.  He  read  the  reports  in  tho 
French  journals  with  eager  attention ;  and  as  these  newspapers 
were  much  in  request  at  that  time,  from  the  universal  interest  felt 
in  their  contents,  he  did  not  in  general  go  to  the  public  reading- 
rooms,  where  he  was  accustomed  to  see  the  papers  daily,  until  the 
evening.  On  Christmas  Eve  and  the  following  day,  he  was  in  better 
health  and  spirits  than  for  a  long  time,  but  on  the  evening  of  the 
25th  of  December,  he  spent  a  long  time  waiting  and  reading  in 
the  hot  news-room,  without  taking  off  his  thick  fur  cloak,  and  then 
returned  home  through  the  bitter  frosty  night  air,  heated  in  mind 
and  body.  Still  full  of  the  impression  made  on  him  by  the  papers, 
he  went  straight  to  Classen's  room,  and  exclaimed,  "  That  is  true 
eloquence  !  You  must  read  Sauzet's  speech ;  he  alone  declares 
the  true  state  of  the  case  ;  that  this  is  no  question  of  law,  but 
an  open  battle  between  hostile  powers !  Sauzet  must  be  no 
common  man !  But,"  he  added  immediately,  "  I  have  taken  a 
severe  chill,  I  must  go  to  bed."  And  from  the  couch  which  he 
then  sought,  he  never  rose  again,  except  for  one  hour,  two  days 
afterward,  when  he  was  forced  to  return  to  it  quickly,  with  warn- 
ing symptoms  of  his  approaching  end. 

His  illness  lasted  a  week,  and  was  pronounced,  on  the  fourth 
day,  to  be  a  decided  attack  of  inflammation  on  the  lungs.  His 
hopes  sank  at  first,  but  rose  with  his  increasing  danger  and  weak- 
ness ;  even  on  the  morning  of  the  last  day  he  said,  "  I  can  still 


488  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTJHR. 

* 

recover."  Two  days  before,  his  faithful  wife,  who  had  exerted 
herself  beyond  her  strength  in  nursing  him,  fell  ill  and  was  obliged 
to  leave  him.  He  then  turned  his  face  to  the  wall,  and  exclaim- 
ed, with  the  most  painful  presentiment,  "  Hapless  house  !  To  lose 
father  and  mother  at  once  !"  And  to  the  children  he  said,  "  Pray 
to  God,  children  !  He  alone  can  help  us  !"  And  his  attendants 
saw  that  he  himself  was  seeking  comfort  and  strength  in  silent 
prayer.  But  when  his  hopes  of  life  revived,  his  active  and  power- 
ful mind  soon  demanded  its  wonted  occupation.  The  studies  that 
had  been  dearest  to  him  through  life,  remained  so  in  death ;  his 
love  to  them  was  proved  to  be  pure  and  genuine,  by  its  unwaver- 
ing perseverance  to  the  last.  While  he  was  on  his  sick-bed, 
Classen  read  aloud  to  him  for  hours  .the  Greek  text  of  the  Jewish 
History  of  Josephus,  and  he  followed  the  sense  with  such  ease  and 
attention,  that  he  suggested  several  emendations  in  the  text  at  the 
moment ;  this  may  be  called  an  unimportant  circumstance,  but  it 
always  appeared  to  us  one  of  the  most  wonderful  proofs  of  his 
mental  powers.  The  last  scientific  work  in  which  he  was  able  to 
testify  his  interest,  was  the  description  of  Rome  by  Bunsen  and  his 
friends,  which  had  just  been  sent  to  him  ;  the  preface  to  the  first 
volume  was  read  aloud  to  him,  and  called  forth  expressions  of 
pleasure  and  approbation.  He  also  asked  for  light  reading  to  pass 
the  time,  but  our  attempts  to  satisfy  him  were  unsuccessful.  A 
friend  proposed  the  "  Briefe  eines  Verstorbenen,"  which  was  then 
making  a  sensation ;  but  he  declined  it,  saying  he  feared  that  its 
levity  would  jar  upon  his  feelings.  One  of  Cooper's  novels  was 
recommended  to  him,  and  aroused  his  ridicule  by  its  extraordinary 
verbiage  :  he  was  much  amused  by  an  experiment  which  he  pro- 
posed, and  which  consisted  in  taking  one  sentence  at  hap-hazard 
on  each  page  ;  a  mode  of  reading  which  did  little  violence  to  the 
connection  of  the  story.  The  "  Kolnische  Zeitung"  was  read  aloud 
to  him.  up  to  the  last  day,  with  extracts  from  the  French  and  other 
journals.  He  asked  for  them  expressly,  only  twelve  hours  before 
his  death,  and  gave  his  opinion  half  in  jest  about  the  change  of 
ministry  in  Paris.  But  on  the  afternoon  of  the  1st  of  January, 
1831,  he  sank  into  a  dreamy  slumber ;  once  on  awakening,  he 
said  that  pleasant  images  floated  before  him  in  sleep  :  now  and 
then  he  spoke  French  in  his  dreams,  probably  he  felt  himself  in 
the  presence  of  his  departed  friend  De  Serre.  As  the  night  gath- 
ered, consciousness  gradually  disappeared,  he  woke  up  once  more 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  489 

about  midnight,  when  the  last  remedy  was  administered  ;  he  re- 
cognized in  it  a  medicine  of  doubtful  operation,  never  resorted  to 
but  in  extreme  cases,  and  said  in  a  faint  voice,  "  What  essential 
substance  is  this  ?  Am  I  so  far  gone  ?"  These  were  his  last 
words ;  he  sank  back  on  his  pillow,  and  within  an  hour  his  noble 
heart  had  ceased  to  beat. 

Niebuhr's  wife  died  nine  days  after  him,  on  the  llth  of  the 
same  month,  about  the  same  hour  of  the  night.  She  died,  in  fact, 
of  a  broken  heart,  though  her  disease  was,  like  his,  an  inflamma- 
tion of  the  chest.  She  could  shed  no  tears,  though  she  longed  for 
them,  and  prayed  God  to  send  them ;  once  her  eyes  grew  moist, 
when  hie  picture  was  brought  to  her  at  her  own  request,  but  they 
dried  again,  and  her  heavy  heart  was  not  relieved.  She  had  her 
children  often  with  her,  particularly  her  son,  and  gave  them  her 
parting  counsels.  And  so  her  loving  and  pure  soul  went  home  to 
God.  Both  rest  in  one  grave,  over  which  the  present  King  of 
Prussia  has  erected  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  his  former  in- 
structor and  counselor.  The  children  were  placed  under  the  care 
of  Madame  Hensler,  at  Kiel. 

Letters  from  May,  1825,  to  December,  1830. 

cccxxxm. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

BONN,  \Ztk  May,  1825. 

I  have  begun  the  course  of  lectures  I  announced,   and  succeed 

very  well  in  delivering  them  extempore,  by  which  the  labor  I  have  under- 
taken  will  be  comparatively  inconsiderable  ;  in  fact,  I  am  quite  certain  that 
I  shall  be  able  henceforward  to  continue  the  Roman  History  at  the  same 
time  with  my  lectures,  and  to  give  my  Marcus  lessons  for  at  least  an  hour 
and  a  half  each  day.  Yesterday  298  persons  inscribed  their  names  as 
hearers ;  there  were  not,  indeed,  so  many  present,  because  there  was  liter- 
ally not  room  for  them  in  the  Lecture-hall ;  many  stood,  and  the  windows 
had  to  be  taken  out  that  we  might  not  be  suffocated.  This  throng  may 
very  likely,  nay,  will  almost  certainly,  diminish  by  degrees ;  still,  it  is 
quite  clear  that  the  young  men  receive  my  course  with  real  gratitude  as  a 
friendly  gift,  and  that  many  of  the  Professors  regard  me  as  a  welcome 
fellow-worker;  the  citizens  also  seem  pleased  that  I  have  chosen  to  live 
among  them. 

The  purchase-deed  of  our  garden  will  be  signed  in  a  few  days,  and  if 
we  can  find  a  house  for  sale  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  garden,  that  suits 
us,  or  that  can  be  made  suitable  by  a  few  additions,  we  shall  certainly 
take  advantage  of  it.  Bad  as  the  state  of  the  world  is  in  many  respects, 
it  is  still  an  inestimable  advantage  to  be  able  to  recover  energy  and  in- 
clination to  settle  yourself,  and  make  purchases  for  the  rest  of  one's  life  ; 
ami  in  our  own  house,  under  our  own  trees,  we  shall  be  contented  to  let 

x* 


490  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

alone  what  we  can  not  alter,  and  what  would  not  be  improved  by  most  of 
those  who  want  to  alter  it.  You  likewise  can  remember  the  time  before 
the  commotions  of  the  world  had  banished  the  quiet  of  private  domestic 
life  ;  when  the  laying  out  of  a  garden  and  the  success  of  a  plantation  was 
an  important  event  to  the  head  of  a  household  and  his  friends.  I  have 
still  a  very  lively  recollection  of  those  tranquil  days,  and  how  they  passed 
away  so  entirely  that  I  did  not  believe  they  would  ever  return  during  our 
lifetime.  But  they  seem  to  have  returned  as  it  were  in  the  progress  of 
convalescence.  I  am  far  from  being  the  only  one  who  is  more  interested 
in  the  •question,  whether  and  how  our  town  shall  and  can  be  enlarged,  and 
the  neighborhood  improved,  than  in  the  affairs  of  the  world; — if  only  they 
would  riot  exterminate  the  Greeks! 

Our  garden  occupies  an  old  bastion  and  part  of  a  curtain,  so  that  it 
seems  to  be  on  a  hill,  and  has  a  view  of  the  Sieben  Gcbirge,  and  the  range 
of  the  so-called  Vorgebirge,  and  the  magnificent  Poppelsdorf  Alice.  It  is 
full  of  beautiful  fruit-trees  and  vines,  which  are  the  more  valuable  here,  as 
the  grapes  ripen  well  and  early  if  the  season  is  tolerable,  and  the  aspect 
favorable,  and  good  grapes  are  rarely  to  be  had  in  the  market.  From  be- 
ing laid  out  on  a  bastion,  the  lines  of  division  in  the  garden  have  acquired 
a  certain  peculiarity  which  could  hardly  have  been  obtained  by  art.  We 
are  about  to  replace  dead  trees  by  new  ones,  and  are  tranquilly  planting 
what  will  take  years  before  it  will  produce  any  thing.  Why  have  you  not 
enjoyed  this  heavenly  spring  in  our  garden,  dear  Dora  ? 

CCCXXXIV. 

12th  June,  1825. 

I  continue  to  receive  encouragement  in  my  lectures The 

attentive  investigation  of  the  history  of  these  obscure  periods  is  interesting 
to  myself,  and  profitable  as  a  preparation  for  the  period  of  the  Roman 
History  when  that  of  Macedon  falls  into  it.  Indeed  when  I  have  finished 
the  third  volume,  and  revised  the  first.  I  think  I  should  like,  by  way  of 
change,  to  dictate  the  history  of  Greece,  which  I  am  now  delivering,  in  quite 
a  different  form,  not  as  a  learned  work.  The  course  of  lectures  which  I 
mean  to  deliver  this  winter  on  Roman  Antiquities,  will  be  useful  to  me  in 
the  revision  of  my  history.  Whether  it  will  also  be  useful  to  my  auditors 
to  any  great  extent  I  do  not  know  ;  but  my  trouble  will  certainly  not  be 
quite  lost.  The  young  man  who  gives  Marcus  lessons,  and  is  our  com- 
panion at  table,  is  one  of  those  who  receive  what  I  say  with  affectionate 
interest ;  and  according  to  his  testimony  there  are  many  who  do  so  among 
the  great  number  of  young  philologists,  who  are  rising  up  here  on  all  sides, 
where  a  few  years  ago,  out  of  a  hundred  thousand  souls,  there  was  not  one 
who  understood  Greek.  I  have  defended  Demosthenes  upon  full  conviction, 
as  warmly  as  if  the  question  concerned  a  living  man,  and  the  young  men 
listened  to  me  with  evident  sympathy.  I  never  before  saw  Demosthenes' 
greatness  and  excellence  in  such  a  striking  light.  The  University  here  is 
much  decried  abroad,  as  if  we  lived  under  Heaven  knows  what  tyranny  of 
the  police,  and  as  if  the  young  men  were  turning  Catholics  by  shoals.  Both 
reports  are  quite  untrue  ;  no  one  meets  with  any  molestation  unless  he 
commit  some  great  extravagance ;  and  there  is  no  danger  of  conversion  to 
Catholicism  except  when  a  young  man  falls  in  love  in  a  proselyting  family. 
But  there  are  very  few  such 


EESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  491 

cccxxxv. 

Bosw,  20th,  October,  1825. 

I  have  been  ill  since  I  wrote  to  you.     It  was  a  rheumatic  pleurisy,  for- 
tunately not  violent,  but  I  was  quite  confined  to  my  bed  for  four  days. 

You  ask  after  the  continuation  of  my  History,  dearest  Dora.  I  should 
have  resumed  it  this  summer — the  lectures  would  not  have  interfered  with 
it  to  any  extent — but  Gretchen's  journey  to  the  baths  stood  in  the  way ; 
I  was  obliged  to  devote  myself  more  than  usual  to  the  children  who  were 
left  behind.  On  this  account  I  was  unable  to  set  to  work,  and  I  have  only 
begun  the  continuation  during  the  present  month.  The  lectures  this  win- 
ter will  be  no  hindrance  to  me,  still  the  work  will  advance  but  slowly.  I 
am  satisfied  on  the  whole  with  what  I  have  done  latterly.  Life  is  stirring 
among  the  heap  of  dry  bones,  and  I  feel  while  writing  the  history  as  if  I 
were  borrowing  it  from  some  newly-discovered  old  records.  I  may,  how- 
ever, very  likely  be  censured  for  going  too  much  into  details.  Another  cir- 
cumstance  will  give  still  more  occasion  for  blame.  In  the  first  half  of  the 
imprinted  volume  I  invented  a  speech  ;  I  have  now  composed  a  second,  and 
the  outline  of  one  in  reply  to  it.  I  know  beforehand  all  the  cavils  that  will 
be  made  against  this  ;  but  I  know  as  well  as  any  one  what  is  essential  to 
a  living  representation  of  the  past,  and  that  it  is  not  possible  to  enter  into 
the  way  in  which  decisive  resolutions  are  formed  in  critical  moments,  un- 
less the  reader  can  look  into  the  souls  of  those  who  conceive  or  influence  the 
decision,  not  through  the  help  of  common-places,  but  by  means  of  a  thor- 
ough insight  into  all  the  special  circumstances  of  the  case.  Such  speeches 
as  those,  of  which  Thucydides  has  given  us  the  highest  model,  are  truly  the 
Ifrmpa  of  history :  I  grant  that  a  man  must  be  bold,  and  free  from  super- 
stitious scrupulosity,  to  invent  them  for  periods  concerning  which  only 
scanty  fragments  of  facts  are  left.  The  ancient  historians  have  too  often 
treated  moral  and  political  common-places  in  this  form,  and  such  passages 
are  indeed  absolutely  worthless.  When  I  have  finished  the  first  Punic  war, 
I  shall  write  three  essays  for  the  same  volume  upon  the  earliest  metrical 
art  of  the  Romans,  on  their  religion,  and  on  their  ancient  manners  and 
customs ;  and  then  I  shall  proceed,  not  without  trembling,  to  the  revision 
of  the  first  volume.  The  materials  for  additions  are  extremely  rich  ;  and 
as  I  now  see  clearly  what  I  only  divined  or  had  a  presentiment  of  when  I 
wrote  it,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  take  it  to  pieces  almost  throughout,  and  erect 
the  old  portions,  combined  with  n«w  ones,  into  a  more  extensive  structure. 
I  shall  thank  God  if  I  live  to  finish  at  least  this  much  of  my  task,  for  then 
I  shall  have  accomplished  the  restoration  of  a  history  that  was  almost 
universally  misunderstood,  even  so  early  as  1800  years  ago.  The  taking 
of  Alexandria  by  Augustus  is  the  limit  to  which  I  propose  to  bring  it  down ; 
this  I  still  hope-to  reach 

CCCXXXVI. 

TO  PERTHES. 

BONN,  1th  March,  1826. 

.....  .1  wish,  dear  Perthes,  that  you  knew  any  one  who  had  as  exten- 
sive a  knowledge  of  the  history  of  commerce  during  the  past  century  aa 
my  late  friend  Biisch,  that  you  might  prevail  upon  him  to  write  the  history 
of  commerce  and  finance  during  the  last  hundred  and  fifty  years.  I  know 


492  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

a  great  deal  about  it  myself  in  a  fragmentary  way,  but  not  connectedly. 
Besides,  even  for  those  who  have  not  that  strong  interest  in  monetary 
affairs  which  I  am  not  ashamed  of  confessing,  they  form  as  essential  a  part 
of  the  world's  history  as  the  history  of  epidemics.  Before  1721,  no  uni- 
versal commercial  crisis  had  been  known ;  they  are  now  become  more  and 
more  frequent,  and  it  is  enough  to  make  one  shudder  to  think  of  the  future, 
when  a  chain  of  credit-giving  establishments  will  extend  through  the  whole 
of  Spanish  America,  as  well  as  through  the  United  States.  Truly  the  in- 
dependence of  these  States  opens  an  abyss ;  the  natural  arrangement  would 
have  been  that  Europe  should  have  traded  with  these  countries  through 
the  medium  of  an  emporium  such  as  Cadiz.  However,  of  what  use  is  it 
to  know  this  ?  The  old  order  of  things  is  fast  passing  away  through  the 
fault  of  those  who  were  its  rightful  heads,  and  who  would  have  been  the 
first  gainers  by  it,  if  they  had  known  how  to  maintain  it.  The  counter- 
revolution in  France  opens  gloomy  prospects  to  Germany  likewise.  In  our 
provinces  the  oligarchy  have  carried  out  their  plans  respecting  the  elections  v 
by  deceiving  the  Government,  and  ape  aiming  at  Jesuitism  and  the  like." 
If  Russia  were  out  of  the  question  one  need  feel  less  anxiety  about  the 
matter;  for  that  party  can  not  obtain  any  present  success. 
'  You  are  quite  right  .in  maintaining  that  neither  the  gymnastic  nor  the 
Mennonite  regime  can  conduce  to  a  real  and  noble  respect  for  the  laws.  I 
believe  that  every  system  of  training  which  inspires  heathen  or  Christian 
arrogance,  and  leads  people  to  consider  themselves  as  privileged  individuals, 
has  an  equally  corrupting  effect. 

How  is  your  series  of  histories  proceeding  ?  Shall  you  carry  it  out  ? 
My  wife  is  again  very  sickly  ;  the  children,  too,  are  not  free  from  indisposi- 
tion. As  for  myself,  since  I  have  at  least  twenty  years  to  live  (for  it  is 
not  the  fashion  here  to  die  before  seventy),  I  am  striving  to  make  up  in 
creative  labors  and  enjoyment  of  life,  for  what  I  have  lost  in  both  during 
the  best  years  of  my  life. 

CCCXXXVII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

BONN,  ISth  March,  1826. 

I  have  now  concluded  my  lectures  with  the  reward  of  very  decisive  ap- 
probation. The  lectures  close  very  early  here,  and  I  with  a  few  others 
have  continued  them  some  days  after  the  courses  -of  the  regular  professors 
had  concluded,  and  have  had  a  respectable  though  much  diminished  audi- 
ence. The  numbers  had  kept  up,  in  general,  during  the  winter  beyond 
my  expectation.  Brandis,  D'Alton,  and  several  other  professors  were 
among  my  hearers.  My  lectures  were  received  with  uncommon  interest 
among  the  students,  although  they  are  accustomed  here,  in  general,  to  dic- 
tation, and  require  ii~]  and  their  expressions  of  thanks  and  attachment 
quite  surprised  me.  One  young  man,  as  I  gave  him  his  certificate,  put 
into  my  hand,  with  great  embarrassment,  a  letter  of  thanks ;  seized  my 
hand,  and  said  he  could  never  thank  me  enough,  I  had  awakened  a  new 
life  in  him.  Most  of  those  who  have  been  thus  aroused  are  Catholics,  on 
whom  a  new  life  is  indeed  breaking,  through  the  study  of  the  sciences,  from 
which  they  have  been  so  long  excluded,  and  I  trust  they  will  diffuse  it  over 
a  wide  sphere.  Their  abilities,  moreover,  as  well  as  their  dispositions,  are 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  493 

of  a  very  encouraging  character.  It  is  certainly  incontestable  that  philo- 
logy now  stands  many  degrees  higher  than  it  did  thirty  years  ago.  The 
knowledge,  which  then  distinguished  the  few  who  possessed  it,  is  now  be- 
come common  property. 

The  idea  of  standing  nt  the  head  of  a  school  will  not  allure-  me  ;  on  this 
point  1  know  myself;  though  with  the  present  state  of  party  feeling  in 
Germany,  it  is  almost  necessary  aa  a  matter  of  self-defense ;  and  if  our 
disciples  and  adherents  enter  the  lists  with  our  opponents,  we  need  not 
hold  them  back.  I  have  met  with  some  cases  of  this  kind  already  among 
persons  who  are  strangers  to  me.  The  revision  of  the  first  volume  involves 
immense  labor. ...... 

CCCXXXVIII. 

BONN,  24/A  April,  1896. 

I  have  been  much  affected  by  the  death  of  old  Voss.  He  was 

the  last  remaining  one  of  the  elder  generation  with  whom  the  memories  of 
my  childhood  and  youth  were  bound  up :  I  felt  myself  still  young,  HO  long 
as  I  knew,  and  might  yet  see,  one  living  person  whom  I  had  seen  as  a  boy, 
and  to  whom,  as  a  youth,  I  had  looked  up  with  affection.  It  was  not  with- 
out some  anxiety  that  I  went  to  visit  him  on  my  journey  hither  three  years 
ago.  Christiana  had  more  than  once  written  me  word,  that  he  had  in- 
quired if  I  had  not  turned  Catholic  !  And  this,  be  it  remarked,  after  I  had 
set  up  a  Protestant  chapel  in  my  house  !  I  felt  angry  at  such  a  suspicion, 
besides,  the  Stolberg  affair  had  left  a  deep  wound  behind,  as  was  the  cave 
with  you  too.  But  the  memory  of  old  times  prevailed,  and  I  found  that  it 
was  necessary  with  him  too,  not  to  overlook  the  palliating  circumstances — 
that  there  were  excuses  fur  much  that  had  passed  after  the  first  step.  I 
felt  as  much  affection  as  ever  for  my  aged  friend,  whose  freshness  of  mind 
had  something  uncommonly  venerable  about  it.  I  have  written  to  him 
several  times  since,  and  his  answers  were  very  cordial.  The  last  time  I 
wrote  to  him  was  on  his  birthday,  and  those  about  him  tell  me  that  this 
was  almost  the  last  lively  gratification  that  he  enjoyed.1  He  intended  to 
pay  us  a  visit  this  summer,  and  this  project  was  almost  the  last  thing  of 
which  he  spoke.  I  should  have  gone  to  see  him  in  the  holidays  if  he  had 
lived.  He  had  already  fallen  asleep  when  I  fixed  my  intentions. 

Events  have  justified  his  predictions  in  many  things  about  which  he  was 
not,  properly  speaking,  in  the  right,  and  still  less  a  prophet*  A  league 
such  as  he  believed  in,  was  a  fevered  dream ;  but  things  are  happening 
now,  and  others  are  impending,  which  are  exactly  what  he  indicated  as 
the  work  of  this  assumed  league.  It  requires  much  historical  experience 
and  resignation  to  retain  one's  equanimity  in  spite  of  all  that  is  passing 
before  our  eyes ;  the  influence  of  the  bigoted,  monkish,  in  fact,  downright 
Jesuitical  party  among  the  Catholics,  in  matters  of  public  instruction,  is 
most  sad.  I  could,  perhaps,  bring  on  a  crisis  if  I  were  to  write  on  the 
subject,  but  the  result  is  too  uncertain.  This  is  a  more  dangerous  business 
than  the  alleged  favoritism  shown  toward  the  hereditary  aristocracy,  which 
may  produce  ill  effects  for  a  generation,  but  can  not  have  any  permanent 
consequences.  It  is  indeed  clear,  I  think,  that  the  commoner  is  regarded 
by  the  nobleman  with  a  dislike  such  as  has  not  existed  before  for  the  last 
forty  years.  The  misfortune  is,  that  this  feeling  enfeebles  the  whole  of 
Germany,  and  particularly  our  class,  which  is  the  sinews  of  tho  country. 


494  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

France  is  also  growing  very  weary,  and  there,  where  the  political  volcano 
seems  to  have  spent  itself,  the  priests  are  creating  fresh  elements  of  com- 
bustion  - 

I  went  to  Elberfeldt  by  the  diligence  last  week,  and  returned  by  way  of 
Diisseldorf,  where.  I  visited  the  "  Tauten  Jacobi."  *  It  did  me  good,  only 
it  was  not  enough.  Elberfeldt  is,  as  you  probably  know,  the  seat  of  the 
Protestant  fanatics.  I  heard  such  a  sermon  !  it  happened  to  be  the  general 
fast-day.  But  I  was  told  there  was  another  which  would  have  given  us 
something  still  more  outrageous. 

The  men  of  business  there  are  clever  and  energetic.  It  is  a  real  pleas- 
ure to  see  how  new  firms  and  new  enterprises  are  constantly  coming  into 
existence,  just  as  in  England.  The  whole  duchy  of  Berg  presents  this 
cheei-ful  aspect.  New  roads  are  making  in  all  directions,  and  rows  of 
houses  springing  up  along  them.  Manufactures  are  in  a  most  flourishing 
condition. 

CCCXXXIX. 

BONN,  Zlst  May,  1826. 

The  horrible  fate  of  Missolonghi  almost  deadens  my  feelings  both 

to  immediate  and  more  distant  objects  of  interest.  Without  attaching  full 
credence  to  the  reports  of  success,  I  had  lulled  myself  into  security,  and 
the  blow  came  upon  me  this  time  quite  unexpectedly.  I  can  not  divert 
my  thoughts  from  it.  Marcus,  who  is  only  just  beginning  to  turn  his  at- 
tention to  political  events,  is  quite  broken-hearted.  He  wanted  to  employ 
his  savings'-box  for  the  subscription,  and,  uniting  the  ideas  of  a  child  with 
the  earnestness  of  a  man,  he  proposed  to  melt  his  leaden  soldiers  into  bul- 
lets. From  the  time  that  the  first  rumor  of  the  lamentable  disaster  had 
reached  us,  he  could  not  bear  to  look  at  the  map  of  Turkey.  Amelia 
studies  maps  with  him,  and  gets  him  to  tell  her  about  the  places  ;  this 
map  he  imploringly  refused  to  tell  her  about ;  and  when  she  innocently 
laughed  at  him  for  it,  he  threw  himself  on  my  breast,  sobbing  bitterly. 
Alas,  what  hope  is  now  left  !  The  heroes  are  gone,  the  Suliots  are  ex- 
terminated, and  how  horrible  to  think  of  the  women  and  children  in  the 
power  of  these  barbarians.  What  can  the  too  long  delayed  assistance 
avail  now?  England  has  played  a  detestable  part.  My  old  affection  for 
her  is  well.nigh  extinguished.  And  yet  when  England  is  fallen,  who  knows 
but  what  we  may  bitterly  feel  the  want  of  her  hereafter  ? 

My  whole  attention  is  fixed  on  the  proceedings  of  the  Catholics.  It 
seems  to  me  unquestionable  that  a  bold  faction  among  them  are  secretly 
aiming  to  bring  on  a  religious  war.  In  France,  the  priests  have  been  di- 
recting all  their  efforts  for  the  last  ten  years  to  the  attainment  of  physical 
power,  and  they  have  already  succeeded  in  recovering  their  hold  on  the 
populace  ;  and  this  while  they  had  no  means  of  constraint  at  their  disposal. 
The  prospect  that  we  Protestants  may  need  a  Russian  Gustavus  Adolphus 
to  defend  us  is  frightful.  I  was  relating  to  Marcus  yesterday  the  history 
of  the  religious  wars  and  their  horrors.  I  was  glad  to  see  that  he  distin- 
guished between  the  bad  Catholics  and  the  good  ones,  such  as  our  friends, 
who  would  never  have  acted  so ;  and  also  that  he  did  not  understand  at 
all  how  Protestants  could  persecute.  He  thought  that  would  be  impossi- 
ble, for  they  knew  that  the  Catholics  were  in  error,  and  you  could  not  hate 
*  The  sisters  of  the  philosopher  Jacobi. 


RESILENCE  IN  BONN.  495 

a  person  for  being  mistaken.  Our  Catholic  friends  are,  indeed,  only  sep- 
arated from  ourselves  by  forms ;  while  treated  as  heretics  by  the  fanatics, 
they  are  quite  intimate  with  us,  and  the  most  intelligent  man  among 
them  said  to  me  yesterday,  "  Superstition  is,  after  all,  much  more  detest- 
able and  mischievous  than  unbelief." ...... 

CCCXL. 

Bos.v,  21**  Jitnr,  182G. 

The  printing  of  the  first  volume  in  the  new  edition  has  at  last  com- 
menced, and  will  now  advance  steadily 

My  French  translator  was  here  the  end  of  last  week.  At  all  events,  ho 
understands  German  perfectly,  and  goes  to  work  with  great  enthusiasm. 
According  to  his  testimony,  expectation  is  universally  excited  about  it  in 
France,  and  the  publisher  is  so  certain  of  a  brilliant  reception,  that  he  will 
print  at  least  two  thousand  copies.  Such  a  celebrity  among  foreign  nations 
is  very  agreeable  to  the  natural  man,  philosophize  about  it  as  you  please  ; 
and  I  least  of  all  make  pretensions  to  be  a  saint  in  this  respect,  or  even 
a  philosopher. 

Fifteen  years  ago  I  had  no  idea  of  the  possibility  of  appearing  as  an 
author,  although  I  had  a  very  distinct  feeling  of  the  worthlessness  of  that 
which  called  itself  ancient  history ;  and  when  I  began  my  lectures  at 
Berlin,  under  the  animating  influence  of  your  presence,  I  never  dreamt 
that  they  could  become  the  basis  of  an  enduring  work.  When  I  see  how 
the  ideas  which  began  to  dawn  upon  me  in  the  course  of  the  lectures,  have 
gradually  become  as  clear  as  day ;  how  the  chaos  has  been  resolved  into 
distinct  facts — nay,  separate  details,  it  is  astonishing  even  to  myself.  But 
it  really  borders  upon  a  miraculous  intervention  of  Providence,  that  so  many 
remarkable  things  have  been  brought  to  light  within  the  last  few  years, 
which  were  indispensable  to  the  determination  of  certain  points. 

My  Frenchman  gave  me  a  good  deal  of  interesting  information  respect- 
ing the  internal  condition  of  his  country,  agreeing  with  what  an  attentive 
reader  may  gather  from  the  journals.  The  pretensions  of  the  priests,  who 
are  for  the  most  part  utterly  uneducated  men  from  the  lowest  classes,  have 
produced  an  exasperation  against  them,  which  has  called  forth  a  party 
capable  of  setting  them  at  defiance,  notwithstanding  the  patronage  of  the 
King.  It  is  singular  how  the  various  parties  unite  in  their  common  op- 
position to  the  clergy,  so  that  people  who  thought  themselves  unalterably 
embittered  against  each  other  in  politics  five  years  ago,  are  now  quite  re- 
conciled. This,  indeed,  has  been  only  rendered  possible  by  the  fact  that, 
thank  God,  the  revolutionary  plans  of  the  liberals  have  been  frustrated. 
For  1  quite  understand  how,  in  France,  men  whose  views  fully  harmonize 
with  my  own,  can  become  reconciled  to  those  whose  earlier  follies  hare 
wrought  such  indescribable  calamity.  I  have  just  the  same  feelings ;  I 
would  not  only  send  my  respects  to  Royer-Collard,  but  if  Fox  were  living, 
should  be  happy  to  make  his  acquaintance. 

The  sentiments  of  the  English,  as  a  nation,  with  regard  to  the  Greek 
cause  are  undisguisedly  bad.  An  Austrian  is  not  answerable  for  the  acts 
of  his  government,  but  the  English  are  answerable  for  uttering  no  expres- 
sion of  commiseration,  no  cry  for  help,  when  there  was  nothing  to  prevent 
them.  It  is  quite  different  in  France  ;  there,  tones  have  resounded  in  the 
public  jou/nals  that  have  issued  from  the  depths  of  the  heart,  and  find  an 


496  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

echo  in  the  inmost  heart  of  the  reader.  Have  you  read  Tiedge's  poem, 
"The  Struggle  of  the  Greeks  with  Barbarism?"  I  should  never  have 
thought  him  capable  of  producing  such  a  work ;  faulty  as  the  verses  are, 
considered  merely  as  poetry.  The  conception  is  terribly  beautiful.  But 
I  can  not  understand  how  it  is  that  the  excitement  should  not  be  much 
greater  and  more  universal  in  Germany.  One  sickens  at  the  specious  show 
of  feeling,  and  the  faint-hearted  apathy  of  men  whom  you  must  allow  to 
pass  for  well-meaning  persons.  The  personal  feeling  of  our  King  is  very 
evident  and  very  honorable  to  him. 

CCCXLL 

BONN,  16^  July,  1826. 

This  time  fifteen  years  I  made  a  pause  in  the  composition  of  my 

History — during  our  journey  to  Holstein.  That  was  indeed,  dear  Dora, 
as  you  call  it,  the  blossoming  time  of  my  life.  And  yet.  if  it  were  not 
winter  around  me,  there  were  yet  within  me  a  time  of  bloom,  if  not  of 
spring  or  summer.  I  do  not  feel  at  all  old  yet  in  mind ;  my  life  is  pro- 
longed by  love  and  happiness,  and  puts  forth  fresh  shoots.  My  knowledge 
has  increased  greatly  in  variety  and  extent  since  that  time ;  but  I  should 
never  have  undertaken  the  work,  had  I  then  had  the  accumulation  of  ma- 
terials which  it  now  costs  me  weary  labor  to  organize. 

I  can  net  say  that  I  could  ever  repent  my  resolution  to  take  up  our 
abode  here  since  I  have  once  for  all  given  up  a  more  agreeable  and  attract- 
ive life ;  which  I  confess  I  must  not  allow  myself  to  look  back  upon,  else 
my  heart  swells  and  my  eyes  moisten.  And  yet,  it  may  be  best  so,  for  in 
this  degenerate  state  of  politics,  my  position  there  would  have  become 
very  difficult.  Ten  years  hence,  I  may  very  likely  be  able  to  make  another 
journey  across  the  Alps.  My  spirits  rise  at  this  castle  in  the  air,  and 
Marcus  is  delighted.  We  had  a  visit  yesterday  from  \Vilhelm  Voss,  whom 
I  had  not  seen  since  1811,  and  like  much  better  now,  than  in  his  youthful 
days,  one-and-twenty  years  ago,  when  he  was  a  Bonapartist  at  the  time 
of  our  disaster  at  Ulm.  He  had  with  him  the  proof  sheets  of  the  second 
part  of  the  "  Anti-symbolik,"  containing  an  extremely  pleasing  autobio- 
graphy of  his  father's  youth — the  first  fifteen  years  of  his  life — but  also  a 
fuller  recapitulation  of  the  quarrel  with  Heyne  than  has  ever  yet  appeared; 
unspeakably  painful.  I  had  intended  to  write  a  very  short  essay  indicating 
what  Voss  had  been  to  the  nation  and  to  literature,  and  to  append  to  it 
a  few  apologetic  pages  on  the  origin  of  the  ill-feeling  in  this  affair ;  which 
now  I  can  not  do. 

The  sisters  Jacobi  were  here  a  month  with  their  nephew,  the  president. 
They  had  with  them  the  correspondence  of  Goethe  with  their  brother,  which 
is  a  great  curiosity.  These  letters  show  Goethe  in  an  unexpectedly  favor- 
able light;  they  exhibit  a  large  heart,  and  strong  deep  emotions.  Jacobi's 
letters  are  constrained,  artificial,  and  labored ;  it  gives  me  pain  to  say  this. 
In  the  first  period  of  their  acquaintance,  before  Goethe  goes  to  Weimar,  he 
notices  this  on  one  occasion ;  he  wishes  for  his  friend  a  growth  in  love, 
and  thereby  in  simplicity  and  productive  power. 

How  sad  it  is,  on  the  contrary,  to  see  the  idolatry  which  Goethe  suffers 
to  be  paid  to  him  now,  about  which  you  too  have  probably  seen  the  ele- 
gantly-printed book ! 

The  sisters  Jacobi  bear  a  grudge  against  Goethe :  more  especially,  as 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  497 

it  appears,  on  account  of  the  "Goldsmith  of  Ephesus,"  the  conclusion  of 
which  it  must  be  granted,  is  unintelligible,  but  certainly  not  intended  as 
they  take  it;  and  on  account  of  his  description  of  his  stay  at  Pempelfort,* 
in  1792. 

You  think  that  universal  sympathy  must  overpower  the  governments  ? 
Alas !  you  do  not  understand  the  matter,  and  do  not  know  the  extent  of 
our  political  paralysis.  In  England  there  has  not  been  the  remotest  ex- 
pression of  feeling  as  in  France ;  the  proclamation  which  prevented  the 
departure  of  the  ship  lying  ready  equipped,  caused  the  destruction  "f  Mia 
solonghi,  and  it  has  not  been  censured  in  any  opposition  paper.  Hence  I 
blame  that  nation  beyond  all  others.  Unhappily  the  feeling  among  us  in 
Germany  is  very  superficial ;  and  we  must  be  more  ashamed  of  the  levity 
which  has  allowed  us  so  soon'  to  forget  the  dreadful  end  of  Missolonghi, 
than  rejoiced  at  the  liberality  previously  shown..  ..... 

CCCXLII. 

TO  SAVIGNY. 

BONN,  6th  An frust,  1826. 

Our  government  must  give  us  credit  for  a  high  opinion  of  the  import- 
ance of  our  thoughts  and  words,  my  old  friend,  when  they  set  a  price  upon 
our  letters,  exceeding  that  of  many  small  books.  I  am  any  thing  but 
parsimonious,  but  I  should  write  four  or  five  times  as  many  letters,  if  it 
were  not  for  the  high  postage,  which  makes  a  single  letter  cost  as  much 
as  four  printed  sheets,  on  the  composition  and  revision  of  which  you  have 
exerted  every  power  of  your  mind.  However,  it  is  not  merely,  or  chiefly, 
the  opportunity  of  sending  you  a  few  lines — lines,  for  the  time  of  long, 
though  rare  letters,  has  vanished  years  ago— but  an  ardent  desire  to  say 
a  word  of  affection  to  you  on  your  journey.  May  it  be  blessed  to  you ! 
I  trust  it  will,  for  I  have  myself  found  health  in  Italy,  which  I  had  thought 
denied  to  me  forever.  God  grant  that  you  may  find  it  so  likewise !  So 
you  are  taking  the  same  route  which  I  did  just  ten  years  ago.  You  will 
know  how  to  enjoy  its  pleasures,  which  I  foolishly  threw  away  like  a 
froward  child.  It  is  easier  for  you  ateo ;  for  what  did  I  hope  for  then  ? 
How  much  was  there  to  which  I  was  obliged  to  resign  myself !  You  can 
overlook  what  is  foolish  and  what  is  bad ;  as  I  should  now  overlook  it  my- 
self. Go  with  your  heart  and  all  your  senses  open  to  the  earthly  paradise, 
to  Naples  above  all,  and  shut  your  eyes  to  every  thing  of  which  you  have 
a  presentimr  nt  that  it  would  irritate  you 

Where  shall  I  send  you  the  new  edition  of  my  first  volume  ?  the  revision 
of  which  is  nearly  completed,  but  the  printing  advances  slowly.  I  wish 
you  may  read  it  when  perfectly  at  leisure,  and  that  it  may  satisfy  you. 
It  is  immensely  enhanced  in  value  :  much  of  the  new  part  is,  I  think,  well 
written ;  much  has  been  sacrificed,  even  where  I  have  not  been  able  to  re- 
place what  has  been  omitted  with  any  thing  equally  good ;  some  portions 
which  my  friends  will  miss ;  but  nothing  is  left  which  I  could  not  have 
written  in  its  present  form  with  full  conviction.  What  has  become  of  that 
time,  fifteen  years  ago,  when  my  daring  creations  filled  me  with  happiness 
and  delighted  you  ?  I  do  not  feel  old  yet ;  I  feel  much  clearer  in  my 
mind,  and  much  richer  in  knowledge,  but  not,  as  then,  fruitful  in  com- 
*  Jacob i>  residence. 


498  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

binations  and  inventions.  I  long  to  have  finished  the  revision,  that  I  may 
proceed  to  the  third  volume.  It  is  wearisome  to  write  what  you  know 
already,  and  have  brought  into  a  clear  point  of  view.  From  my  child- 
hood, among  the  divine  attributes,  that  of  preserving  has  always  seemed 
to  me  extremely  ennuyant ;  as  an  employment  almost  beneath  an  angel, 
and  hence  we  can  not  wonder  that  affairs  do  not  proceed  particularly  well. 

I  am  acting  as  if  a  leave-taking  were  before  me,  when  we  jest  because 
our  heart  is  heavy.  My  heart  is  very  heavy,  my  old  friend  !  and  yet  I 
hope  your  journey  will  do  you  good.  A  passionate  longing  to  be  across 
the  Alps  again,  still  seizes  upon  me  when  the  birds  take  their  flight  thither  ; 
and  how  much  more  when  it  is  a  friend  !  Why  did  you  not  come  when 
I  was  there  ?  Why  have  I  not  been  allowed  to  be  your  guide  there  ?  I 
piess  you  to  my  heart,  and  give  you  my  blessing.  My  wife  sends  her  love. 

Give  my  greetings  to  the  statue  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  and  the  lions  under 
the  Capitol,  and  my  old  Teatro  di  Marcello,  and  the  Gulf  of  Naples,  and 
— every  thing. 

Yet  again,  God  bless  your  journey  to  you. 

Your  old  NIEBUHR. 

CCCXLIII. 

TO  PERTHES. 

Bo.vx,  29th  January,  1827. 

You  say,  dear  Perthes,  that  you  stand  toward  the  Catholics  as 

east  to  north.  You  are  quite  right  in  so  standing.  But  that  is  toward 
the  Catholics  as  they  were  in  the  wholesome  period  of  their  depression, 
when  the  question  was  one  of  difference  of  opinion,  and  nothing  further. 
But  now  all  the  old  evils  have  awakened  to  full  activity  ;  all  the  priestcraft, 
all,  even  the  most  gigantic  plans  for  conquest  and  subjugation ;  and  there 
is  no  doubt  that  they  are  secretly  aiming  at  and  working  toward  a  religious 
war,  and  all  that  tends  to  bring  it  on.  Therefore,  my  dear  friend,  we 
must  now  be  much  on  our  guard,  and  look  closely  to  it  that  we  do  not 
serve  as  tools  to  these  people  ;  I  thank  God  that  he  has  removed  Stolberg 
in  time,  for  he  would  not  have  been  a  match  for  their  artifices.  Whoever 
lives  in  a  Catholic  part  of  Germany,  must  remark  that,  with  few  excep- 
tions, the  scholars,  the  citizens,  &c.,  are  what  they  are  among  ourselves, 
but  that  a  curse  of  stupidity,  of  vulgarity,  or  both,  seems  to  rest  upon  the 
clergy,  and  that  the  proselytizers,  and  warriors  of  the  holy  militia,  are 
true  children  of  the  devil. 

CCCXLIV. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

BONN,  4th  March,  1827. 

I  have  received  a  friendly  letter  from  old  Stein,  in  which  he  only 

contends  that  I  was  wrong  in  assuming  that  the  oligarchy  are  secretly 
preparing  to  assert  boundless  pretensions ;  on  this  point  he  allows  himself 
to  be  imposed  upon.  From  our  King  I  have  received  a  letter  of  thanks 
which  will  serve  me  as  a  shield,  if  the  oligarchy  should  raise  an  outcry. 

Several  persons  in  Paris  have  sent  me  friendly  salutations  and  invita- 
tions to  go  there.  I  think  of  doing  so  in  about  two  years,  and  still  hope 
to  make  fresh  discoveries  of  importance  in  the  library 


EESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  499 

CCCXLVi- 

BON!»,  26<A  April,  1827. 

Your  affectionate  letter  arrived  here,  dear  Dora,  during  my  absence. 
The  machine  had  nearly  come  to  a  stand-still,  and  I  felt  the  necessity  of 
shaking  it  so  strongly,  that  I  no  longer  delayed  availing  myself  of  the  fa- 
cilities afforded  by  the  diligences  on  these  excellent  roads,  but  net  off  last 
Tuesday  week  to  Coblentz  and  Treves,  and  reached  home  again  last  Sun- 
day. The  direction  of  my  journey  was  chosen,  in  fact,  in  order  to  induce 
Brandis  to  accompany  me ;  he  needed  motion  and  change  still  more  than 
myself,  and  Treves  was  the  first  place  he  could  decide  upon  going  to.  The 
old  Roman  city  with  its  ruins,  and  the  relics  of  antiquity  discovered  there, 
had  long  attracted  me ;  but  I  had  not  liked  to  go  there  without  Gretchen 
and  the  children.  I  do  not  repent  of  having  made  this  excursion  ;  the 
physical  object  seems  fully  attained ;  I  feel  once  more  bright  and  active. 
I  had  got  so  absorbed  in  intricate  inquiries,  connected  with  my  work,  that 
I  could  not  drive  them  out  of  my  thoughts  for  a  moment,  and  yet  was  un- 
able to  take  a  comprehensive  view  of  them. 

The  road  from  Bonn  to  Coblentz,  which  I  have  now  traveled  many  times, 
is  so  beautiful  that  one  can  never  tire  of  it,  and  can  delight  in  it  even  when 
the  vegetation  is  still  very  backward,  as  it  was  when  I  left  home ;  from 
Coblentz  to  Treves,  the  road  crosses  the  hills  which  connect  the  Eifel  with 
the  Hundsruck  ranges,  a  tiresome  road  through  a  bleak  and  barren  district, 
where  even  the  woods  are  still  without  leaves.  The  situation  of  Treves  it- 
self is  strikingly  beautiful ;  the  ruins  are  very  extensive,  and  highly  inter- 
esting to  the  antiquary,  as  they  afford  an  illustration  of  the  great  differ- 
ence that  prevailed  between  the  style  of  architecture  in  Rome  and  the  prov- 
inces at  the  same  period.  There,  as  in  nearly  all  parts  of  our  Rhenish 
provinces,  the  prosperity  is  cheering ;  handsome  new  houses  are  springing 
up  in  the  city,  and  roads  are  repairing  which  have  been  forsaken  ever  since 
the  seventeenth  century,  and  were  only  to  be  traced  by  the  garden  walls. 
On  the  other  bank  of  the  river,  cottage  after  cottage  is  built  on  the  rock 
against  the  face  of  the  magnificent  hill ;  so  rich  is  the  country  becoming 
through  the  increased  consumption  of  its  wines,  which  were  formerly  little 
esteemed,  and  now  find  a  sale  in  all  districts  of  the  kingdom.  The  inhab- 
itants arc  a  lively  and  very  friendly  race.  I  have  made  myself  quite  popu- 
lar in  this  country ;  I  find  myself  received  every  where  with  the  greatest 
kindness.  One  of  our  fellow-travelers  in  the  diligence  would  not  resign  the 
office  of  ray  cicerone  (he  was  a  citizen)  though  some  intelligent  tutors  at 
the  Gymnasium  were  waiting  to  act  as  ray  guides.  On  our  journey  homo, 
an  inhabitant  of  Treves  said,  <;  It  was  a  blessing  for  Catholic  Germany  to 
have  a  Protestant  government,  so  that  the  priests  could  not  go  on  as  they 
were  doing  in  France. 

On  my  return,  I  set  about  a  long-delayed  work,  the  thorough  arrange- 
ment of  my  papers,  collecting  and  putting  together  those  belonging  to  the 
various  epochs  of  ray  life,  which  were  still  for  the  most  part  in  confusion, 
separating  those  written  at  Berlin,  at  Rome,  and  since  we  have  l»een  here. 
It  awakened  many  and  very  sad.  emotions.  I  had  shrunk  from  these  feel- 
ings, and  therefore  postponed  the  work  ;  now  it  is  over.  Notwithstanding 
the  age  which  I  have  reached,  I  have  won  the  power  of  looking  forward, 
and  feol  still  youthful  in  that  respect.  When  I  think  of  what  I  have  lost 


500  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

irrevocably,  it  makes  my  heart  beat,  and  brings  the  tears  into  my  eyes ;  I 
repress  them.  The  great  work  of  my  life,  so  far  as  it  has  advanced,  in- 
spires roe  with  courage  and  firmness.  I  know  that  my  life  has  not  been 
spent  in  vain,  that  I  can  do  more  now  than  before  my  journey  to  Italy.  I 
think  seriously  of  visiting  Italy  agaia  when  Marcus  has  reached  his  twen- 
tieth year,  and  can  delight  myself  in  the  idea  like  a  child. 

A  letter  came  from  Goethe  during  my  absence;  an  article  that  he  has 
written  for  the  next  number  of  "  Kunst  und  Alterthum,"  with  a  little  ac- 
companying note,  in  which  he  calls  it  the  passionate  expression  of  his  emo- 
tions in  reading  my  book,  which  he  imparts  to  the  author,  because  "such 
a  work  may  have  the  happiest  effects  in  kindling  and  confirming  our  faith 
in  truth  and  simplicity."  Such  words  are  worth  much  to  me,  and  to  you 
also,  dear  Dora 

The  following  is  the  article  referred  to  by  Niebukr : 

NIEBUHR'S  ROMAN  HISTORY. 

It  may  appear  presumptuous  if  I  venture  to  state  that  I  have  read  this 
important  work  through  from  beginning  to  end  in  a  few  days,  evenings, 
and  nights,  and  have  a  second  time  derived  the  greatest  advantage  from  it. 
But  this  assertion  of  mine  will  be  explained,  and  receive  some  credit,  when 
I  say  at  the  same  time  that  I  had  already  devoted  the  greatest  attention 
to  the  first  edition,  and  had  sought  to  make  myself  master  of  the  facts,  no 
less  than  of  the  method  of  this  work. 

When  we  witness  the  want  of  true  criticism  in  so  many  departments  of 
learning,  even  in  this  enlightened  century,  we  are  rejoiced  to  have  placed 
before  our  eyes  a  model  which  makes  us  comprehend  what  criticism  really 
is.  And  if  the  orator  must  aver  with  threefold  emphasis,  that  the  begin- 
ning, middle,  and  end  of  his  art,  is  to  give  a  false  .color  to  all  things,  in 
this  work,  on  the  contrary,  we  perceive  that  the  living,  active  love  of  truth 
has  guided  the  writer  through  the  labyrinth.  He  does  not,  properly  speak- 
ing, proceed  on  his  own  former  assertions;  he  rather  turns  the  same  ciiti- 
cism  against  himself  which  he  had  formerly  employed  against  ancient  au- 
thors, and  thus  wins  a  double  triumph  for  truth.  For  this  is  her  glorious 
nature,  that  wherever  she  may  appear,  she  opens  our  eyes  and  heart,  and 
gives  us  courage  to  look  around  in  the  same  manner  on  the  fields  in  which 
we  ourselves  have  to  work,  and  to  draw  in  the  reviving  breath  of  reneweo 
faith. 

I  honestly  confess  that  many  details  may  have  escaped  me  in  my  hasty 
perusal,  but  I  foresee  that  the  high  import  of  the  whole  will  ever  unfold  it- 
self before  me  with  deeper  significance. 

Meanwhile,  I  have  drawn  from  its  perusal  refreshment  and  encourage- 
ment. On  the  one  hand,  I  can  once  more  take  genuine  delight  in  every 
honest  endeavor,  and,  on  the  other,  while  I  do  not  exactly  suffer  myself  to 
be  irritated  by  the  reigning  errors  and  misapprehensions  in  science,  partic- 
ularly the  logical  development  of  false  premises,  and  the  distortion  of  truth 
by  covert  fallacies,  yet  I  can  make  war  with  a  certain  indignation  on  every 
species  of  obscurantism,  which  unhappily  changes  its  mask  with  the  pecul- 
iar characteristic  of  each  individual,  and  diligently  conceals  with  its  man- 
ifold vails  the  pure  ray  of  delight,  and  the  fertility  of  truth,  even  from 
healthy  eyes. 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  501 

The  above  has  been  lying  since  the  8th  of  February  among  many  other 
unfinished  papers ;  no  use  could  be  made  of  it,  for  it  does  not,  properly 
speaking,  say  any  thing  about  the  book  which  called  forth  this  burst  of 
feeling;  it  only  expresses  with  passionate  force  the  condition  of  my  heart 
and  mind  at  that  moment.  Yet  I  now  resolve,  as  I  am  about  to  send  a 
little  gift  on  my  own  part  to  the  esteemed  author  of  that  work,  to  commu- 
nicate to  him  a  copy  of  it,  in  confidence,  for  it  may  be  of  consequence  to  him 
to  see  what  effect  his  peculiar  labors  have  on  the  general  mind  ;  the  noblest 
effect,  that  while  they  impart  knowledge,  they  also  encourage  and  animate 
our  faith  in  truth  and  simplicity. 
WEIMAR,  4th  April,  1827. 

This  sheet  was  meant  to  accompany  the  last  number  of  "  Kunst  und  Al- 
terthum,"  but  as  the  completion  of  that  number  has  been  delayed,  it  shall 
serve  as  its  forerunner,  and  recommend  me  to  your  continued  kind  remem- 
brance. With  faithful  sympathy.  GOETHE. 

WEIMAR,  \5th  April,  1827. 

CCCXLVI. 

TO  SXVIjGNY. 

BONN,  29/A  April,  1827. 

Instead  of  myself  you  shall  at  all  events  have  my  work 

Now  that  so  long  a  time  has  elapsed  since  the  book  saw  the  light,  I  can 
not  write  about  it  with  the  same  warmth  aa  on  its  first  appearance ;  the 
charm  of  novelty  goes-  far  even  with  what  proceed*  from  our  own  hand,  and 
we  grow  indifferent  to  the  children  of  our  mind,  however  dear  to  us,  when 
we  have  emancipated  them,  and  dismissed  them  from  the  parental  home. 
Let  it,  therefore,  speak  for  itself;  you  will  come  forward  to  meet  it  with 
kindness.  A  more  affectionate  reception  my  writings  on  Roman  history 
can  not  find  in  my  own  family  than  from  you ;  there  is  only  one  thing 
which  1  fear  with  you,  that  your  affection  may  cause  yon  to  regret  that 
the  imperfect  work,  which  will  be  dearer  to  you  from  its  origin  in,  and  con- 
nection with  that  period  in  the  life  of  both  of  us  to  which  no  other  can 
ever  approach,  has  been  destroyed  to  make  way  for  a  more  perfect  produc- 
tion. It  is  possible  that  your  tenderness  for  the  work,  which  took  its  rise 
under  the  animating  influence  of  your  friendship,  and  the  instruction  I  de- 
rived from  yonr  conversation,  when  my  indolence  and  want  of  literary  skill 
would  have  forever  prevented  my  acquiring  it  from  books,  may  have  made 
you  too  indulgent  to  its  defects,  and  given  you  a  distaste  to  what  announces 
itself  as  an  improvement.  I  know  this  sort  of  affection  which  loves  its  ob- 
ject just  as  much  in  its  relations  and  bearings  as  in  itself,  which  deems 
the  indistinct  aspirations  of  youth  toward  something  higher  than  we  can 
perhaps  ever  attain,  dearer  than  the  proportion  which  a  riper  age  main- 
tains between  its  powers  and  its  aims :  the  new  St.  Paul's  may  be  much 
more  beautiful,  and  yet  I  may  look  upon^the  old  structure  with  regret  in 
spite  of  all  its  faults.  I  trust,  however,  you  will  believe  that  I  could  not 
help  forming  a  different  judgment,  and  not  suffer  regret  to  mingle  with  the 
conviction  which  you  have  doubtless  formed,  that  the  contents  of  the  book 
have  gained  immensely  in  value ;  that  its  principles  are  now  immovably 
fixed  for  all  ages.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  that  the  discovery  of  no  ancient 


502  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

historian  could  have  taught  the  world  so  much  as  my  work ;  and  that  all 
that  may  hereafter  come  to  light  from  ancient  and  uncorrupted  sources, 
will  only  tend  to  confirm  or  develop  the  principle  I  have  advanced.  This 
is  the  case  with  Dio  Cassius,  of  whom  I  have  discovered  that  he  has  cop- 
ied the  earlier  history  directly  from  Fabius.  How  happy  it  would  make 
me  for  you  to  read  my  book  on  the  ruins  of  Rome,  if  your  health  and  spirits 
allow  you  to  do  so. 

The  revision  of  this  volume  has  occupied  me  unremittingly  for  more  than 
a  year,  nearly  all  of  which  I  have  passed  in  better  spirits  than  I  could  ever 
have  believed  would  fall  to  my  lot,  since  my  youth  was  over,  which  even 
in  times  of  intense  happiness  was  not  strictly  speaking  cheerful.  And  as 
my  wife  enjoyed  very  tolerable  health  during  the  last  summer  and  the  be- 
ginning of  the  winter,  we  had  passed  a  very  happy  period,  something  like 
that  which  I  enjoyed  in  1810  and  1811 

You  will  have  heard  of  the  edition  of  the  Byzantine  historians,  which  I 
am  superintending.  It  is  a  great  delight  to  me  to  be  able  thus  to  infuse 
some  life  into  our  literary  doings ;  to  give  employment  to  young  philolo- 
gists ;  to  give  extension,  activity,  and  perfection  to  typography ;  to  contri- 
bute my  mite  to  the  increase  of  general  prosperity 

When  ahall  we  meet  again,  my  dear,  dear  friend  ?  I  supplicate  Heaven 
that  you  may  be  as  completely  regenerated  after  a  year's  sojourn  in  Italy 
as  I  was ;  meanwhile,  when  you  return  to  this  side  of  the  Alps,  you  must 
spare  yourself  and  allow  yourself  recreation.  To  spare  yourself,  it  will  be 
necessary  for  you  to  take  long  holidays  ;  and  you  will  best  find  recreation 
with  the  friend  who  is  the  nearest  to  you  in  all  higher  points  of  view,  as  you 
are  to  him.  So,  in  1828,  you  must  spend  more  than  a  few  passing  days 
with  us. 

I  conjure  you,  ae  I  have  done  for  years,  to  tear  yourself  from  all  disturb- 
ing and  irritating  circumstances.  I  could  fain  entreat  you  to  remove  to 
our  university,  but  in  that  case  tell  me  beforehand  that  I  may  purchase 
houses,  since  the  price  of  students'  apartments  would  certainly  rise  30  per 
cpnt.  Or  cast  away  all  the  burdens  of  official  obligation,  and  settle  among 
us,  and  deliver  open  lectures  as  I  do,  and  then  we  shall  both  forget  that  we 
have  grown  older  since  1810.  If  my  wife  were  here  she  would  unite  her 
entreaties  to  mine,  as  well  as  her  greetings  to  you  and  yours.  I  embrace 
you  with  tenderness,  my  beloved  friend.  God  grant  that  you  may  soon 
recover  completely,  and  that  we  may  meet  again. 

Your  old  NIEBUHR. 

CCCXLVII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

1st  July,  16-27. 

In  the  second  volume  the  first  half  has  been  revised,  and  the  period  up 
to  the  decemviral  legislation  is  entirely  new.  I  have  no  lack  of  materials, 
indeed  it  is  one  of  my  finest  achievements,  that  from  the  notices  relating 
to  these  forty  years,  I  have  brought  out  a  history  worthy  of  full  reliance, 
although  it  deviates  essentially  from  the  statements  of  our  historians.  But 
I  have  now  quite  lost  the  state  of  feeling  in  which  I  wrote  the  first  volume  ; 
the  collectedness  and  quiet  in  which  you  can  take  a  vivid  survey  of  the  re- 
sult of  your  meditations,  and  adapt  your  mode  of  representation  to  it.  May 
it  return  !  I  have  often  lost  and  recovered  this  power ;  but  at  my  ago  it 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  503 

•will  not  do  for  me  to  be  too  long  without  it.  I  have  lost  too  this  summer 
that  feeling  of  happiness  and  contentment  which  gave  me  last  year  such  a 
thorough  enjoyment  of  life  as  I  had  never  hoped  to  regain.  There  are  sev- 
eral external  circumstances  to  trouble  me.  In  the  first  place,  Gretchen's 
health 

A  very  intelligent  Englishman,  who  visited  me  a  few  weeks  ago,  looked 
forward  to  a  very  gloomy  future  for  his  country.  There*  is  a  fearful  and 
ever-widening  gulf  between  the  wealthy  and  the  indigent  classes ;  they  are 
two  hostile  nations;  poor  Ireland  is  indeed  a  nation  by  herself,  and  her 
sufferings  such  as  perhaps  never  can  be  remedied. 

There  is  certainly  great  prosperity  here,  and  were  the  government  what 
it  ought  to  be,  our  State  would  be  rich  in  blessings.  Wherever  you  look 
you  see  increasing  comfort,  and  active  enterprise  crowned  with  success. 
The  advantages  of  belonging  to  a  great  State  are  innumerable;  what  a 
contrast  to  our  condition  is  presented  by  the  misery  in  Nassau,  Darmstadt, 
Rhenish  Bavaria.  The  people  see  clearly,  and  they  say  it  too  in  the  dis- 
trict of  Mayence,  that  in  small  States  representative  forms  have  no  effect 
but  to  increase  expense.  In  those  parts  the  people  actually  refuse  to  elect 
members. 

One  book  containing  much  nonsense  but  many  correct  statements  of  fact 
is  Sidon's  Letters  on  North  America.  If  there  are  any  who  have  not  yet 
forgotten  the  childish  hopes  which  some  years  ago  provoked  many  even  to 
insolence  toward  the  more  experienced,  let  them  read  in  this  book,  from 
the  pen  of  a  man  who  fancies  himself  describing  an  enviable  condition  of 
society,  the  barbarism  prevailing  in  the  United  States.  It  also  presents  a 
vivid  picture  of  the  Germans  in  North  America. 

Have  you  the  new  edition  of  Goethe  ?  The  Helena  will  leave  a  painful 
impression  on  your  mind  as  on  mine.  How  could  Goethe  hatch  such  a 
thing  ?  But  among  the  smaller  poems,  which  have  never  appeared  before, 
to  my  knowledge,  there  are  some  very  charming  verses ;  there  are  also 
some  songs  written  in  his  golden  youth,  and  printed  now  for  the  first  time, 
or  revived  after  having  long  slumbered  in  oblivion,  for  instance,  the  Wan- 
derer's  Storm  Song 

CCCXLVIII. 

TO  SAVIGNY. 

BONN,  Uth  September,  1827. 

During  this  interval  in  which  I  have  been  incapable  of  nobler 

tasks,  I  have  occupied  myself  with  superintending  a  new  edition  of  the 
Byzantine  authors.  Nothing  can  seem  a  madder  enterprise  than  to  an- 
nounce the  undertaking  of  a  new  edition  of  "this  library  of  writings  when  I 
am  midway  in  the  execution  of  the  Roman  History,  the  business  of  my 
life ;  but  here  too  fortune  has  waited  upon  valor.  Volunteers  are  coming 
forward  on  every:  side,  to  range  themselves  under  my  banner,  and  take  the 
parts  that  I  shall  assign  to  them.  The  greatest  readiness  is  evinced  to  aid 
me  with  corqmunications,  and  in  particular  from  Holland  and  France  I 
have  received  presents  of  copies,  &c.,  which  are  sent  to  me  with  expressions 
of  cordiality  that  I  am  not  ashamed  to  call  touching.  I  have  myself  cor- 
rected the  text  of  Agathias ;  several  are  undertaking  to  revise  authors ; 
copies  of  inedtta,  collections,  come  to  me  from  all  quarters :  fervet  oput ; 


504  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

the  activity  is  splendid.  It  has  hitherto  occasioned  me  an  enormous 
amount  of  work  in  bringing  me  into  correspondences  with  all  parts  of  the 
world.  The  most  difficult  part  by  far,  nay,  all  the  difficulties,  except  a  few 
of  little  importance,  are  overcome,  and  1  am  now  once  more  devoted  to  my 
history.  Is  it  not  a  great  thing  that  a  publisher  and  a  philosopher  should 
be  able  to  accomplish  in  six  years  from  hence  at  furthest,  a  work  that  was 
but  partially  carried  out  in  sixty  years  under  the  auspices  and  with  the 
munificent  aid  of  Louis  XIV.  ?  But  as  to  the  practicability  of  the  scheme, 
thereby  hangs  a  tale  which  is  not  altogether  a  subject  of  satisfaction.  You 
must  know  there  is  now  springing  up  in  Germany  a  class  who  buy  great 
books  without  intending  to  read  them.  For  a  long  time  we  were  too  honest 
to  do  this,  and  hence,  after  the  devil,  in  God's  service,  had  put  an  end  to 
the  convents,  which  formerly  used  to  buy  ponderous  works,  and  lay  them 
on  their  shelves,  to  lead  a  useless  existence  like  those  monks  themselves — 
works  of  this  magnitude  could  not  be  disposed  of.  At  present,  new  books, 
which  are  only  bought  by  readers,  meet  with  ill  success,  except  Scottiand 
and  Claurenciana.  Collections,  on  the  contrary,  are  sure  of  purchasers. 
The  petite  maitresse  buys  the  complete  works  of  Van  der  Velde,  &c.,  the 
rich  man,  my  Byzantine  Historians,  &c. 

The  Museum  has  been  parted  in  two ;  Brandis  and  I  have  kept  the  phi- 
lological part  alone.  If  you  have  any  thing  to  communicate,  send  it  to  us, 
even  if  it  should  belong  to  the  province  of  jurisprudence.  Between  us  it  i.s 
almost  ludicrous  to  mention  the  fee,  two  Friedrich  d'ors. 

Your  old  NIEBITHR. 

CCCXLIX. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER. 

BONN,  Uh  November,  1827. 

Since  I  last  wrote  to  you,  dear  Dora,  some  time  has  passed  like  the  sum- 
mer, in  a  whirl  of  bustle  through  the  visits  of  travelers  ;  it  seems  to  have 
come  to  an  end  now,  at  least,  for  the  present 

I  beg  you  will  let  me  know  of  all  the  passages  which  you  and  Twesten 
have  marked  as  wanting  in  clearness  of  conception  or  style  :  it  will  be  a 
real  service.  On  one  account  I  am  sorry  that  the  new  edition  is  appear- 
ing so  early  ;  the  English  translation  will  be  injured  by  it.  I  have  received 
nine  proof  sheets  of  this ;  and  it  is  more  successful  than  I  could  ever  have 
ventured  to  hope  for.  It  is  all  that  I  could  wish  :  the  apprehension  and 
the  reproduction  of  my  meaning  are  alike  vivid  :  nothing  has  been  sacri- 
ficed to  the  language  and  national  taste ;  every  shade  of  the  German 
thought  has  been  preserved,  without  violating  the  English  language.  The 
outward  dress  is  very  handsome ;  this  is  an  honor  accorded  to  the  work  by 
.the  University  of  Cambridge.  I  am  assured  on  all  sides  that  it  will  be 
well  received;  not  a  few  copies  of  the  German  edition  have  been  sold  in 
England,  and  the  work  has  also  made  some  political  sensation 

CCCL. 

BONN,  2d  December,  1827. 

I  must  see  how  I  get  through  the  winter.  The  printing  of  the  new 
edition  of  the  first  part  is  proceeding  rapidly :  the  emendations  affect  no 
main  points,  although  they  are  not  unimportant ;  still  they  involve  labor 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  505 

and  meditation ;  and  correcting  the  press  takes  up  a  good  deal  of  time.  I 
have,  besides,  to  correct  the  press  for  the  edition  of  Agathias  which  I  have 
prepared  myself.  It  is  my  intention  to  have  the  printing  of  the  second 
volume  finished  before  setting  out  on  our  journey,  but  I  am  sorry  to  say, 
I  have  not  yet  advanced  far  enough  with  the  manuscript  to  feel  sure  that 
I  shall  be  able  to  accomplish  this.  Unfortunately,  the  period  up  to  the 
Decemvirate  was  the  most  difficult  portion  of  the  whole  work,  and  I  had 
not  thought  this  out  beforehand  in  my  own  head  as  I  had  the  fundamental 
institutions  of  the  State.  I  have  at  last  made  it  perfectly  clear  to  myself, 
but  the  style  is  still  languid  and  dry.  This  list,  however,  by  no  means  in- 
cludes all  the  tasks  to  the  execution  of  which  I  am  either  pledged  or  chal- 
lenged in  such  a  way  that  I  can  not  decline  them-  not -to  speak  of  the 
lectures,  which  seldom  require  more  than  a  preliminary  meditation,  and 
arrangement  of  my  topics.  I  long  for  the  holidays  of  next  summer,  which', 
however,  I  shall  not  be  able  to  spend  quite  in  idleness.  I  promised  Bek- 
ker  to  reviee  Polybius  with  him,  sooner  or  later.  Now  I  can  not  put  this 
off  any  longer  with  propriety,  since  the  Excerpts  from  the  Vatican  have 
appeared,  and  as  I  mean  to  devote  to  it  my  solitude  at  the  Baths  of  Nurn- 
dorf.  and  a  few  hours  in  Holstein.  Next  winter  I  hope  to  proceed  with 
fresh  vigor  to  the  revision  of'  the  third  volume,  and  afterward  to  the  con- 
tinuation. 

Heaven  grant  that  I  may  make  at  lesst  some  considerable  advance  to- 
ward the  later  periods  even  if  I  do  not  reach  the  goal  I  have  fixed  for  my- 
self, before  all  youthful  fire  is  quite  extinguished  in  me.  and  the  tranquillity 
is  broken  in  which  we  can  now  work !  The  completion  of  the  work  is 
scarcely  to  be  expected,  though  from  the  fourth  volume  onward,  the  labor 
will  be  incomparably  less ;  for  but  little  research  is  required  after  that  period, 
and  I  am  so  familiar  with  the  events,  that  except  a  very  few  corrections 
from  memory,  I  could  relate  them  as  if  I  had  been  an  eye-witness.  So 
that  in  this  part  of  my  work,  the  main  thing  will  be,  to  secure  a  bright 
mood  for  the  sake  of  the  style. 

It  is  very  improbable  that  the  repose  which  we  have  now  enjoyed  in 
these  western  countries  for  the  last  twelve  years  will  be  long  preserved  to 
us.  It  is  evident  that  a  breach  has  been  made  in  the  wall  of  the  edifice, 
how  long  its  fall  will  be  delayed  depends  upon  accident.  Who  can  wish 
that  this  or  that  event  should  happen?  We  have  all,  of  course,  rejoiced 
over  the  battle  of  Navarino  ;  you  in  Holstein,  as  well  as  we  in  Bonn  ;  but 
it  is  the  joy  of  revenge,  for  it  has  not  alleviated  past  calamities.  The 
opportunity  of  rescuing  what  was  still  left  in  the  Morea  has  been  lost, 
partly  owing  to  Pharisaic  scrupulosity,  partly  owing  to  Canning's  delays 
on  the  score  of  the  treaty.  To  us,  who  are  in  her  neighborhood,  France 
is  even  more  interesting  than  to  those  at  s>  distance.  If  the  liberals  had 
conquered  in  the  elections,  the  choice  would  have  lain  between  a  violent 
counter-revolution,  or  a  liberal  ministry.  1  believe  that  the  court  could 
have  carried  the  former  through.  But  such  a  victory  would  have  been  a 
very  bad  thing  for  Catholic  districts  like  ours,  where  the  clergy,  encouraged 
by  irrational  partisans,  are  continually  advancing  in  their  pretensions.  On 
the  other  hand,  a  liberal  administration  would  have  still  worse  consequences 
for  us ;  the  journals  were  already  talking  about  the  "  disgraceful  limitation 
of  France  by  boundaries  which  were  not  her  natural  ones."  They  all 
secretly  cherish  the  idea  of  breaking  out,  and  extending  their  sway  to  the 

r 


506  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

.Rhine ;  and  on  this  point  aristocrats  and  liberals  would  unite  willingly  in 
the  end.  Bunsen  has  arrived  in  Berlin,  and  writes  that  he  shall  begin  his 
journey  back  to  Rome  by  way  of  Bonn,  about  the  middle  of  this  month. 
Savigny's  letters  are  very  gloomy ;  he  is  still  suffering  as  much  as  ever. 
From  another  quarter  I  hear  that  his  approbation  of  the  Roman  History  is 
undiminished. 

The  course  of  lectures  that  I  am  delivering  this  winter  can  attract  none 
but  lovers  of  knowledge— —or  those  who  wish  to  be  such.  It  is  on  Ancient 
Geography  and  Ethnography.  Still  above  eighty  have  inscribed  their 
names,  and  I  should  think  there  are  as  many  present. 

CCCLI. 

BONN,  3Qth  December,  1827. 

Gretchen's  severe  illness  has  brought  great  commotion  and  affliction  into 
the  whole  household 

The  unintelligible  sentence  that  I  sent  you  a  short  time  since  about 
politics  in  France,  means  this :  if  the  liberals  carry  the  day,  the  French 
will  forthwith  overstep  their  frontiers  -f  and  further,  every  coalition  which 
may  overthrow  the  ministry,  without  adopting  an  entirely  different  political 
system,  will  also  take  this  course,  in  order  to  appease  the  nation  for  leav- 
ing other  things  on  their  present  footing.  But  if  the  priestly  party  get  the 
upper  hand  uncontrolled,  which  would  be  quite  the  most  probable  result 
of  Villele's  fall,  the  prevalent  spirit  will  be  that  of  the  League — that 
which  heralded  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  a  spirit  which  is  now  cherished 
and  promoted  by  many  Catholics. 

The  irrational  precipitation  of  the  French  priests  may,  perhaps,  spoil 
their  game ;  it  has  already  alienated  from  them  the  higher  ranks,  who 
were  long  favorable  to  their  cause ;  the  middle  classes  are  almost  entirely 
against  them;  in  many  provinces  a  great  portion  of  the  common  people 
also  :  but  in  others,  indeed  in  many,  they  completely  sway  the  multitude. 
For  this  very  reason,  many  of  the  nobility  regard  them  as  democratic,  in 
fact,  Jacobinical;  and  not  unjustly. 

It  is  the  most  senseless  proceeding  in  the- world,  to  aim  at  Villele's 
overthrow,  since  the  King,  if  he  alters  the  ministry,  will  throw  himself 
quite  into  the  hands  of  the  priests.  Some  individuals  among  the  liberals 
perceive  this,  as  did  one  who  was  here  a  few  months  ago ;  but  in  general 
the  French  party-men  are  incurably  irrational. 

Farewell,  dearest  Dora.  Gretchen  and  the  children  send  their  love  to 
you. 

CCCLII. 

BONN,  I4tk  March,  1828. 

......  I  do  not  know  what  to  think  of  the  East.     Nothing  hardly  can 

be  saved,  and  they  will  fight  among  themselves  for  the  possession  of  the 
soil.  Woe  to  those  who  did  nothing  in  1821  !  I  abhor  those  who  defend 
and  justify  the  Turks,  and  yet  I  tremble  at  the  consequences  of  the  war. 
There  are  periods  in  which  something  much  better  than  happiness  and 
security  of  life  is  attainable,  but  I  fear  that  is  not  the  case  in  our  present 
age.  England's  rapidly  accelerating  decline  is  a  very  remarkable  and 
mournful  phenomenon  ;  it  is  a  mortal  sickness  for  which  there  is  no  rem- 
edy. I  liken  the  English  of  the  present  day  to  the  Romans  of  the  third 
century  after  Christ.  The  course  of  things  in  France  is  quite  contrary  to 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN  507 

my  expectations.  It  is  possible  that  the  Left  may  create  disturbances 
again,  if  the  new  elections  render  them  independent  of  that  fraction  of  the 
Right  led  by  Agier ;  but  it  in  also  possible  that  new  parties  may  be  formed, 
as  was  the  case  in  England  under  the  House  of  Hanover,  which  may  really 
keep  themselves  within  constitutional  limits.  If  so,  France  will  become 
conscious  of  her  power,  and  woe  to  poor,  divided,  decaying  Germany ! 

Portalis  appeared  to  be  a  respectable  man  at  Rome ;  but  I  should  never 
have  expected  to  see  him  a  Minister  of  State.  However,  I  sent  him  my 
sincere  congratulations  a  short  time  ago ;  and  a  few  days  after,  expressed 
to  some  other  good  friends  of  mine,  my  regret  at  his  retirement  from  office. 

I  have  bought  lately,  at  auctions,  the  original  edition  of  Woldemar 
(1779),  and  the  Kuustgarten ;  *  it  is  very  interesting  to  compare  both 
with  the  later  editions.  Both  has  added  an  extraordinarily  beautiful  pas- 
sage as  an  appendix  to  the  latest  edition  of  the  works,  on  the  fruitlessnesa 
of  the  efforts  of  good  men,  where  the  evil  principle  has  the  upper  hand. 
Further,  it  is  very  remarkable  to  see  how  Jacobi  shared  the  optimistic 
hopes  so  general  in  1779;  and  to  notice,  when  he  renounced  them  subse- 
quently, the  turn  which  he  gave  to  what  he  had  said  on  the  subject. 

CCCLIII. 

Boxif,  2<MA  April,  1828. 

I  form  no  conjectures  as  to  what  may  happen;  do  not  know  whether 
the  peace  of  Germany  is  immediately  threatened  or  not ;  no  one  writes  to 
me  about  such  things,  and  I  generally  banish  them  almost  wholly  from 
my  mind.  But  sooner  or  later,  a  war  is  impending  over  us  in  Germany 
as  surely  as  over  other  countries.  A' war  in  which  one  can  not  heartily 
espouse  either  side  for  the  sake  of  an  idea,  but  only  so  far  as  it  affects  our 
own  weal  or  woe — a  war  whose  issue  must  be  in  every  way  most  lament- 
able. The  cause  of  the  unhappy  Greeks,  and  the  paradise  which  might 
have  been  redeemed  from  barbarism,  is  no  longer  in  reality  the  question, 
since  we  have  allowed  them  to  be  almost  exterminated ;  and  new  con- 
quests for  Russia  are  a  mournful  business !  Woe  to  those  who  did  not 
perceive  seven  years  ago,  and  did  not  choose  to  perceive,  that  they  ought 
to  take  advantage  of  the  Emperor  Alexander's  yielding  temper,  to  found 
a  new  Christian  empire  in  the  East,  without  extending  neighboring  powers: 
who  did  not  see  that  such  a  State  would  be  a  much  stronger  bulwark 
against  Russia  than  these  miserable  Turks!  As  regards  Prussia  there  is 
no  fear  that  we  shall  incur  the  shame  of  drawing  our  sword  for  the  Turks. 

I  should  have  many  good  hopes  for  France,  if  the  election  bad  not  called 
such  utterly  irrational  and  extreme  liberals  into  the  position  of  leaders, 
that  it  must  come  to  bending  or  breaking  between  the  Throne  and  the 
Chambers.  It  is  sad  that  people  always  insist  on  extreme  men,  while  by 
far  the  greater  number  of  those  who  exercise'  a  vote  would  gain  their  real 
aims  much  better,  by  means  of  sensible  people.  Very  few  now  seriously  wish 
for  any  thing  essentially  bad  or  dangerous — the  case  was  quite  different 
even  so  late  as  five  or  seven  years  ago— but  it  is  very  easy  to  impel  the 
majority  of  the  Assembly  to  extremely  senseless  and  alarming  steps,  and 
this  may  provoke  the  court  to  a  coup-d'i'tat.  If  they  had  suspended  the 
constitution  a  year  ago,  they  would  have  been  playing  a  hazardous  game, 
but  it  might  have  succeeded  had  they  acted  consistently — for  instance, 
*  Another  novel  by  Jacobi. 


508  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

decidedly  abolished  the  freedom  of  the  press.  There  would  have  been  no 
danger  unless  a  regiment  rebelled,  and  that  was  highly  improbable.  Now, 
the  experiment  would  be  incomparably  more  hazardous,  and  yet  the  ex- 
•^ravagancies  of  the  liberals  may  cause  it  to  be  tried,  though  very  few  of 
them  desire  a  revolution. 

Have  I  then  really  forgotten  to  tell  you  that  I  agreed  with"  one  of  the 
booksellers  here,  a  year  ago,  to  collect  my  smaller  writings  ?  I  am  glad 
that  you  approve  of  it.  The  political  ones  will  be  excluded  ;  they  may  be 
revived  again  after  my  death  :  also  the  polemical  ones,  which  need  not  be 
preserved  at  all.  One  must  be  able  to  contend  upon  occasion,  but  con- 
troversy should  evaporate  like  a  spoken  word.  It  is  thus  with  the  orators 
in  the  free  states,  it  should  be  thus  in  the  republic  of  letters.  Neither 
shall  the  review  of  Heeren  be  reprinted.  Have  I  told  you,  then,  that  I 
have  received  copies  of  the  English  translation  of  the  History  ?  It  is  not 
absolutely  free  from  faults  ;  with  respect  to  which,  it  is  singular  that  they 
do  not  occur  in  really  difficult  passages,  but  in  perfectly  clear  ones,  so  that 
they  can  only  have  arisen  from  inattention :  but  these  are  trifles  ;  on  the 
whole  the  work  is  masterly,  and  a  perfectly  genuine  representation  of  the 
original.  Then,  too,  it  has  such  a  beautiful  exterior.  The  language  is 
changing ;  many  expressions  in  this  translation,  and  in  other  examples  of 
the  higher  literature,  are  quite  new  and  unprecedented. 

The  English  pay  so  much  attention  now  to  the  literature  of  the  Conti- 
nent, that  two  rival  foreign  reviews  appear  at  once,  and  compete  with 
each  other.  In  one  of  them  there  is  a  review  of  my  History,  as  friendly, 
but  not  as  discerning  as  I  could  wish.  Were  my  old  affection  for  England 
unchanged,  it  would  give  me  intense  pleasure  to  stand  in  such  high  esti- 
mation there.  My  principles,  which  I  announce  with  the  most  absolute 
conviction  of  their  truth,  are  adopted  there  without  reservation,  and  will 
take  root  too  firmly  to  be  extirpated.  But  my  heart  has  become  estranged 
from  England ;  the  period  of  her  glory  has  passed  away ;  and  the  shame- 
fulness  with  which  not  alone  the  ministry,  but  the  nation  side  with  the 
Turks,  the  unscrupulous  practice  of  usury,  and  the  exclusive  idolatr}  of 
gain  disgust  me ;  and  the  whole  moral  condition  of  the  nation  is  degener- 
ating, although,  to  a  great  extent,  this  is  as  much  its  misfortune  as  its 
fault.  I  could  fain  be  younger  that  I  might  witness  the  issue  of  many 
things  :  for  instance,  with  regard  to  England,  whither  it  will  lead,  that 
year  by  year  so  many  thousands  of  starving  Irish  come  over,  and  augment 
the  number  of  paupers,  and  that  the  middle  class,  between  wealth  and 
abject  poverty,  is  becoming  quite  extinct. 

Yesterday  I  finished  the  correction  of  the  third  edition.  It  has  received 
an  extension  of  forty  pages,  through  the  addition  of  a  number  of  results  and 
corroborative  facts  scattered  over  the  whole  ;  I  have  taken  pains  also  to 
remove  whatever  instances  I  found  of  obscurity  or  ambiguity.  As  this  is 
now  certainly  the  last  revision  to  which  reference  can  be  made  in  the 
second  volume,  and  as  1000  copies  have  again  been  printed,  I  am  certain 
of  five  years'  rest  from  it.  There  is  to  be  a  larger  impression  of  the  second 
volume,  the  editing  of  which  will  occupy  me  during  the  winter.  God  grant 
that  I  may  be  able  to  work  at  it  with  a  cheerful  mind  !  With  the  Byzan- 
tines I  shall  really  have  no  more  trouble  by  that  time  :  1  am  upon  the 
point  of  finishing  the  last  piece  of  work  connected  with  them  that  falls  to 
my  share — it  is,  I  think,  a  successful  attempt.  Henceforward  I  shall 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  509 

merely  have  to  distribute  the  parts  :  I  reckon  much  on  Marcus's  tutor, 
Classen,  who  is  daily  becoming  more  attached  to  us,  and  is  a  genuine  dis- 
ciple after  my  own  heart. 

CCCLIV. 
TO  MADAME  NIEBUHR. 

NuRinooRF,  6th  June,  1828. 

You  may  be  perfectly  easy  about  me ;  the  intolerable  dullness  of  the  ex- 
istence here  involves  no  dangers,  though  it  really  exceeds  all  conception. 
The  background  of  my  thoughts  is  the  separation  from,  you,  and  that  is  in 
itself  enough  to  drive  such  a  social  being  as  myself  to  despair.  I  already 
know  every  path  in  the  promenades  and  wood,  and  every  road  in  the 
neighborhood.  I  am  incapable  of  reflection  and  study,  and  promise  you  not 
to  attempt  it.  It  is  quite  too  great  an  exertion  even  to  read  Rehberg's 
writings,  which  mostly  treat  of  speculative  philosophy.  It  has  come  to 
this  with  me,  that  I  have  sent  for  a  novel  by  Cooper,  the  American  Walter 
Scott — (N.B. — Translated!) — from  the  circulating  library,  in  the  so-called 
bookseller's  shop  here. 

Rehberg's  collected  writings  incontestably  belong  to  the  most  important 
works  in  our  language.  The  composition  of  this  volume — the  weaving  of 
minor  essays  and  papers  of  a  philosophical  description,  in  the  narrow  and 
wider  sense  of  the  word,  into  an  account  of  his  views  and  external  rela- 
tions, during  the  period  in  Germany  up  to  1804  (the  period  of  his  youth), 
is  a  most  original  and  happy  idea,  and  it  ia  executed  in  a  masterly  style. 
The  perspicuity  and  accuracy  with  which  he  describes  the  connecting  and 
mediating  parties  is  particularly  admirable.  This  will  form  an  introduc- 
tion to  many  portions  that  will  find  their  place  in  the  succeeding  volumes. 
Our  respective  paths  are  quite  divergent:  he  is  as  essentially  speculative 
as  I  am  contemplative  and  individualizing ;  over  many  speculations  of 
most  brilliant  acuteness  I  can  only  smile  as  the  most  unimportant  thing  in 
the  world  ;  still,  thank  God,  I  can  admire  what  it  is  not  permitted  me  to  do. 
His  historical  surveys  do  not  correspond  to  the  truth,  and  contain  aa  many 
errors  as  principles.  Our  judgment  of  Diderot  ia  equally  dissimilar ;  the 
strictly  poetical  element  is  also,  I  fancy,  a  foreign  region  to  him.  I  should 
care  almost  more  to  know  him  personally  and  discuss  matters  with  him, 
than  to  know  Goethe 

CCCLV. 

NURSDORF,  Monday,  16th  Junt,  1828. 

Since  Friday  the  weather  has  changed.  Pertz  and  Uartman  came  to 
call  on  me  ;  and  after  they  had  continued  their  journey  at  six  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  I  could  not  make  up  my  mind  to  come  in  from  the  open  air,  it 
was  so  heavenly.  Not  a  breath  was  stirring,  and  there  was  not  a  trace  of 
clouds  in  the  whole  expanse  of  sky  ;  but  the  air  was  laden  with  the  aromat- 
ic perfume  of  the  white  acacia  and  wild  jessamine.  The  honeysuckle  is 
out  of  bloom.  It  was  the  first  gala  Sunday,  the  first  day  on  which  there 
was  dancing.  I  wandered  about  in  the  avenues,  turned  into  the  ball-room 
from  time  to  time,  and  then  took  more  distant  field-paths  :  I  could  not  re- 
solve to  go  in  till  the  sun  had  set  for  the  third  time  into  a  purple  glow. 
Then  I  wanted  to  begin  a  letter  to  you,  my  beloved  Gretchen ;  but  I  was  too 


510  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBT7HR. 

weary,  and  soon  comforted  myself  with  the  reflection  that  to-day,  before 
post-time,  I  should  have  taken  thirteen  of  my  baths  ! 

I  can  give  you  a  very  good  account  of  myself.  Pertz  found  me  yester- 
day much  altered  for  the  better  during  the  eight  days  that  have  elapsed. 
The  day  before  yesterday  I  found  and  plucked  the  first  beautiful  forget-me- 
not  ;  I  wanted  to  send  them  to  you  to-day,  but  they  are  not  dry  enough 

yet 

CCCLVI. 

COPENHAGEN,  \Mh  July,  1828. 

We  arrived  here  yesterday  after  as  good  a  passage  as  possible,  my  dear 
wife.  Touchhammer  and  Michelsen  were  at  the  landing-place,  and  helped 
in  the  difficulties  of  disembarkation,  getting  on  shore,  &c 

The  empty  harbor,  the  deserted  Holm,  made  a  painful  impression  on  me  ; 
Marcus  compared  the  eagerness  of  the  porters  who  seized  upon  the  luggage, 
with  Naples  ;  and  certainly  the  urgency  of  the  beggars  reminds  you  of  the 
worst  scenes  of  the  kind -in  Italy.  On  the  other  hand,  the  cutting  wind  here 
makes  you  feel  that  you  are  in  an  Arctic  climate ;  one  perceives  a  great 
difference  even  in  comparing  it  with  Kiel ;  you  would  fancy  Copenhagen  as 
much  north  of  Kiel,  as  Kiel  is  in  truth  and  perceptibly,  north  of  Bonn. 
The  eastern  part  of  the  city  is  so  still,  that  it  reminds  me  of  the  fairy  tale 
where  the  people  are  all  spell-bound  to  one  point  for  ages.  From  the  Zoll- 
bude  to  the  Neumarkt,  every  thing  looks  exactly  as  if  I  had  only  left  it 
yesterday,  only  gone  to  decay  a  little  here  and  there.  Christiansburg,  on 
the  contrary,  far  exceeds  my  expectation.  The  Frauen-Kirche,  which  has 
been  restored,  looks  better,  too,  than  I  had  supposed  it  would.  The  parts 
left  uninjured  in  the  northern  and  western  parts  of  the  city,  have,  I  think, 
improved  in  appearance. 

Schimmelman  is  at  Seelust ;  and  they  say  at  his  house  that  he  will  be 
sure  to  be  found  there  to-morrow,  so  I  shall  go  there  if  I  receive  no  express 
message  to  the  contrary 

Later.  I  went  to  Seelust  on  Sunday.  Schimmelman  is  quite  infirm 
with  age.*  and  the  warmth  of  his  heart  seems  to  be  extinguished  as  well 
as  the  light  of  his  intellect.  He  seems,  too,  only  to  retain  old  circum- 
stances in  his  memory,  and  although  he  knows  the  positions  which  I  have 
occupied,  to  look  upon  me  still  as  his  old  dependent.  He  knew  nothing  of 
my  Roman  History,  though  I  had  sent  him  a  copy  of  my  first  edition,  which 
proves  how  much  his  memory  has  suffered. 

Most  of  those  whom  I  meet  here  are  very  cordial  and  kind.  I  think  I 
never  spoke  Danish  so  well — I  am  still  received  as  a  fellow-countryman 
every  where. 

CCCLVI1. 

TO  SAVIGNY. 

BONN,  28th  November,  1828. 

With  this  you  will  receive  your  copy  of  my  smaller  writings,  dear  Savigny. 
I  have  on  all  sides  the  most  cheering  accounts  of  your  health.      Thank 
God  !  I  am  not  one  to  doubt  what  I  earnestly  wish  for,  because  I  am  abso- 
lutely unable  -to  conceive  the  possibility  of  homoeopathy.      If  I  were  told 

"*  He  was  at  this  time  eighty-one  years  of  age.  He  bad,  moreover,  never 
quite  forgiven  Niebuhr  for  exchanging  the  Danish  for  the  Prussian  sen-ice. 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  511 

you  had  been  cured  by  an  amulet,  I  should  not  fret  myself  about  the  dan- 
ger of  superstition,  but  thank  God  that  you  had  recovered  by  whatever 
means.  Arndt  will  have  told  you  about  us.  So  far  my  wife  has  been 
tolerably  well ;  my  complaint  has  returned,  but  is  bearable.  I  sit  at  ray 
writing,  but  it  does  not  flow  yet.  Is  my  day  gone  by  ?  or  will  my  intel- 
lect brighten  again?  Our  life  gets. more  and  more  secluded  and  quiet,  as 
the  people  come  to  see  that  I  am  really  in  earnest  in  retiring  from  the 
great  world,  and  can  no  longer  either  help  or  injure  them.  I  am,  however, 
perfectly  contented  with  the  idea  of  living  here,  and  I  hope  to  remain  faith- 
ful to  the  wisdom  I  have  earned,  and  to  take  life  easily.  I  hear  to  my 
great  joy  that  you  are  doing  so,  too,  and  are  writing.  The  Leipsic  cat. 
alogue  confirms  what  I  had  already  heard,  that  a  new  edition  of  your 
"  Beriif,"  *  with  additions,  has  appeared.  What  do  you  say  to  Rehberg's 
writings  ?  Is  not  the  framework  which  fastens  the  whole  together,  a 
master-piece  ?  '  I  am  lecturing  on  Roman  History ;  this  time,  my  lectures 
do  not  consist  of  analyses  and  researches,  but  results,  arid  sound  as  if  an 
ancient  author  had  been  discovered,  whose  writings  yielded  precisely  all 
that  I  wanted  to  bring  forward.  I  hope  to  bring  the  History  quite  to  a 
conclusion.  If  I  should  ever  see  you,  I  hope  to  hear  from  you  that  you 
have  received  my  new  editions  as  favorably  as  the  first  bold  attempt. 

Farewell,  my  dearest  friend,  my  wife  and  I  send  our  hearty  love  to  you 
and  yours.  Your  NIEBUHR. 

In  England,  the  first  edition  of  the  translation,  consisting  of  a  thousand 
copies,  is  already  out  of  print,  and  my  translators  are  about  to  translate 
my  third  edition.  In  England,  my  results  triumph  without  opposition. 

cccLvm. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLEE. 

B05N,  January,  1829. 

In  Holstein,  too,  I  have  often  been  vexed  when  whatever  the 

government  did  was  censured.  The  people  have  no  filial  piety  and  no 
father-land.  The  true  citizen  loves  his  country  so  well,  that  he  can  not 
revile,  or  scoff  at  those  who  are  at  the  helm  of  affairs,  even  when  they 
guide  it  unskillfully — so  well  that  even  if  those  with  whom  he  is  at  enmity 
come  into  power,  he  is  reconciled  to  them  by  the  fact  of  their  standing  in 
so  close  a  relation  with  the  State  which  is  sacred  to  him,  and  being  in 
some  measure  identified  with  it. 

I  expect  to  conclude  the  revision  of  the  second  volume  within  the  next 
few  days ;  the  printing  will  begin  in  about  three  weeks.  This  volume  will 
be  necessarily  very  dry ;  the  third  quite  the  opposite.  I  wonder  if  it  will 
have  a  good  sale.  A  very  large  number  of  works  are  stopped  because  they 
do  not  sell.  Rehberg's  publisher  will  not  continue  the  printing  of  his  works. 
I  have  been  requested  to  write  a  review  of  them,  but  can  not  do  so  without 
expressing  my  disapprobation  of  bis  rancorous  speeches  about  Goethe ;  and 
also  of  his  having  thought  it  sufficient  reparation  to  insert  in  his  preface 
an  apology  for  his  former  attacks  upon  Prussia,  while  he  allows  writings 
to  be  reprinted  "containing  what"  he  "would  not  write  now."  If  he 
will  consent  to  this,  I  snail  joyfully  recognize  their  many  excellencies. 
But  it  is  very  lamentable  that  authors  of  whom  we  ought  to  be  proud 
should  be  thus  neglected. 

*  Benif  arueres  Zcitaltcrs  zur  Genetzgebung. 


512  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

In  these  last  few  days,  I  have  been  reminded  very  forcibly  how  much 
beautiful  poetry  came  out  thirty  years  ago  or  more  (particularly  the  poems 
of  Voss  and  Stolberg),  of  which  we  hear  no  more  now — which  is,  indeed, 
quite  forgotten ...... 

CCCLIX. 

BONN,  l^th  February,  1829. 

The  passages  in  my  History,  referring  to  the  Irish  Catholics 

have  made  me  to  some  extent  a  political  authority  in  England,  and  I  am 
quoted  with  favor  or  bitterness,  but  for  the  most  part  with  favor.  On  this 
account  I  have  been  requested,  by  a  member  of  parliament,  to  write  my 
opinions  on  the  subject.  Formerly,  1  should  have  responded  to  the  request 
with  eagerness,  but  my  old  love  for  England  is  very  much  cooled.  Per- 
sonally, I  have  no  reason  to  feel  estranged  from  the  nation ;  from  none  do 
I  receive  so  many  proofs  of  esteem — sometimes  of  a  very  odd  kind. 

The  contract  for  the  purchase  of  the  house  was  signed  the  day  before 
yesterday.  It  is  a  great  disadvantage  for  us  that  the  severity  of  the  winter 
will  hinder  its  completion ;  still  the  main  building  will  be  quite  habitable 
by  the  middle  of  May 

CCCLX. 

BONN,  ZGth  April,  1829. 

In  the  house  which  we  are  about  to  leave,  I  have  spent  more  happy 
days  than  have  been  awarded  to  me  for  many  years ;  just  at  present  I 
feel  rather  depressed.*  If  I  could  make  up  my  mind  to  leave  Gretchen 
and  the  children  for  some  months,  and  to  spend  so  much  money  upon  my- 
self, a  journey  to  London  or  Paris  would  afford  me  the  refreshment  I  need. 

[Our  new  house]  is  really  such  a  pleasant  and  comfortable  dwelling  that 
it  leaves  nothing  to  wish  for 

Under  other  circumstances  I  should  set  about  the  change  in  excellent 
spirits.  I  hope  that  it  will  deceive  the  Fate  which  seems  to,  have  decreed 
that  I  shall  never  live  more  than  seven  years  in  one  place.  I  have  often 
remembered  with  a  heavy  heart,  that  in  August  I  shall  have  passed  six 
years  here  already.  A  summons  to  Berlin  has  been  long  out  of  the  ques- 
tion   

Read  by  all  means  Goethe's  Correspondence  with  Schiller.  In  the  third 
part,  you  will  again  find  some  of  the  most  pleasing  passages  that  have 
ever  proceeded  from  Goethe's  pen,  and  which  show  his  personal  character 
in  as  fair  a  light  as  one  could  wish.  More  of  this  hereafter.  The  contrast 
between  him  and  Herder  is  very  remarkable,  as  well  as  his  indignation  at 
the  latter  for  never  taking  hearty  pleasure  in  any  thing,  but  always  trying 
to  limit  and  modify  his  praises,  that  they  might  not  be  joyful.  Nothing 
is  easier  than  to  do  this,  and  to  show  that  even  the  production  in  question 
is  not  faultless ;  he  who  rejoices  in  it  knows  this  too ;  Goethe  knew  it  too, 
where  Herder's  superciliousness  stepped  forth  with  such  a  wise  air.  But 
he  also  knew,  that  without  the  joyful  satisfaction  which  lets  well  alone, 
we  should  have  a  miserable  existence  in  this  world.  Such  passages  alone 
would  make  this  letter  a  jewel  to  me. 

*  The  first  part  of  the  letter  gives  an  account  of  Madame  Niebuhr'a  dangerous 
illness. 


EESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  513 

CCCLXI. 

BONN,  nth  June,  1829. 

You  have  probably  seen  in  the  newspapers  that  my  English  translators 
have  been  defending  me  against  an.  attack  in  the  "Quarterly  Review." 
I  have  received  some  copies  of  their  article,  and  will  send  you  one  when 
I  have  an  opportunity.  A  certain  Dr.  Granville  had  mentioned  in  his 
Travels  to  St.  Petersburg  by  way  of  Berlin,  that  I  had  remodeled  my  book 
into  an  entirely  new  work,  adding,  that  a  decisive  influence  on  the  rebellious 
disposition  of  the  students  was  attributed  to  my  earlier  work.  It  is  ex- 
tremely likely  that  this  was  suggested  to  him  by  H.  C.  The  "  Quarterly  . 
Review"  has  taken  this  up,  and  accompanied  it  with  a  note,  in  which  it 
pronounces  it  a  crime,  that  clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England  should 
have  translated  a  book  containing  the  most  disgusting  scoffs  at  religion 
that  have  boen  written  since  Voltaire's  time ;  they  ought  at  least  to  have 
appended  remarks  in  refutation.  But,  perhaps,  they  thought  it  unneces- 
sary, because  it  must  be  allowed  that  my  scoffs  were  "us  dull  as  pert.'1 
Upon  this,  they  have  been  obliged  to  answer  for  themselves,  since  their 
prospects  of  patronage  and  promotion  in  the  Church  were  endangered,  as 
I  foresaw  would  be  the  case;  for  it  makes  the  Anglican  hypocrites  furious, 
that  the  historical  character  of  the  Jewish  history  should  be  contemplated  * 
in  its  true  light.  The  defense  is  written  in  a  moat  affectionate  spirit  as 
regards  myself,  and  for  the  sake  of  this  affection,  yon  will  pardon  the 
prolixity  which  other  readers  will  set  down  to  my  account,  as  well  as  to 
that  of  the  English  writers.  Further,  with  many  readers,  their  extreme 
veneration  will  inevitably  produce  a  reaction. 

I  enjoy  uninterrupted  health,  but  am  not  in  an  energetic  state  of  mind, 
and  it  is  with  great  toil  that  I  have  dragged  myself  through  the  second 
volume  so  far  that  I  can  now  see  land,  and  look  forward  to  the  printing. 

Let  me  recommend  a  book  to  you,  dear  Dora,  if  you  have  not  yet  read 
it,  which  I  pronounce  excellent ;  Ranke's  History  of  the  Servian  Revolution. 
There  is  no  other  historical  work  in  our  language,  in  which  the  materials 
obtained  from  oral  accounts  are  so  satisfactorily  and  luminously  treated : 
the  events  take  place — it  is  not  the  author  who  relates,  and  we  give  him 
our  unconditional  credence.  Ranke  has  given  himself  such  elaborate  mental 
cultivation,  that  he  is  certain  to  remain  an  excellent  writer.  Count  Platen's 
"  Romantischer  CEdipus,"  I  should  rank  far  below  the  "  Verhangnissvoll* 
Gabel,"  even  if  the  passages,  written  in  a  spirit  of  animosity  to  Berlin, 
did  not  extend  themselves  to  the  whole  of  Prussia,  and  if  they  had  been 
expiated  by  apology,  as  they  have  been  with  regard  to  Berlin  itself.  Still 
there  are  some  clever  things  in  it.  If  you  happen  to  meet  with  Travels  in 
the  United  States,  by  Dnden  (printed  at  Elberfeldt),  do  not  forget  to  read 
it ;  it  is  the  best  and  most  instructive  book  of  the  kind.  What  he  says  of 
the  Germans  there,  and  of  the  evil  consequences  of  their  persisting  in  a  bar- 
barous separation  from  English  culture,  may  remind  you  of  what  I  have 
said,  when  I  was  with  you,  on  this  subject.  I  think  you  did  not  perceive 
that  I  was  right,  but  were  not  angry  with  me  for  my  opinion,  as  has  often 
been  the  case  in  other  instances. 

You  must  read  Bourricnne's  Memoirs  when  you  can  get  them.     I  look 
at  things  of  this  kind  more  particularly  on  account  of  my  lectures  ;*  they 
*  The  lecture*  on  the  French  H  evolution. 
T* 


514  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

excite  undiminished  interest,  and  my  lecture-room  is  crowded  to  suffoca- 
tion. I  dwelt  long  in  exhibiting  the  development  of  the  various  events  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  and  the  condition  of  Europe  before  the  Revolution. 
The  first  five  lectures  were  attended  by  a  French  eccleciastic,  a  tutor  of 
the  Duke  of  Bordeaux,  who  is  perfectly  acquainted  with  German,  and  to 
all  appearance,  is  traveling  as  an  emissary  of  the  priestly  party.  There 
may  be  some  more  birds  of  this  feather ;  but  no  one  shall  be  able  to  lay 
any  thing  to  my  charge,  unless  he  puts  forth  downright  lies  and  fabrica- 
tions. The  aspect  of  the  political  world  is  very  threatening  :  the  appear- 
ance of  the  emperor  at  Berlin,  reminds  one  alarmingly  of  1805.  Else,  on 
the  whole,  things  look  much  better  now  in  Germany  than  they  did  some 
years  ago.  An  immense  change  has  taken  place  in  the  feeling  toward 
Prussia ;  not,  indeed,  in  Hanover,  but  in  the  whole  Southern  and  Central 
Germany ;  in  Saxony  likewise,  to  an  incredible  extent.  The  Zollverein 
with  Darmstadt  has  begun  ;  the  treaties  with  South  Germany  will  com- 
plete it. 

CCCLXII. 

BONN,  2Qth  June,  1829. 

Torrents  of  foreigners  are  pouring  along  our  river-highway,  but  happily 
very  few  come  near  me  ;  a  reputation  for  inaccessibility  protects  me.  Pro- 
fessor Wunder  from  Grimma  has  arrived  to-day,  and  will  spend  the  even- 
ing with  us.  We  had  lately  an  agreeable  visitor  in  a  certain  Chevalier 
Andraym,  Spanish  embassador  at  Brussels,  a  frank  and  intelligent  man, 
whose  conversation  afforded,  what  is  to  me  about  the  greatest  attraction 
with  strangers,  information  about  public  events,  bearing  the  unmistak- 
able stamp  of  accuracy.  It  had  an  extraordinary  effect,  to  hear  a  Spaniard 
relating  with  indignation  anecdotes  of  the  bigotry  in  Brabant.  With  us, 
this  spirit  only  displays  itself  in  insignificant  instances  as  yet,  but  it  cer- 
tainly ought  to  be  watched.  As  we  hear,  it  manifests  itself  in  Saxony  in 
a  really  insane  manner.  Many  Saxons  are  almost  in  despair  about  it,  and 
people  who  have  been  hitherto  my  bitter  enemies,  ever  since  the  Congress 
of  Vienna,  are  now  rather  disposed  to  obtrude  their  complaints  upon  me. 
It  is  very  remarkable  how  the  perception  is  spreading,  that  the  small  States 
are  an  evil  now ;  great  advantage  might  be  taken  of  this  to  the  promotion 
of  the  true  welfare  of  Germany,  but  it  will  not  be  done.  In  these  Rhenish 
provinces,  the  beneficial  results  which  Darmstadt  has  experienced  from 
its  union  with  us  have  produced  a  crisis.  Far  aa  we  are  from  perfection, 
our  condition  is  in  every  respect  undeniably  superior  to  that  of  the  neigh- 
boring German  countries  :  all  classes  are  full  of  activity  and  enterprise, 
and  both  town  and  country  are  flourishing.  Foreigners,  who  are  best  able 
to  learn  the  real  sentiments  of  the  inhabitants,  assure  me,  that  they  now 
find  in  general  great  contentment  even  here,  where  formerly  the  feeling  of 
estrangement  toward  the  new  rulers  was  so  strong.  One  must  not,  in- 
deed, look  too  far  forward  into  the  future,  for  there  is  reason  to  fear  that 
the  immense  manufacturing  population  on  the  Lower  Rhine  will  also  ex- 
perience their  share  of  bad  times,  and  when  these  have  come,  no  lasting 
remedy  can  be  found. 

I  send  you  the  "Vindication,"*  dear  Dora,  and  at  last  a  copy 

of  the  "  Kleine  Schriften"  I  also,  for  yourself,  as  well  as  for  Twesten  and 

*  "  Vindication  of  Niebulir,1'  by  Hare  and  .Thirlwall. 
t  His  own  "  Minor  Writings." 


EESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  615 

Dahlman.  Hare  I  told  you  that  this  collection  is  prohibited  in  Austria  ? 
On  the  other  hand,  I  am  assured  that  a  larger  number  of  copies  have  been 
ordered  in  France  than  of  any  learned  German  work  before.  However,  a 
hostile  review  of  my  History  has  appeared  there  also.  It  will  stand  firmly 
enough  nevertheless ;  but  the  way  in  which  people  make  use  of  it  in  Ger- 
many to  fabricate  apparently  original  works,  is  almost  ridiculous. 

I  should  lead  a  very  pleasant  life,  if  my  head  were  brighter,  and  Gret* 
chen's  state  more  encouraging. 

CCCLXIII. 

BONN,  6/A  September. 

I  confidently  hope  that  your  apprehensions  about  your  fate  in 

Holstein  are  groundless.  Hanover  is  a  pledge  that  England  will  scarcely 
involve  herself  in  a  war — and  a  war,  however  successful,  could  bring  no 
positive  gain  to  her,  although  the  nation  in  .its  universal  uneasiness  de- 
sires it.  This  is  the  general  opinion  in  all  the  great  money  markers,  and 
my  own,  which  keeps  me  easy.  So  1  hope  we  may  be  able  to  hobble  on 
for  some  time  longer.  England  can  not  wish  to  involve  Prussia  in  a  war 
with  France,  because  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  latter  to  press  forward 
to  the  Rhine,  would  break  up  the  Netherlands,  whose  existence  i.s  univers- 
ally considered  by  the  English  indispensable  to  their  interests.  That  the 
French,  and  now,  more  especially,  the  so-called  royalist  party,  harbor  th« 
idea  of  reconquering  the  Rhine  frontier,  is  by  no  means  doubtful  to  us  in 
these  part*,  nor  yet  a  secret.  Even  in  this  university,  there  arc  persons 
well  known  to  be  in  communication  with  the  priests  in  France,  who  are 
seeking  to  excite  rebellion  against  the  heretical  government ;  attempts  which 
would  be  simply  laughable,  if  it  were  not  for  the  unsatisfactory  aspect  of 
things  in  Belgium.  It  is  not  without  an  object  that  the  Duke  of  Bor- 
deaux is  learning  German.  We  have  no  reason  to  complain  of  the  liberals ; 
that  is,  of  the  native  ones ;  and  altogether  I  am  without  fear,  as  the  peo- 
ple see  more  clearly  every  day  that  they  are  very  well  off  under  the  German 
government,  and  contrast  their  prosperity  and  light  burdens  not  only  with 
the  Netherlands,  but  also  with  France,  where  at  present  both  agriculture 
and  manufactures  are  in  a  very  bad  state  aa  compared  with  ours. 

In  about  a  week,  I  shall  make  an  excursion  to  Mayence,  to  visit  an  old 
friend,  General  Von  Carlowitz.  This  change  is  really  necessary  for  me, 
and  while  I  should  have  been  obliged  to  consent  to  the  journey  in  order  not 
to  hurt  an  old  friend,  I  take  it  for  my  own  pleasure  also,  as  well  as  from 
the  feeling  that  I  could  not  do  without  it ;  traveling  always  does  me  good. 
The  world  is  going  to  sleep ;  not  that  there  is  any  lack  of  exciting  occur- 
rences, but  they  leave  men  passive ;  the  indifference  and  lethargy  which 
have  diffused  themselves  since  I  returned  from  Italy  are  shocking :  I  must 
make  some  effort  not  to  be  overcome  by  this  universal  somnolency 

CCCLXIV. 

BONR,  27**.  September,  1829. 
......  Besides  my  good  old  friend  General  Von  Carlowitz,  there  i.s  also 

in  Mayence  one  of  my  hearers,  who  is  very  much  attached  to  me,  and  is 
now  staying  there  in  the  house  of  his  parents.  There  is  always  a  class 
among  the  students  who  can  not  do  too  much  for  their  tutors,  and  they 
reward  one  for  one's  pains.  To  the  Rhinclanders  and  Catholics,  what  they 


516  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

hear  from  me  is  quite  new ;  if  they  lay  it  to  heart,  one  essential  element 
of  their  real  reunion  with  Germany,  and  reconciliation  to  Protestantism 
will  be  gained.  For  every  thing  good  must  proceed  from  individuals  in 
whom  the  right  spirit  has  been  awakened.  The  opposite  party  are  working 
might  and  main  to  widen  the  breach.  The  Catholic  faction  in  France  are 
just  as  much  bent  upon  the  conquest  of  Belgium  and  the  Rhenish  prov- 
inces, as  the  Imperial  party.  Toward  the  end  of  my  lectures,  induced  by 
the  complaints  made  by  young  Protestants  of  the  attempts  to  stir  up  sedi- 
tion among  them,  I  publicly  attacked  this  treasonable  spirit,  and  pro- 
nounced a  woe  upon  those  who,  instead  of  promoting  the  union  of  the  Ger- 
man races,  are  actively  endeavoring  to  make  their  differences  a  source  of 
hatred  and  division  ;  I  have  exclaimed  to  them,  "  Get  thee  behind  me, 
Satan  !"  and  thus  put  an  end  to  hypocritical  complaisance,  and  openly  pro- 
claimed hostilities  ;  but  it  would  have  been  cowardice  to  have  avoided  it. 
Fearlessness  makes  a  very  good  impression  on  the  higher  class  of  minds 
among  the  young  Catholics 

In  spite  of  the  miserable  weather,  there  was  never  perhaps  so  much  trav- 
eling on  the  Rhine  as  there  has  been  this  summer.  At  the  end  of  the 
season,  I  had  a  visit  from  a  Parisian  litterateur,  a  M.  St.  Hilaire,  belonging 
to  the  romantic  school,  who  take  it  for  granted  that  we  Germans  are  par- 
ticularly delighted  with  their  productions,  and  ought  to  be  thankful  to  them 
for  having  thrown  oft"  the  old  French  classic  style ;  which  is,  however,  im- 
possible, since  their  performances  turn  out  so  extremely  trivial,  and  they 
give  up  precisely  that  which  constitutes  the  peculiar  excellence  of  the 
French  literature  (wit  and  subtlety),  to  hunt  after  that  for  which  neither 
they  nor  their  language  have  any  aptitude.  Wisdom  and  modesty  would 
lead  us  to  rejoice  in  what  another  can  do,  without  forthwith  coveting  to  do 
the  same  thing  ourselves ;  it  is  moreover  because  a  contrary  course,  or  else 
a  depreciation  of  foreign  performances,  is  the  most  usual  one,  that  an 
acquaintance  with  foreign  literature  does  so  much  injnry,  and  cripples  tal- 
ent. I  say  to  the  French,  "  Once  for  all,  you  will  never  have  a  Goethe, 
but  delight  yourselves  in  him ;  we  shall  never  have  a  Voltaire  nor  a  Be- 
ranger,  but  I  take  pleasure  in  them  ;"  (do  you  know  his  for  the  most  part 
seditious  and  sometimes  wanton,  but  still  genial  "Chansons?")  I  hear 
that  a  faithful  translation  of  Othello  (in  Alexandrines  indeed)  is  just  going 
to  be  performed  at  the  Theatre  Francais.  Now  this  is  a  good  thing ; — but 
my  literary  friend  means  to  bring  a  tragedy  on  the  stage  in  which  an  angel 
appears  to  King  Alphonso,  and  consoles  him  for  the  murder  of  a  Jewish 
mistress,  and  that  will  be  ridiculous. 

The  older,  really  liberal,  literati  regard  this  school  with  very  unfriendly 
feelings,  for  in  politics  it  professes  the  liberal  creed,  but  by  its  Romanti- 
cism with  respect  to  faith,  places  itself  pretty  much  at  the  mercy  of  the 
Church.  For  the  rest,  it  seems  certain,  that  the  priests  do  themselves  in- 
finite injury  by  their  extravagant  pretensions,  and  that  the  number  of  their 
opponents  increases.  According  to  St.  Hilaire's  account,  the  appointment 
of  the  present  unfortunate  ministry  is  explained  by  the  report,  that  the 
clergy  refused  the  eucharist  to  the  King  except  on  this  condition. 

The  peace  will  not  be  very  fruitful  in  good  results ;  infinite  misery  for 
the  poor  countries  that  were  the  seat  of  war,  unredeemed  by  any  prospects 
of  a  brighter  future.  Still  I  am  glad  of  it,  because  our  provinces  will  be 
spared  the  sufferings  of  war  for  the  present,  which  would  not  have  led,  in 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  517 

the  long  run,  to  any  thing  better.  When  one  is  getting  old,  it  is  perhaps 
wisest  to  wish  that  outward  things  may  remain,  on  the  whole,  as  they  are. 

One  of  the  leaders  of  the  English  radicals  has  sent  me  a  clever  pamphlet 
written  for  the  common  people  (price  3rf.),  in  the  fourth  ttertotype  edition, 
the  inflammatory  tendency  of  which  ia  shown  still  more  by  the  vignette 
than  the  contents :  a  repulsively  ugly  woman,  whose,  head-dress  is  composed 
of  the  crown  and  mitre  combined,  is  feeding  with  a  spoon  a  bloated  child, 
already  deformed  by  over-feeding,  while  five  starving  and  ragged  children 
are  standing  below  crying  piteously  for  food,  or  sitting  in  sullen  despair  on 
the  ground.  This  is  in  truth  a  picture  of  society  in  England :  God  grant 
that  it  may  not  come  to  this  with  us  also  !  • 

I  recommend  Bourrienne's  Memoirs  warmly  to  you,  dear  Bora,  if  I  have 
not  done  so  already.  There  you  see  Napoleon  as  he  was.  The  book  is  a 
Waterloo  for  his  memory ;  the  liberal  journals  too  are  as  still  as  mice 
about  it.  On  the  other  hand,  my  lectures  have  led  me  again  to  speak 
still  more  directly  of  the  immortal  Mirabcau  ;  I  should  like  to  raise  a  mon- 
ument to  him 

CCCLXV. 

BONN,  201&  December,  1829. 

The  revision  of  the  second  volume  is  at  last  rapidly  approaching  its 
conclusion.  I  have  been  terribly  slow  over  this  volume ;  the  work  was  far 
more  difficult  than  in  the  first,  which  related  to  general  institutions,  with 
the  consideration  of  which  I  had  often  been  able  to  occupy  myself  during 
my  stay  in  Rome,  where  I  was  surrounded  by  objects  calculated  to  throw 
light  on  them.  The  present  volume  treats  of  detached  fact*,  with  respect 
to  which  we  have  generally  but  very  few  external  sources  of  correction ; 
and  arbitrary  institutions,  the  traces  of  which  are  very  scanty  and  indis- 
tinct. My  time  has  not  been  spent  in  vain.  /I  have  freed  the  history  from 
the  year  260  (490  B.C.)  onward,  from  all  falsifications,  and  in  its  restored 
state  it  will  no  longer  be  liable  to  suspicion  or  accusation ;  there  is  not  a 
single  chasm  left  in  the  successive  steps  by  which  the  constitution  was  de- 
veloped ;  in  fact  I  think  that  no  single  question  which  might  be  suggested 
by  intelligent  reflection  remains  unanswered.  But  this  I  have  only  been 
able  to  attain  very  gradually  ;  the  most  important  points  are  the  result  of 
sudden  flashes  of  light  and  divinations,  with  regard  to  which  it  often  seri- 
ously crossed  my  mind,  whether  I  had  not  been  inspired  by  the  spirits  of 
the  ancients,  as  a  reward  for  my  faithful  efforts  on  behalf  of  their  memory./ 
But  this  I  would  on  no  account  say  to  any  one  but  yourself;  besides,  I  do 
not  say  it  in  earnest  now. 

I  have  separated  the  principal  legends  from  the  annals  which  had  be- 
come suspicious  through  their  intermixture  with  these,  have  restored  them 
to  their  proper  shape,  and  recovered  the  pure  outline  of  the  annals  them- 
selves. It  w  incredible  how  rich  and  uncorrupted  they  are 

CCCLXVI. 

TO  SAVIQNY. 

BONN,  I9tk  February,  1830. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND — You  will  not  require  an  account  of  the  calamity 
which  has  befallen  us.  The  history  of  the  conflagration  you  have  learnt 


518  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

through  our  friends.  The  whole  lies  already  like  a  frightful  dream  beyond 
my  historical  remembrance. 

You  will  know  that  the  copy  of  the  second  volume,  in  which  I  had  in- 
troduced a  multitude  of  additions,  was  lost  and  has  been  recovered.  This 
was  a  great  consolation !  The  actual  manuscript  part,  so  far  as  the  book 
had  been  entirely  remodeled,  or  received  extensive  additions,  has  indeed 
been  saved,  as  well  as  the  sketch  of  the  third  volume.  One  sheet  has  been 
found  too  of  the  manuscript  that  was  ready  for  press,  and  should  have  been 
sent  on  the  next  day.  It  is  the  introduction  and  first  chapter.  I  shall 
begin  with  all  energy  to  restore  the  missing  portions  as  soon  as  I  have 
finished  cataloguing  the  books  that  are  saved,  for  the  insurance  offices  to 
make  their  estimates. 

At  first,  my  wife  stood  the  shock  of  the  misfortune — of  the  fright  and 
the  severe  cold  to  which  she  was  exposed,  half-clothed,  better  than  I  had 
hoped.  But  afterward  the  mournful  task  of  looking  over  the  articles  we 
had  saved,  and  which  were  in  great  part  rendered  useless,  so  affected  her 
nerves  and  exhausted  her  strength,  that  the  joyful  feeling  is  now  over,  with 
which  I  had  buoyed  myself  up  for  some  months  past,  that  her  health  was 
much  better  than  usual  at  this  time  of  year. 

We  have  not  lost  heart,  my  old  friend.  Our  thoughts  are  fixed  upon  the 
rebuilding  of  what  has  been  destroyed,  with  enlargements  and  improve- 
ments, for  the  sake  of  which  we  look  forward  to  the  milder  season  with 
impatience.  We  hope  to  be  able  to  add  a  third  story,  which  would  afford 
me  winter  rooms  with  the  sun,  and  a  view  over  the  town  toward  the 
Kreuzberg,  and  sideways  toward  the  Siebengebirge. 

The  Holwegs  have  treated  us  in  the  most  affectionate  manner.  God 
reward  them  for  it.  We  have  experienced  many  proofs  of  affection  from 
all  kinds  of  people ;  from  such  as  we  know  to  be  friends,  and  from  many 
who  were  almost  strangers  to  us  ;  from  the  towns-people  too.  The  stu- 
dents have  done  every  thing  in  their  power,  and  richly  rewarded  my  affec- 
tion for  them  ;  by  dint  of  inconceivable  exertions,  they  have  saved  almost 
the  whole  of  my  library,  though  they  were  not  able  to  prevent  its  suffering 
great  injury.  All  the  books  in  which  I  had  written  collations  and  emend- 
ations ofc  importance  are  safe. 

It  is  now  my  most  ardent  wish  that  we  may  be  able  to  remove  into  our 
new  house  in  the  autumn,  and  remain  in  it  many  years.  I  could  not  con- 
ceive a  better  lot  for  the  whole  of  our  life,  and  would  not  ask  for  a  happier 
life  than  that  which  I  have  led  here  since  my  return  from  Berlin  in  1825; 
particularly  during  the  glorious  southern  climate  we  had  here  in  the  years 
1825  and  1826. 

I  have  already  told  you  that  the  printing  of  the  second  part  should 
have  begun  immediately.  It  had  been  delayed  just  at  last,  and  this  print- 
ing of  the  volume,  which  would  have  been  thicker  than  the  first,  would 
not  have  been  finished  before  the  autumn.  I  intended  afterward  to  take 
flight  and  visit  Berlin,  in  order  to  see  you,  my  dear  friend,  and  the  Crown 
Prince,  and  to  convince  the  latter  that  it  is  not  the  long  journey,  nor  yet 
caprice,  that  prevents  my  coming,  bat  that  I  will  not  again  be  separated 
from  my  wife  and  children  as  I  was  that  winter.  Now,  of  course,  the 
journey  is  out  of  the  question.  But  I  regret  being  compelled  to  give  it 
up  all  the  more,  because  any  thing  that  thus  excites  and  diverts  the  mind 
is  such  an  extraordinary  benefit  and  help,  and  my  route  would  lie  through 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  519 

Thuringia  and  Saxony.  Hermann  has  behaved  so  frankly  and  nobly,  and 
one  of  his  favorite  pupils.  Professor  Wunder,  has  attached  himself  so  warm- 
ly to  me,  that  I  thought  with  pleasure  of  a  day  at  Leipsic;  and  Goethe 
too  is  still  so  fresh,  that  it  would  not  have  been  too  late  to  make  his  ac- 
quaintance. Are  you  not  as  thoroughly  delighted  as  we  are  with  his  Cor- 
respondence with  Schiller,  and  the  new  volume  of  the  Travels  in  Italy  ? 
Goethe's  greatness — in  all  its  versatility  and  depth — shines  forth  beyond 
my  expectations  from  the  whole  of  this  collection,  and  in  his  letters  he  is 
as  great  as  Cicero.  Schiller  too  I  understand  and  like-  much  better  since 
reading  these  letters.  You  witt  remember,  perhaps,  that  I  did  not  share 
the  idolatry  of  him,  which  was  universally  prevalent  at  one  time ;  but  that 
man  had  a  thoroughly  noble  nature  who  w»s  never  rendered  arrogant  by 
such  adoration,  which  exalted  him  far  above  Goethe,  but  willingly  and 
cheerfully  recognized  the  superiority  of  his  friend,  and  paid  him  affectionate 
homage. 

How  barren  and  dumb  is  our  literature  how!  How  apathetic  are  all 
hearts !  We,  however,  who  know  how  to  enjoy,  are  made  much  richer 
by  these  publications  than  we  were  thirty  years  ago,  or  our  fathers  fifty 
years  ago.  Thus  it  was  with  the  Greeks  after  Alexander's  time,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Peloponiiesian  war. 

CCCLXVJI. 

TO  MADAME  BENSLEft 

Boxx,  4th  Avgvtt,  1830. 

I  sit  down  to  write  to  you  to-day,  as  in  the  war  times,  when  we  sought 
intercourse  in  writing  to  our  dearest  friends,  because  the  events  happening 
around  us  made  it  impossible  for  us  to  pursue  our  ordinary  occupations, 
though  at  the  same  time  they  made  us  lose  sight  of  the  personal  affairs 
which  form  the  usual  subject  of  our  communications.  This  will  sound 
like  an  enigma  to  you,  dearest  Dora,  as  you  will  scarcely,  if  newspapers 
and  letters  reach  you  together,  look  into  the  former  first,  nor  have  heard 
already,  through  any  other  channel,  what  has  come  to  our  ears  early  this 
morning;  viz.,  that  an  insurrection  had  broken  out  at  Paris  on  the  27th 
and  28th  of  July,  the  issue  of  which  was  still  quite  undecided.  If  the 
newspapers  have  already  been  brought  to  you,  you  will  very  likely  learn 
at  the  same  time  that  you  receive  this,  what  we  shall  not  know  till  to- 
morrow. I  scarcely  think  you  will  learn  the  decision  as  yet,  but  perhaps 
what  may  to  some  extent  enable  you  to  divine  it.  It  is  possible  that  the 
insurrection  may  be  quelled  by  a  massacre,  if  the  troops  of  the  line  stand 
firm  to  the  King,  which  seemed,  however,  doubtful  on  the  28th  at  noon ; 
it  is  possible  that  they  may  join  the  people,  and  overpower  the  guards  ;  it 
is  possible  the  Court  may  take  flight  as  after  the  14th  July,  17R9,  and 
even  that  the  King  may  abdicate.  In  this  case,  the  whole  spell  of  royal 
power  is  dissolved,  and  the  King  will  be  as  impotent  as  Louis  XVI.,  and 
the  best  thing  that  could  happen  then  Would,  undoubtedly,  be  the  eleva- 
tion of  the  Duke  of  Orleans  to  the  throne.  A  new  dynasty  can  begin  its 
career  with  incomparably  more  authority  than  the  old  vanquished  one. 
If  the  rebels  get  the  upper  hand,  and  the  Court  does  not  give  wayr  we 
may  expect  that  the  Deputies  now  sitting  at  Paris  will  constitute  them- 
selves, form  a  government,  and  restore  the  National  Guard.  A  happy 


520  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTJHR. 

result  is  in  no  case  conceivable  ;  no  one  will  be  carried  away  by  a  delirium 
of  passionate  sympathy  and  hope,  as  in  1789.  Foreign  powers  will  not 
be  so  mad  as  to  interfere,  but  in  the  general  ferment,  any  slight  occasion 
may  impel  the  French  to  begin  a  war. . 

The  Protestant  feeling  of  our  King  is  the  surest  guarantee  that  he  will 
not  suffer  himself  to  be  implicated;  for  without  fail  Protestants  will  be 
murdered  in  the  south.  Austria  has  probably  encouraged  the  government 
to  venture  on  their  bold  attempts,  but  will  scarcely  have  promised  assist- 
ance. I  will  not  deny  that  I  should  sooner  have  expected  the  sky  to  fall, 
than  an  insurrection  to  take  place,  and  I  was  led  to  this  opinion  by  the 
expressions  of  liberal  Frenchmen.  People  of  this  party,  who  were  certain- 
ly in  a  very  good  position  for  judging,  confessed  last  autumn,  that  if  the 
Polignac  ministry  had  attempted  a  coup  d'etat  immediately  on  its  accession 
to  power,  at  the  same  time  not  sparing  money,  any  thing  might  have  been 
possible.  The  sentence  "  le  peuple  a  donne  sa  demission"  had  become  a 
proverb,  and  as  there  are  now  so  many  families  who  have  property  to  lose, 
and  nobody  builds  castles  in  the  air  as  in  1789,  I  decidedly  believed  that 
they  would  be  able  to  muzzle  the  nation.  I  lamented  the  "  ordonnances," 
because  they  introduced  a  detestable  misrule,  but  that  they  would  succeed 
for  the  present  I  did  not  doubt.  I  certainly  thought  it  would  only  be  for 
the  present,  that  in  the  long  run  they  could  not  be  maintained,  and  even 
that  the  dynasty  might  probably  fall  in  a  few  years ;  that  is,  if  the  priests 
went  too  far.  The  government  have  made  a  mistake  in  waiting  for  a 
year  without  checking  the  freedom  of  the  press,  and  now  all  at  once  heap- 
ing every  thing  together  that  was  calculated  to  embitter  and  exasperate 
the  people. 

I  remembered  too,  how  easily  the  Parisians  suffered  themselves  to  be 
dispersed  in  October,  1795,  and  how  insignificant  were  the  occurrences  in 
June,  1820  :  and  hence,'  I  did  not  give  them  credit  for  allowing  them- 
selves to  be  so  far  excited  by  political  feelings  as  to  risk  their  lives.  They 
have  proved  themselves  more  manly  than  I  thought.  The  insult  to  the 
citizens  of  depriving  them  of  the  right  to  vote,  hitherto  obtained  by  taking 
out  a  license  to  trade — the  fear  of  retaining  only  a  phantom  of  representa- 
tion, which  might  be  used  to  procure  a  sanction  to  the  most  odious  de- 
crees, and  abhorrence  of  the  priests,  have  all  combined  to  drive  the  people 
to  madness.  This  does  not  prove  that  they  will  hold  out ;  if  the  troops 
of  the  line  make  a  decisive  advance,  Paris  will  surrender.  One  of  your 
first  thoughts,  dear  Dora,  on  hearing  of  these  events  will  be,  that  the 
greater  part  of  our  property  is  invested  in  France.  If  the  liberals  win  the 
day,  it  is  safe  :  to  pay  the  State  creditors  is  the  interest  and  the  system 
of  this  party :  it  could  only  be  in  danger  if  a  civil  war  broke  out. 

Wo  may  hear  the  decision  of  the  fate  of  Paris  so  early  as  to-morrow, 
and  can  hardly  be  without  it  longer  than  the  day  after.  We  have  a  daily 
post  from  Paris  here,  and  learned  on  the  twelfth,  that  Algiers  had  surren- 
dered on  the  fifth. 

In  the  midst  of  such  engrossing  excitement,  I  get  on  but  badly  with 
composition ;  and  1  am  already  at  least  a  quarter  of  this  volume  behind- 
hand with  the  materials  I  have  to  work  out.  For  more  than  the  last 
three  weeks  I  had  already  found  it  very  hard  work,  on  account  of  the 
excessive  and  continuous  heat.  And  now  in  September  comes  the  annual 
review  of  the  troops  and  afterward  our  removal.  I  long  to  finish  this 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  521 

volume,  not,  as  with  the  first,  in  order  to  see  it  before  me  a  finished 
creation,  but  to  have  got  rid  of  the  arduous  labor.  When  I  look  through 
the  proof  sheets  now,  I  rejoice  indeed  in  the  richness  of  their  contents,  and 
the  discoveries,  through  which  the  history  of  Rome,  during  a  period  when 
it  seemed  lost  in  impenetrable  obscurity,  has  been  fully  restored  and  estab- 
lished on  a  solid  foundation;  but  I  can  not  believe  that  it  will  be  an  at- 
tractive work.  Those  who  wish  to  find  fault,  and  they  are  generally  the 
majority,  will  find  room  for  complaint  that  so  many  minutiae  and  such  an 
expenditure  of  research  should  be  found  in  the  history  of  a  trivial  age. 

Have  I  told  you  lately  that  a  very  impertinent  review  of  ray  history  has 
appeared  in  the  Diiatt,  on  occasion  of  the  translation  ?  No  doubt  by  that 
empty  sciolist  Villcmain,  whose  weak  head  has  been  turned  by  the  plaudits 
of  the  public.  One  must  try  to  become  hardened  against  things  of  this 
kind.  This  man,  like  other  fools  who  will  make  themselves  heard,  always 
goes  back  to  the  earliest  times,  and  he  in  particular  tells  me  it  is  nothing 
new  to  refuse  to  regard  these  as  historical.  These  people  are  actually  un- 
able to  understand,  that  the  value  of  my  exposition  consists  in  my  having 
shown  why  and  how  each  circumstance  has  been  invented 

CCCLXVIU. 

BON.V,  161*  Avsrutt,  1830. 

However  strongly  the  present  events  excite  the  desire  to  interchange  my 
thoughts  with  you,  it  is  yet  difficult  to  find  the  necessary  leisure  and  quiet- 
ness  of  mind,  as  I  am  obliged  to  prepare  manuscript  and  correct  proof 
sheets.  I  feel  almost  stupefied  with  all  I  have  to  attend  to,  and  a  letter 
which  I  was  obliged  .to  write  a  short  time  ago  turned  out  so  badly  in  con- 
sequence, that  I  wish  it  had  never  been  written.  With  you,  dear  Dora,  I 
need  not  fear  this ;  I  do  not  shrink  from  your  seeing  me  half  asleep. 

I  was  not  quite  unprepared  for  the  way  in  which  danger  and  calamity 
of  all  kinds  arc  now  every  where  breaking  in.  I  have  enjoyed  the  happi- 
ness of  the  years  gone  by,  with  the  presentiment  that  it  could  not  last. 
The  revolution  I  did  not  expect ;  indeed,  I  thought  it  impossible.  I  ex- 
pected individual  calamities,  such  as  the  comparatively  mild  one  which 
has  befallen  us,  and  the  dreadful  one  which  has  befallen  the  Brandia  fam- 
ily.*   

If  peace  last,  I  think  there  is  no  fear  but  that  our  dividends  will  be  paid 
us.  The  government  will  make  extraordinary  reductions  in  the  budget, 
and  although  the  bankers  will  assuredly  not  retain  forever  such  overween- 
ing influence  as  they  now  possess,  in  a  representative  state  public  opinion 
and  self-interest  will  secure  the  payment  of  the  dividends.  A  reduction 
to  four  per  cent,  will  no  doubt  take  place,  and  that  is  fair,  and  is  occurring 
every  where.  If  the  cabinets  were  mad  enough  to  engage  in  a  war,  then 
indeed  both  capital  and  interest  would  be  endangered ;  and  as,  hi  all  prob- 
ability, the  war  would  take  the  same  course  as  that  of  the  revolution,  our 
property  and  our  whole  existence  here  would  be  abandoned  to  destruction. 
I  do  not  know  how  far  one  can  reckon  upon  the  fact  of  the  danger  being 
so  apparent ;  the  impossibility  of  a  result  ought  to  strike  all.  The  sover- 
eigns may  perhaps  be  led  astray  by  the  example  of  1815 ;  the  rest  of  us, 
you  at  a  distance,  we  on  the  frontiers,  are  not  liable  to  this  delusion. 

*  In  Kiel,  where  the  brother  in  law  of  Professor  Brandis  lost  his  life,  together 
with  Lis  ton,  in  the  burning  of  his  boose. 


522  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

Simple  people  leave  this  unanswered,  and  are  forever  harping  upon  one 
string — the  danger  that  threatens  all  Europe.  Yes,  in  truth,  danger  does 
threaten ;  the  revolution  which  had  been  defunct  for  years,  has  started  into 
new  and  most  vigorous  life ;  in  many  respects,  indeed,  it  is  widely  different 
from  that  of  1789,  but  still  in  essence  it  is  the  same,  and  armed  with  the 
same  strength.  But  who  can  believe  in  these  days  that  it  will  be  con- 
quered because  it  is  so  fearful  ?  Neither  does  it  avail  any  thing  to  curse 
those  who  have  made  it  inevitable — who  have  exorcised,  and  conjured  till 
the  spectre  which  they  thought  to  lay,  has  risen  out  of  the  earth  and  an- 
nihilated them.  I  have  delivered  my  sentiments  on  this  subject  publicly  ; 
on  the  impiousnesa  of  the  jesuitico-aristocratic  factions,  which  took  their 
rise  in  1821,  and  how  they  ought  to  be  execrated ;  but  it  has  been  without 
effect.  Still,  every  honest  man,  whose  voice  has  any  weight  whatever,  is 
bound  to  cry  aloud  against  the  sympathy  and  commiseration  expressed  for 
fallen  majesty. 

I  will  not  deny  that  I  think  the  Parisians  heroic,  the  moderation  of  the 
victors  not  simply  theatrical,  and  the  discretion  of  the  deputies,  even  of 
the  extreme  Left,  worthy  of  high  respect.  Every  thing  has  gone  on  better 
than  in  1789,  and  by  this  it  is  evident  that  the  nation  has  really  improved. 
I  only  wish  old  La  Fayette  and  echoes  of  him  were  out  of  the  way ! 

That  the  scholars  and  literati  among  the  French  have  changed,  is  shown 
by  the  way  in  which  they  receive  the  translation  of  my  History.  A  second 
edition  of  it  is  in  the  press,  although  the  first  consisted  of  1600  copies. 
Paris  is  the  only  place  in  which  a  regular  course  of  lectures  has  been  de- 
livered on  the  work.  They  manage  it  rather  awkwardly,  but  still  show 
much  good-will. 

I  will  leave  off  here  to  go  out ;  the  air  does  me  good.  If  the  revolution 
had  not  happened,  in  all  human  probability,  in  the  course  of  this  year,  i.e. 
before  August,  1831,  I  should  have  gone  to  Berlin,  and  very  likely  to  see 
you. 

CCCLXIX. 

BONN,  7th  October,  1830. 

I  have  not  been  so  long  without  writing  to  you  since  I  can  remember, 
dearest  Dora ;  but  neither  have  I  experienced  such  a  paralysis  of  the  soul 
since  1806  and  1807,  as  during  the  last  five  or  six  weeks.  Even  in  1806 
and  1807,  when  calamities  we  now  only  foresee  had  actually  occurred,  I 
did  not  feel  so  vulnerable  to  the  strokes  of  fate  as  I  do  now.  We  were 
childless,  I  was  young  and  full  of  life ;  now  I  am  old,  shall  probably  in  a 
few  years  leave  a  widow  and  children  unprovided  for  behind  me 

Since  the  loss  of  Belgium,  the  seat  of  war  is  brought  within  a  few 
marches  of  us,  and  though  every  thing  is  still  perfectly  quiet  in  our  prov- 
ince, and  all  who  have  property  recognize  that  their  salvation  depends  on 
the  maintenance  of  the  existing  order  of  things,  we  are,  notwithstanding, 
threatened  with  ail  outbreak  on  the  part  of  the  populace,  if  an  opportunity 
offer.  Added  to  this,  there  are  fears  for  the  safety  of  our  property  since 
the  outbreak  of  the  revolt  in  Belgium.  I  have  decided  to  sell  more  than 
two-thirds  of  our  French  stock,  and  to  invest  the  price  in  various  places,  so 
that  at  all  events  we  may  not  lose  all  with  one  blow;  the  rest  I  shall  leave 
in  France  for  the  same  reason.  No  man  can  advise  himself  or  others  with 
certainty  in  such  cases.  My  uneasiness  about  these  affairs  is  certainly  no 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  523 

mean  love  of  money,  bat  a  most  justifiable  anxiety  on  the  part  of  the  father 
of  a  family,  in  such  times ;  as  also  the  other  question-^-how  to  invest  the 
monoy.  1  have  resolved  to  dispose  of  a  part  of  it  in  Russian  bonds  and 
certificates.  I  have  decided  to  take  these  upon  conviction,  because  we  can 
not  conceal  from  ourselves,  that  while  all  these  movements  may  add  to  the 
overthrow  of  Germany,  they  wiH  extend  the  dominion  of  Russia,  and  be- 
cause this  power,  invulnerable  from  without,  finds  support  within  from  the 
size  of  its  population,  grows  yearly,  and  will  always  be  able  to  bear  a 
much  heavier  national  debt  than  her  present  one.  This  is  not  a  question 
of  sentiment  but  of  facts,  and  upon  these  I  act.  The  Norwegian  funds 
are  likewise  now  no  contemptible  property,  aa  there  is,  perhaps,  no  State 
less  threatened  with  war,  and,  after  the  example  of  Holland,  Sweden  will, 
no  doubt,  perceive  that  it  is  her  policy  to  give  way,  if  Norway  should  wish 
to  loosen  still  more  the  bond  between  them. 

The  fate  of  our  town,  in  case  of  war,  situated  as  it  is  between  two  fort- 
resses, 1  need  not  picture  to  yon.  For  we  can  not  deceive  ourselves  as  to 
the  fact,  that  the  war  would  be  disastrous  to  us,  that  we  should  be  driven 
back,  since  a  great  part  of  Germany,  far  from  supporting  us,  would  receive 
the  French  with  open  arms.  Our  resting-place  will  therefore  not  remain 
here  in  that  case ;  and  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  our  leaving,  as  soon 
as  the  war  breaks  out.  It  would  then  certainly  be  a  great  pity  that  we 
have  the  house.  Meanwhile,  whenever  I  go  into  it  and  see  how  beautiful 
it  looks  in  its  new  condition,  it  has  such  a  charm  upon  me,  that  I  should 
bring  myself  to  give  it  up  with  great  difficulty. 

I  have  breathed  more  freely  for  the  last  two  days,  because  I  hare 
finished  the  preface  to  the  second  volume.  I  can  not  describe  what  a 
torture  it  was  to  me  to  be  obliged  to  compose  every  week  manuscript 
sufficient  for  two  printers'  sheets,  not  to  speak  of  correcting  the  press,  in 
this  state  of  anxiety  and  depression,  and  with  my  thoughts  so  differently 
occupied.  The  printing  might  have  been  delayed,  but  Reimer  was  urgent 
that  the  book  should  be  finished  in  October,  and  I  too  was  anxious  to 
bring  it  to  an  end.  I  am  conscious  that  the  part  which  has  been  written 
since  the  1st  of  August,  betrays  the  state  of  mind  in  which  it  has  been 
produced,  while  the  first  two-thirds  may,  perhaps,  be  considered  as  a  suc- 
cessful effort,  notwithstanding  the  dryness  of  the  subject-matter.  I  have 
said  this  in  the  preface,  as  also  that  my  hopes  of  following  it  up  with  a 
third  volume  after  a  short  interval  of  rest,  had  been  frustrated  by  the  un- 
happy state  of  public  affairs.* 

*  "  At  another  season  the  delay  [in  the  printing  of  this  volume]  would  have 
had  no  influence  on  the  execution  of  my  work :  bat  only  two-thirds  of  it  were 
completed  when  the  madness  of  the  French  court  bunt  the  talisman  which 
kept  the  demon  of  the  revolution  in  bonds.  The  remainder  has  been  written 
under  a  feeling  that  it  was  a  duty  not  to  leave  what  I  had  began  unfinished, 
amid  constant  efforts  to  repel  the  harassing  anxiety  ever  pressing  upon  me 
from  the  prospect  of  the  ruin  which  menaced  my  property,  mv  dearest  posses- 
sions, and  my  happiest  tics.  The  first  volume  was  written  when  every  thing 
was  smiling  around  me,  and  I  was  thankfully  and  heartily  enjoying  it  in  the 
most  perfect  unconcern  abont  the  future.  Now,  unless  God  sends  tis  some  mi- 
raculous help,  we  have  to  look  forward  to  a  period  of  destruction  similar  to  that 
which  the  Roman  world  experienced  about  the  middle  of  the  third  century  of 
our  era — to  the  annihilation  of  prosperity,  of  freedom,  of  civility,  "of  knowledge. 
Still  even  though  barbarism  should  for  a.  long  season  scare  the  muses  and  learn- 
ing entirely  away,  a  time  will  como  when  Roman  history  will  again  be  an  ob- 


524  '  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

My  expressions  about  the  impending  future,  its  retrogression  toward 
barbarism,  the  flight  of  the  sciences  and  muses,  will  be  recognized  by 
posterity  as  the  view  of  an  unprejudiced  contemporary;  at  present  they 
will  raise  the  clamors  of  the  dazzled  multitude.  Very  few  know  whither 
they  desire  to  go;  the  greater  number  start  up  and  run  headlong  away, 
like  people  taking  a  walk  who  only  want  to  give  themselves  exercise  ; 
they  are  completely  under  the  influence  of  declamation  and  visionary 
ideas ;  yet  among  them  are  honorable  men,  and  even  authors  of  talent. 

While  I  was  lamenting  over  these  infatuated  revolutionists,  I  received  a 
bullying  letter  from  #,  because  having  occasion  to  write  to  him,  I  had 
freely  declared  that  this  resuscitation  of  the  revolution  was  entirely  to  be 
ascribed  to  the  priestly  party  and  a  perverse  aristocracy.  He  flies  at  me 
as  if  he  would  tear  me  to  pieces  for  "  seeing  such  phantoms  and  defending 
the  liberals."  There  is  a  priestly  aristocratic  party  here,  small  in  num- 
bers, but  which  has  a  nest  in  Coblentz,  by  which  he  suffers  himself  to  be 
befooled.  However  dear  the  friendship  of  any  man  may  be  to  me,  I  can 
not  purchase  its  continuance  at  the  sacrifice  of  truth. 

Gretchen  has  a  good  thought  about  our  emigration,  if  it  must  be ;  to 
turn  our  steps  to  Halle,  where  we  have  a  friend  in  Bluhme,  and  have  also 
other  acquaintances. 

After  the  perfect  apathy  which  reigned  as  long  as  the  great  tendencies 
which  were  the  precursors  of  present  events  might  have  been  calmly  set 
forth,  is  there  now  with  you,  who  have  nothing  to  fear  for  yourselves,  the 
same  universal  exulting  garrulity  on  the  course  of  public  events,  which 
prevailed  forty  years  ago  ?  Here,  even  the  liberals,  with  few  exceptions, 
are  full  of  anxiety,  and  many  judge  very  sagaciously.  Political  follies 
have  had  little  influence  so  far.  A  state  of  prosperity  is  hardly  possible 
in  France,  even  if  peace  lasts  :  if  war  comes,  there  can  be  no  security  for 
any  thing  in  the  general  breaking  up.  It  is  all  over  with  the  Imperial 
party,  but  it  can  not  be  absolutely  affirmed  that  republican  anarchy  may 
not  lead  back  to  the  Duke  of  Bordeaux.  No  ^>ne  can  deny  that  the  people 
of  Brunswick  and  Hesse  Cassel  have  right  on  their  side,  in  the  main  also, 
the  people  of  Dresden;  but  with  them  the  imitation  of  the  French  is  al- 
ready grievous  and  disgraceful ;  the  risings  of  the  peasantry  are  horrible. 

The  absence  of  every  kind  of  joy,  hope,  and  illusion  is  a  peculiar  feature 
in  these  revolutions,  particularly  that  in  France,  as  compared  with  1789. 
Every  thing  bears  the  impress  of  age  and  decrepitude ;  the  aged  La 
Fayette,  who  still  dreams  that  he  is  in  the  olden  times,  stands  like  a 
spectre  in  the  midst.  There  is  much  more  self-consciousness  than  there 
was  then ;  the  lowest  rabble  have  their  eyes  bent  on  their  own  immediate 
advantage.  Forms  are  a  matter  of  indifference,  except  to  a  few  young 
visionaries.  It  is  very  possible  that  such  a  dissolution  of  society  as  that 
in  South  America  may  take  place  even  in  France.  The  mercantile  class, 
heartily  as  it  detests  the  priesthood,  would  be  only  too  glad  if  the  revolu- 
tion had  never  happened.  I  held  it  to  be  impossible,  because  I  knew  that 
the  upper  classes  thought  of  nothing  but  their  own  advantage,  and 
cherished  HO  jdreams.  It  was  to  be  foreseen  that  they  could  never  expose 
themselves  to  the  bullets,  and  so  it  has  turned  out ;  they  have  let  loose 

ject  of  attention  and  interest,  though  not  in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  fifteenth 
century." — Preface  to  the  second  volume  of  the  History  of  Rome.  (Hare  and 
Thirlwall's  Translation.) 


EESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  525 

the  mob,  and  in  Paris  it  has  behaved  not  only  with  .heroic  courage,  but  for 
a  mob  most  admirably.  The  misery  and  the  scarcity  of  food  are  now  in- 
describable, and  things  can  not  improve. 

We  have  passed  several  days  in  immediate  anxiety.  Now  we  have  our 
garrison  again.  The  day  on  which  the  news  of  the  insurrection  at  Aix-la- 
Chapelle  reached  Bonn  was  horrible  j  just  like  the  air  before  an  approach- 
ing storm,  or  in  the  south,  before  an  earthquake,  when  all  animals  are  full 
of  terror.  On  the  previous  evening,  similar  tidings  had  come  from  Liege, 
at  nine  in  the  morning  they  came  from  Aix-Ia-Chapelle ;  an  hour  after,  a 
fellow  stood  up  here  in  one  of  the  squares  and  eithorted  the  mob  to  insur- 
rection ;  the  populace  eyed  us  of  the  higher  ranks  with  looks  of  defiance 
and  scorn ;  in  the  afternoon,  we  learnt  that  a  disturbance  had  broken  out 
at  Cologne.  Our  house  is  opposite  to  a  large  manufactory,  whose  master 
is  universally  hated,  from  which  we  are  only  separated  by  a  broad  opec 
street,  and  moreover  we  had  neither  a  garrison  nor  a  national  guard,  nor 
any  one  who  knew  how  to  form  one.  For  the  present  we  are  quite  safe. 
We  shall  remove  into  our  new  house  in  a  fortnight  at  furthest,  unless 
great  changes  take  place  between  now  and  then.  The  repairs  are  very 
nearly  completed 

CCCLXX. 

TO  SAVIGNY. 

BONN,  16*4  November,  1830. 

The  preface  expresses  my  views   about  the  future,  with  that 

strict  correspondence  with  my  thoughts,  which  I  always  endeavor  to  ob- 
serve. It  is  my  firm  conviction  that  we,  particularly  in  Germany,  are 
rapidly  hastening  toward  barbarism,  and  it  is  not  much  better  in  France. 

That  we  are  threatened  with  devastation,  such  as  that  two  hundred 
years  ago,  is,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  just  as  clear  to  me,  and  the  end  of  the 
tale  will  be,  despotism  enthroned  amid  universal  ruin.  In  fifty  years,  and 
probably  much  leos,  there  will  be  no  trace  left  of  free  institutions' or  the 
freedom  of  the  press  throughout  -all  Europe,  at  least  on  the  Continent. 
Very  few  of  the  things  which  have  happened  since  the  revolution  in  Paris, 
have  surprised  me.  Before  the  revolution,  a  Frenchman  had  started  the 
question  in  a  newspaper,  what  I  should  say  to  Caesar's  death  ?  • 

I  am  just  sending  this  reply  to  him  ;  "  As  I  do  about  the  ordon nance* ; 
submission  was  impossible,  and  yet  both  now  and  then,  it  was  a  calamity 
that  the  attempt  succeeded."  You  will  not  find  this  paradoxical 

[The  following  extracts  from  some  of  Niebuhr's  letters  written  about 
this  time,  are  given  in  the  Lebensnachrichten,  without  a  date :]. 

"  In  my  opinion,  what  constitutes  a  royalist,  is  to  believe  that  the 
State  is  no  arbitrary  association ; — that  the  whole  is  before  the  parts ; — 
that  government  is  of  God ; — that  government  is  the  first  necessity,  and 
that  government  and  liberty  must  be  combined  ; — that  they  may  be  so 
under  the  most  diverse  forms ; — that  forms  which  set  bounds  to  the  pre- 
tensions of  the  mass  of  mediocrity  are  salutary  ;  those  which  do  not, 
intrinsically  bad ; — that  attempts  to  alter  the  constitution  by  insurrection, 
are  not  merely  irrational,  but  criminal.  And  on  all  these  grounds  I  can 
acquiesce  in  the  mistaken  measures  of  the  aristocracy,'"  although  I  am  often 


526  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

keenly  alive  to  their  errors.  But  if  I  am  required  to  acknowledge  any 
tyranny  as  sacred,  and  to  pronounce  every  endeavor  to  break  the  yoke, 
rebellion,  even  where  commanded  by  the  most  urgent  distress,  I  can  not 
yield  my  assent ;  and  when  I  see  folly  and  ignorance  at  the  helm  of  affairs 
it  rouses  my  indignation,  and  I  do  not  conceal  my  sentiments." 

"  Our  disease  is  far  too  deeply  seated  to  be  removed  by  mere  changes  in 
the  constitution  :  for,  from  no  change  made  in  these  times,  and  by  the 
men  of  this  generation,  can  we  venture  to  hope  for  that  legislation,  which 
might  bring  us  into  a  healthful  and  progressive  condition,  by  transforming 
our  habits  and  our  entire  social  circumstances.  What  we  want,  is  as 
certain  and  clear  to  me  as  my  own  existence,  and  to  a  great  extent  I  could 
express  it,  but  it  were  to  talk  to  the  winds,  and  I  do  not  choose  to  be 
dragged  through  the  mire  to  no  purpose.  '  They  have  Moses  and  the 
Prophets,  and  hear  them  not.'  Were  I  in  power,  I  would  act,  and  with 
vigor,  in  God's  name,  even  if  it  brought  danger  to  myself." 

"  Many  royalists  are  not  so  in  the  same  sense  as  I  and  my  fellow-think- 
ers ;  they  regard  that  as  admirable  and  praiseworthy,  which  we  only  de- 
fend as  necessary  in  principle,  without  denying  that  in  the  actual  state  of 
things  it  often  works  very  ill,  and,  therefore,  while  we  maintain  that  if  it 
fall,  every  thing  must  go  to  ruin,  yet,  we  prophesy  that  no  human  power 
can  uphold  it,  unless  a  reform  take  place,  and  a  new  life  be  infused  into  it. 
For  example,  we  say  there  must  be  an  aristocracy,  indeed,  an  aristocracy 
of  many  grades ;  but  we  add,  at  this  moment  there  is  no  tolerable  aristoc- 
racy existing,  and  that  which  calls  itself  such,  is  a  phantom  from  which 
all  vital  energy  has  fled.  The  other  party  are  satisfied  with  this  aristoc- 
racy as  it  is,  and  fancy  it  is  only  necessary  to  compel  obedience.  We  say, 
make  proper  regulations,  and  obedience  will  not  be  wanting  if  a  good  ex- 
ample is  set  to  the  people.  They  think  to  accomplish  all  by  repression. 
and  we  demand  free  scope  for  movement,  in  conformity  with  the  law.  We 
say,  when  the  governments  understand  their  vocation  of  ruling,  the  subjects 
will  soon  return  to  theirs  of  obeying.  And  so  on  without  end. 

"  In  this,  our  two  parties  (if  I  may  so  call  them)  agree,  that  revolution 
is  rebellion,  and  that  of  the  most  ruinous  kind  that  can  befall  nations ;  and 
likewise,  that  we  despise  the  liberals  beyond  all  expression  for  their  shal- 
lowness  and  wickedness.  But  I  do  not  thereby  abrogate  my  conviction 
that  it  is  only  the  despotism  now  inseparable  from  it,  owing  to  the  mon- 
strosity of  the  ruling  ideas  of  the  present  day,  which  renders  revolution  so 
utterly  execrable,  that  it  can  bring  forth  nothing  but  evil,  arid  that  a 
sensible  man  ought  to  risk  every  thing  even  for  a  bad  government,  sooner 
than  submit  to  it.  My  conviction  is,  that  ere  the  despotism  of  liberalism 
became  all-powerful,  there  were  perfectly  justifiable  revolutions,  in  which 
one  power  was  victorious  in  the  struggle  with  the  usurpations  of  another 
power,  as  in  England  and  the  Netherlands.  Lastly,  that  tyranny,  under 
all  circumstances  and  in  all  ages,  remains  tyranny ;  and  that  where  this 
exists,  nature  takes  her  course,  though  under  our  present  conditions,  that 
course  can  lead  to  nothing  but  slavery.  Many  good  men  call  such  princi- 
ples dangerous,  and  although  they  may  be  far  from  mistaking  the  motives 
of  one  who  maintains  them  (like  myself,  who,  in  order  not  to  acquire  an 
unmerited  reputation,  have  fully  developed  them  in  my  report  to  the  gov- 
ernment) yet  they  can  not  help  feeling  a  little  terror  at  his  openness  and 
temerity.  This  may  make  it  clear  in  what  sense  I  am  an  unconditional. 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  527 

true,  and  faithful  royalist,  and  that  I  have  not  swerved  in  the  least  from 
the  principles  of  which  I  am  an  avowed  adherent." 

"  Had  I  lived  in  ancient  Rome,  and  had  it  been  possible  for  a  Tribune 
to  propose  such  a  regeneration  of  the  State  as  the  short-sighted  people  of 
our  day  desire,  I  would  have  helped  to  strike  him  dead  in  God's  name ; 
and  if  I  lived  in  a  State  where  one  constitutional  element  of  the  whole  \vag 
injuriously  repressed,  whether  it  were  the  democratic,  or  a  truly  aristo- 
cratic element,  I  would  strain  every  nerve  to  give  it  fair  play,  and  put  it 
in  possession  of  its  rights. 

With  us  Germans,  aristocracy  can  never  become  so  sickening  as  a  super- 
ficial liberalism.  The  hot  fever  has  burnt  itself  out,  like  a  plague  that  at 
last  vanishes  spontaneously ;  still  we  shall  have  repose,  and  be  able  to 
return  to  the  quiet  life  of  our  grandfathers,  who  were  not,  indeed,  like  our- 
selves, threatened  with  a  barbarian  yoke. 

Constitutional  forms  are  of  no  use  among  an  enervated  or  foolish  nation. 
What  avails  the  choice  of  representatives,  when  there  are  BO  men  fit  to 
represent  the  people  ?  Is  it  answered,  "  Let  them  learn  by  practice ;" 
that  is.  indeed,  to  sport  with  the  gravest  matters.  I  say ;  give  them  free 
communal  institutions,  and  let  them,  in  the  first  instance',  learn  by  prac- 
tice within  a  sphere  with  which  they  are  acquainted.  Believe  me  (but 
that  you  know  already),  I  know  how  to  prize  a  free  constitution,  and  am 
certainly  better  acquainted  than  most  with  its  meaning  and  worth ;  but, 
of  all  things,  the  first  and  most  essential  is,  that  a  nation  should  bo  manly, 
unselfish,  and  honorable.  If  it  is  that,  free  laws  will  grow  up  of  them- 
selves by  degrees."  '.*•'• 

CCCLXXI. 

TO  MOLTKE. 

End  of  November,  1830. 

Instead  of  the  She-wolf,  there  now  stands  in  the  room  which  I 

have  taken  for  myself  a  bust  which  must  be  familiar  to  your  remem- 
brance of  Paris  in  1790,  which  you  have  probably  possessed  yourself,  the 
mention  of  which  will  call  up  that  whole  period  to  your  mind — Mirabeau, 
by  Houdon.  I  do  not  know  if  it  has  reached  your  ears,  that  I  gave  a 
course  of  lectures  last  year,  on  the  History  of  the  Revolution.  On  that 
occasion  I  read  the  "Opinions  et  Travaux,"  and  my  heart  beat  so  strongly 
for  the  demon,  the  mightiest  of  all  the  men  whose  lifetime  has  coincided 
with  my  own,  that  I  commissioned  a  person  in  Paris  to  purchase  his  bust 
for  me.  It  was  not  to  be  found ;  no  one  inquires  for  it  now,  just  as  no 
one  now  read*  this  Demosthenes.  A  full  half  year  passed  before  my 
commissioner  was  able  to  hunt  up  a  replastered,  varnished  copy,  but 
even  this  is  valuable  to  me.  Now  the  fact  that  Mirabeau  had  vanished 
from  the  eyes  and  the  thoughts  of  the  people,  was  a  proof  to  me  that  the 
revolution  was  done  with;  and. I  inferred  this  still  more  decisively,  from 
the  manifest  certainty  that  no  one  cherished  any  longer  those  hopes  of 
better,  if  not  golden  times,  by  the  dreams  of  which  our  youth  was  buoyed 
up ;  and  who  could  have  thought  it  possible  that  in  an  utterly  unpoetical 
age— one  like  that  which  Petronius  paints,  when  men,  if  they  sacrificed 
at  all,  offered  gold  in  ingots  to  the  gods,  to  spare  the  cost  of  moulding  it 
— people  would  risk  wealth  and  comfort  in  order  to  wreak  their  anger  ? 
It  is  so,  nevertheless,  and  I  have  been  a  false  prophet;  but  it  must  be 


528  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

allowed  that  it  was  insane  conduct  which  drove  the  people  mad  with 
intolerable  oppression ;  and  even  as  it  is,  the  result  has  been  very  different 
from  that  which  took  place  in  those  years  of  youthful  enthusiasm.  Tre- 
mendous catastrophes  have  come  to  pass,  and  there  is  no  resistance,  not  a 
semblance  of  great  men,  no  joy  or  enthusiasm,  no  hopes  for  the  future — 
except  that  the  time  will  one  day  come,  when,  by  means  of  mutual 
instruction,  every  peasant  boy  shall  be  able  to  read.  The  truth  of  the 
thing  is  the  unvailed  destitution  of  the  populace,  who  are  resolved  to  bear 
it  no  longer ;  and  this  again  paves  the  way  for  a  revision  of  property ; 
which  is  not,  indeed,  something  new  under  the  sun,  but  has  been  unheard  of 
for  centuries  past,  and  even  now  seems  quite  inconceivable  to  our  politicians, 
who  have  set  property,  in  the  place  of  God,  in  the  Holiest  of  Holies.  We 
have  fallen  into  the  state  of  Rome  after  the  times  of  the  Gracchi,  with  all 
its  horrors,  and  he  who  can  not  see  this  is  blind;  he  who  thinks  the  ques- 
tion has  any  thing  to  do  with  freedom  is  a  fool  ;  forms  will  no  longer  hold 
things  together ;  we  shall  bless  despotism  if  it  protects  our  lives,  as  the 
Romans  blessed  that  of  Augustus.  That  it  was  possible  for  reasonable 
men  to  do  this,  I  had  comprehended  long  ago ;  now,  it  is  perfectly,  vividly 
clear  to  me ;  and  now  I  also  understand  Catiline. 

This  wottld  be  mournful  enough  if  it  only  affected  our  contemporaries  in 
foreign  lands,  and  we  were  able  to  retain  those  good  things  of  life  which 
Livy,  Horace,  and  Virgil  enjoyed  after  the  battle  of  Actium,  and  through 
whose  possession  they  were  able  to  keep  their  mind  serene  and  fit  for  crea- 
tive efforts ;  namely,  security,  leisure,  the  power  and  splendor  of  the  State. 
B&t  in  our  poor  Germany,  hopeless  confusion  is  breaking  forth  in  all  direc- 
tions, and  delivering  us  unarmed  and  defenseless  into  the  hands  of  our 
hereditary  enemy,  who  is  already  revenging  himself  by  insolence  and  scorn, 
for  the  short  time  during  which  he  has  lain  bound,  and  broods  over  no  less 
a  design  than  the  restoration  of  his  tyranny,  and  the  sacking  of  all  neigh- 
boring countries.  I  could  have  resigned  myself  to  the  dissolution  of  the 
present  order  of  things,  though  it  would  bring  a  miserably  inefficient  set  of 
men  into  the  place  of  those  who  now  hold  the  reigns  of  government,  and  set 
before  them  a  far  more  difficult  task,  but  that  it  would  inevitably  lead  to 
the  wreck  of  our  independence  amid  the  fearful  storms  of  war. 

And  let  no  one  delude  themself  with  the  idea  that,  at  all  events,  free  con- 
stitutions would  spring  from  the  convulsion  :  it  will  lead  very  quickly  to  an 
absolute  military  despotism,  which  will  scarcely  trouble  itself  with  outside, 
decencies  even  so  much  as  that  of  Napoleon.  In  Holstein  also  the  people 
are  already  beginning  to  agitate.  These  men  are  perhaps  still  greater 
strangers  to  you  than  to  me.  Respecting  the  enterprise  and  its  conse- 
quences there  can  be  no  difference  of  opinion  between  us,  except  of  a  little 
more  or  less  indulgence.  God  help  us  to  endure  what  we  can  not  avert ! 
Gretchen  asked  me  lately  in  earnest,  whether  I  still,  as  in  the  time  of  Na- 
poleon, thought  of  going  to  North  America.  "  If  it  were  not  for  the  chil- 
dren," whom  I  would  rather  see  Germans,  even  under  a  Russian  rule  than 
Anglo-Americans  !  Farewell,  dear  friend.  Shall  we  not  see  each  other 
again  somewhere  ?  You  have  never  answered  my  invitation  to  the  E,hine, 
and  now  that  is  out  of  the  question.  Remember  me  to  your  sons  ;  I  have 
received  Magnus's  circular  ;  wish  him  success  in  my  name.  My  wife  sends 
her  kindest  regards  to  you,  she  braces  herself  up  to  bear  what  is  inevitable. 

Your  old  NIEBUUR. 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN-  529 

CCCLXXII. 

TO  PERTHES. 

BONN,  17th  December,  1830. 

3.  The  sudden  demand  for  my  old  translation  of  the  Philippic  is 

.  as  inexplicable  to  me  as  to  you.  I  can  not  have  the  slightest  objection  to 
your  republishing  it ;  instead  of  the  dedication,  which  is  now  inapplicable, 
I  should  like  you  to  insert  after  the  title  page  what  is  written  on  the  in- 
closed sheet.* 

With  this  my  answer  to  your  inquiries  is  ended,  and"  now  comes  my  turn. 

1.  I  thank  you  very  much  for  sending  me  the  further  parts  that  have  ap- 
peared of  your  great  scries  of  historical  works.     Stenzel's  book  treats  in- 
deed of  a  field  which  I  have  explored  less  than  any  other,  but  so  far  as  I 
may  presume  to  express  a  judgment  notwithstanding,  I  think  it  very  excel- 
lent, and  hope  it  will  be  received  as  it  deserves. 

2.  You  know  Lardncr's  Cabinet  Cyclopaedia,  to  which  Sir  J.  Macintosh's, 
Sir  Walter  Scott's,  &c.,  historical  works  belong.     In  the  same  collection 
will  appear  the  History  of  Greece  up  to  Alexander,  by  my  translator  Thirl- 
wall.      It  will  be  no  erudite  work,  but  the  work  of  a  truly  erudite  and  in- 
tellectual man.     Before  the  outbreak  of  the  revolution,  I  begged  the  author 
to  send  me  proof  sheets,  which  Classen  should  translate  under  my  eye ;  I 
intended  to  add  a  preface   and  a  continuation  up  to  the  Roman  period. 
We  had  agreed  to  offer  you  the  work,  my  dear  friend :  I  wished  that  some- 
thing of  consequence  from  my  hand  should  be  published  by  Perthes,  and 
your  fellow-citizen  Classen  had  the  same  feeling.     Thirlwall  very  modestly 
declined  sending  the  sheets  to  me,  saying  that  they  were  not  worth  the 
trouble.      Under  other  circumstances,  I  should  boldly  advise  a  publisher  to 
get  the  book  as  soon  as  it  appears  (which  is  so  easy  in  Hamburgh),  and  to 
announce  that  a  translation  of  it  by  Classen  would  appear  with  a  preface 
and  a  continuation.     But  now,  I  can  not  promise  you  a  continuation ;  if 
we  are  fugitives,  where  shall  we  find  a  secure  resting-place  where  I  could 
work?     And  now  will  you  venture  the  announcement  with  the  addition 
"in  case  I  should  not  be  prevented"  from  giving  the  continuation?     And 
send  for  the  book  ?     And  how  much  could  you  afford  to  pay  Classen  for  it  ? 
Under  other  circumstances  it  would  be  an  uncommonly  good  article,  for 
there  is  at  present  no  book  of  the  kind  at  all. 

3.  My  burdened  heart  would  fain  relieve  itself  by  some  admonition*  to 
the  Germans,  at  which  your  last  letter  hints :  prudence  counsels  silence—- 
says it  would  make  little  impression.     If  I  write,  and  am  satisfied  with  my 
performance,  I  shall  send  it  to  you.     Never  has  Germany  been  so  treach- 
erous to  herself  as  now ;   and  since  the  revolution  in  Poland,  not  only  has 
salvation  through  our  own  efforts  become  impossible,  but  even  for  a  miracle 
there  is  no  place  left,  which  is  always  indispensable  before  a  miracle  can 
interfere  in  the  course  of  earthly  affairs. 

CCCLXXIII. 

TO  MADAME  HENSLER, 

BONN,  I9tk  December,  1830. 
I  do  not  mean  to  question  that  the  administration  of  justice  is 

*  Published  in  his  "  Nachgelaisene  Schriften."    The  last  words  he  ever  wrote 
for  publication. 

Z 


530  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

in  a  bad  ccmdition,  but  the  multiplicity  of  the  systems  is  the  least  part  of 
the  evil ;  the  most  lamentable  circumstance  is  the  character  of  the  judges 
themselves,  who  seem  to  have  laid  aside  the  old  characteristics  of  their  or- 
der. This  is  the  case  wherever  you  inquire ;  the  old  severe  gravity  has  van- 
ished from  the  tribunals,  whose  members  for  the  most  part  simply  endeavor, 
like  other  officials,  to  expedite  the  work  allotted  to  them  with  as  little  trou- 
ble as  possible,  and  have  no  conscientious  feeling  that  they  ought  to  admin- 
ister the  Right,  an  idea  which  is  quite  foreign  to  the  professors  of  jurispru- 
dence. I  by  no  means  wish  to  do  away  with  Codes  of  law  altogether.  I 
should  rejoice  to  see  a  complete  revision  of  the  existing  system  of  laws  in 
Holstein,  but  the  reformers  would  not  be  satisfied  with  this.  They  want 
one  single  new  Code,  just  as,  when  they  talk  of  Chambers,  they  want  an 
entirely  new  representation,  and  such  a  Code  can  not  possibly  succeed. 
There  is  no  human  being  who  could  frame  it.  And,  above  all,  from  a  Code 
of  criminal  law,  may  God  preserve  every  country  !  even  if  the  jury  were 
not  to  be  immediately  introduced  in  criminal  cases,  which  is  however  an 
immediate  consequence  of  the  principles  of  these  people.  You  have  no 
doubt  received  the  copies  of  my  History,  and  read  at  the  least  the  preface 
in  your  own  copy.  This  has  created  a  sensation  of  which  I  had  not  the 
least  idea,  when  I  was  writing  down  the  statements  of  my  convictions,  or, 
perhaps,  I  might  have  omitted  it.  It  has  roused  a  clamor,  not  only  among 
those  who  rejoice  in  disturbances  and  destruction,  and  already  regard  as  re- 
bellion any  lamentations  over  the  state  of  things  which  they  promote,  at 
least  with  their  wishes,  but  also  among  those  who  do  not  like  to  think  the 
evil  quite  so  great  as  it  is,  and  many  who  do  me  the  honor  to  think  them- 
selves wiser  than  I.  What  is  said  of  me  behind  my  back  rarely  comes  to 
my  ears,  but  I  have  accidentally  heard  something  of  it  which  makes  me 
very  indignant.  It  is  said  that  I  can  not  bear  that  any  one  should  differ 
from  me  in  opinion.  This  is  not  true  ;  on  the  contrary,  no  one  can  in  prac- 
tice more  completely  concede  to  others  the  liberty  to  have  what  opinion  they 
choose  :  I  condemn  none,  and  defend — how  often — the  sentiments  of  my 
greatest  opponents.  But  I  require  that  no  one  should  take  the  liberty  of 
blaming  me  for  having  my  own,  especially  on  subjects  into  which  I  have 
more  insight,  and  on  which  I  can  form  a  better  judgment  than  those  who 
set  themselves  up  for  wiser,  and  who  allow  me  no  voice  whatever  in  things 
belonging  to  their  sphere.  Meanwhile,  I  have  a  rich  compensation  in  the 
unlimited  approbation  of  Hermann,  who  is  equally  convinced  with  me  that 
the  present  tendency  of  the  world  is  toward  barbarism. 

My  sadness,  quite  apart  from  the  misfortune  which  is  impending  over 
us  personally,  is  caused  by  the  degeneracy  of  our  nation,  no  less  than  by 
the  prospect  of  its  servitude  and  devastation.  It  is  impossible  not  to  per- 
ceive that  the  noble  qualities  which  were  the  glory  of  our  nation  are  dis- 
appearing— depth,  sincerity,  originality,  heart,  and  affection — that  shallow- 
ness  and  impudence  are  becoming  universal.  This  can  not  be  charged  upon 
the  circumstances  of  the  times ;  things  are  pursuing  an  ordinary  course, 
such  as  other  nations  have  witnessed  before ;  and  if  there  were  nothing 
else,  I  should  calmly  work  on  for  other  ages,  from  which  a  book  written 
now  can  not  be  quite  kept  back,  even  if  Germany  should  be  desolated  by 
Hunnish  ravages.  But  when  we  contemplate  the  present,  when  we  look 
at  the  tiger  in  the  West  waiting  with  glaring  eyes  to  pounce  upon  his 
prey  :  and  the  tone  of  feeling  pervading  all  Germany  (with  the  exception, 


RESIDENCE  IN  BONN.  531 

for  the  most  part,  of  our  old  provinces),  which  furthers  the  design  of  th« 
enemy,  dissolves  all  bonds,  makes  resistance  impossible,  opens  outstretched 
arms  to  the  French!  "Give  us  freedom,"  say  they,  "and  we  are  ready 
to  withstand  the  foreigner  :''  but  this  freedom  is  chaos,  and  the  sway  of 
madmen  or  fools ;  and  since  their  demands  neither  can  nor  will  be  granted, 
and  there  is  no  great  man  living  to  win  the  people  to  himself  and  carry 
them  away  with  him,  to  all  human  foresight,  the  loss  of  the  left  shore  of 
the  Rhine  to  France,  the  inundation  of  the  rest  of  Germany  by  French 
hordes,  the  destruction  of  the  existing  States,  and  the  formatioa  of  servile 
republics  under  the  guidance  of  traitors,  has  become  quite  inevitable  after 
the  insurrection  of  the  Poles.  I  will  not  blame  these  latter ;  the  blame  is 
due  in  the  first  place  to  the  absurdity  of  forming  them  into  a  State,  organ- 
izing their  armies,  and  then  sending  them  a  ruler,  who  would  have  driven 
the  mildest  nation  to  despair.  But  while  we  lay  no  blame  on  them,  and 
under  other  circumstances  might  even  rejoice  to  see  their  revolt,  he  must 
be  a  wrong-headed  man,  who  would  not  now  think  of  the  salvation  of 
Germany  in  the  first  place. 

The  French  are  always  talking  of  defense,  and  their  whole  line  of  con- 
duct points  to  attack ;  and  in  Germany  no  voice  is  raised  to  exclaim  that 
no  one  has  threatened  them  ;  the  most  that  has  been  shown  is  a  determina- 
tion not  to  suffer  them  to  seize  on  Belgium.  The  German  press  is  only  an 
echo  against  Germany  !  How  willingly  would  they  seek  a  pretext  against 
Prussia,  who  docs  not,  however,  afford  them  the  least,  yet  the  "Correspond- 
ent" repeats  the  lying  statement  of  an  English  journal,  that  the  execution 
of  the  "  bloody  work"  of  subjugating  Belgium  was  assigned  to  Prussia ! 
It  would  lighten-  my  heart  to  write ;  the  effort  to  smother  my  feelings  quite 
deadens  my  faculties ;  but  if  no  great  result  could  be  expected,  it  would  be 
a  piece  of  knight-errantry  to  come  forward  singly.  I  have  written  a  few 
words  which  may  at  least  find  an  echo  hi  the  hearts  of  well-disposed  but 
undecided  persons,  by  way  of  preface  to  a  reprint  of  the  oration  of  De- 
mosthenes, which  Perthes  wishes  for :  a  demand  has  suddenly  arisen  for  it 
in  South  Germany,  and  all  the  copies  in  stock  have  been  sold. 

The  Russian  bonds  have  received  a  great  shock,  which  may  lead  to  very 
bad  consequences.  Neither  has  the  French  credit  been  strengthened  by  the 
extension  of  French  power,  for  further  revolutions  are,  I  think,  inevitable 
What  a  change  within  five  months !  What  a  conclusion  for  this  year ! 
how  will  the  next  end?  God  protect  you,  my  beloved  Dora,  and  us !  You 
will  find  a  refuge,  I  trust.  Give  our  love  to  all  our  friends  and  relations. 
Most  likely  I  shall  not  write  to  you  again  in  the  old  year.  You  will,  I 
hope,  pass  a  tolerably  merry  Christmas  in  spite  of  every  thing ;  I  wish  you 
may  skim  over  a  little  of  my  book  during  the  holidays.  I  embrace  you 
tenderly  once  more  in  the  old  year. 

Your  old  NIEBUHR. 


ON  THE  CHARACTER  OF  NIEBUHR. 

BY  PROFESSOR  BRANDIS,  OF  BONN, 

AUTHOR   OF    THE    "HISTORY   OF   THE    ARISTOTELIAN  PHILOSOPHY,"    ETC. 

NIEBUHR  was  considered  passionate,  and  his  feelings,  his  predi- 
lections, and  his  dislikes  were,  no  doubt,  expressed  with  a  warmth, 
or  rather  a  vehemence,  which,  untempered  by  deliberation,  could 
not  fail  either  to  carry  all  before  it,  or  to  hurt  the  feelings  of  others. 
Not  alone  the  narrow-minded  or  ill-disposed,  who  might  feel  them- 
selves justly  rebuked,  but  men  of  nobler  nature  were  often  wounded 
by  his  passing  ebullitions  of  temper,  or  the  sharpness  of  his  ex- 
pressions. Even  his  most  valued  friends  did  not  escape  these 
passionate  outbursts,  which  for  the  moment  were  deeply  felt. 
Still  it  can  be  affirmed,  that  he  never  inflicted  a  deadly  wound 
on  friendship ;  the  shaft  that  pierced  knew  in  like  measure  how 
fo  heal,  not  by  explanations,  too  often  fruitless,  but  by  proofs  of 
love,  which,  in  general,  followed  speedily  and  unsought,  and  were 
therefore  indescribably  touching.  His  anger  was  easily  borne, 
even  when  unjust,  or  partly  unfounded,  beoause  it  was  but  the 
transient  flash  of  an  inward  fire,  which  otherwise  could  not  have 
shone  forth  so  brightly  in  good- will  and  friendship. 

It  was  the  same  with  the  love  and  hatred  which  were  evident 
in  his  judgment  on  the  past,  and  on  the  present,  from  which  he 
was  personally  remote.  To  a  man  of  his  deep  and  strong  feelings, 
it  was  impossible  to  observe  and  judge  the  occurrences  of  social 
life  with  the  same  coolness  and  impartiality  as  the  necessary  se- 
quence of  natural  events.  Great  and  noble  sentiments,  or  eminent 
powers  of  mind,  filled  him  with  love  and  admiration ;  narrow  and 
interested  motives  or  aims,  arrogant  little-mindedness  or  vanity, 
he  despised  and  disliked,  whether  they  met  his  eye  in  the  present 
or  the  past.  His  indignation  against  a  Xenophon  was  as  ardent 
as  though  he  had  even  now  left  a  noble  father-land  to  its  fate,  in 
times  of  heavy  need,  and  had  nevertheless  attained  a  false  i'ame  ; 
for  whether  it  was  the  present  or  the  past  against  which  Niebuhr's 
anger  was  directed,  it  never  arose  from  selfish  considerations, 


ON  THE  CHARACTER  OF  NIEBUHR.  533 

wounded  vanity,  or  an  envious  wish  to  detract.  No  one  could 
more  thoroughly  and  cheerfully  appreciate  excellence  of  every 
kind  ;  no  one  could  value  those  excellences  more  highly  in  which, 
often  through  a  touching  self-depreciation,  he  thought  himself  de- 
ficient. But  the  injustice  of  contemporaries  or  posterity  hurt,  nay 
exasperated  him,  as  being  at  once  the  ungrateful  disparagement 
of  well-founded  claims,  the  sign  of  a  despicable  want  of  independent 
judgment,  and  the  hindrance  to  all  lasting  influence.  To  con- 
found good  and  evil,  to  place  great  and  small  things  on  the  same 
level,  was  absolutely  repulsive  to  his  nature,  whether  it  were  the 
result  of  a  deficiency  in  warmth  of  feeling,  or  in  the  acuteness  of 
the  moral  sense ;  for  he  was  firmly  convinced  that  only  where 
the  bad,  the  impure,  and  the  base,  are  alike  hated  and  despised, 
can  the  great  and  noble  be  truly  reverenced  and  loved,  and  thus 
exert  a  purifying  and  elevating  influence  on  the  character.  Hence 
he  placed  his  standard,  with  regard  to  the  formation  of  opinion, 
far  higher  than  most  men ;  earnestness  of  mind,  he  considered, 
ought  to  be  shown,  above  all  things,  in  pronouncing  a  judgment, 
that  the  faculty  of  judging  might  be  thereby  developed.  Incon- 
siderate or  hasty  expressions  with  regard  to  remarkable  men  or 
events,  he  did  not  easily  allow  to  pass  uncensured. 

It  was  impossible  for  Niebuhr,  so  thoroughly  pervaded  by  moral 
earnestness,  to  contemplate  history  otherwise  than  from  the  centre 
of  his  own  nature,  and  he  looked  upon  the  actual  relations  of  life 
from  the  same  point  of  view.  To  be  misunderstood  or  depreciated 
affected  him  deeply  ;  and  however  ready  he  might  be  to  admit 
contradiction,  those  truths  which  he  had  once  grasped  with  living 
conviction,  became  portions  of  himself,  and  were  as  sacred  in  his 
eyes  as  moral  and  religious  principles,  with  which,  indeed,  they 
were  always  more  or  less  bound  up  in  his  mind  ,-  certainly  they 
always  had  their  origin  in  the  pure  love  of  truth.  How  frequent- 
ly he  tested  them,  and  how  readily  he  relinquished  those  which 
would  not  bear  re-examination,  is  most  fully  proved  by  the  second, 
and  by  parts  even  of  the  third  edition  of  his  History  of  Rome. 
What  classical  work  has  ever  undergone  so  searching  a  revision  ? 
But  contradiction  which,  without  a  thorough  examination  of  the 
subject,  opposed  mere  assertion  to  convictions  which  he  had  found- 
ed on  deep  research— a  setting  up  of  bare  possibilities,  without 
real  insight  into  the  conditions,  through  which  alone  they  could 
have  come  to  pass— wounded  him  bitterly,  especially  when  ac- 
companied by  arrogance.  It  wounded  him  because  it  implied  a 


534  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBtTHR. 

refusal  to  recognize  the  conscientious  earnestness  of  his  investiga- 
tions, and  because  it  deprived  those  truths  which  he  helieved  him- 
self to  have  established,  of  the  reception  which  he  desired  for  them, 
on  behalf  of  science. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  he  now  and  then  adhered  with  some 
obstinacy  to  opinions  not  so  important  nor  so  well-grounded,  but 
this  never  arose  from  dislike  to  acknowledge  error,  nor  from  petty 
vanity.  On  the  contrary,  as  he  never  adopted  or  expressed  an 
opinion  without  the  most  careful  examination  and  thorough  mas- 
tery of  all  the  facts  relating  to  it,  he  could  not  give  it  up  until  it 
had  received  the  most  complete  refutation.  It  was  kept  firm  in 
his  mind  by  the  same  profound  love  of  truth  from  which  it  had 
originally  proceeded,  until  a  higher  truth  had  dawned  upon  his 
sight.  Men  of  more  flexible  intellect  find  it  easier  to  sacrifice  their 
earlier  sentiments  ;  but  are  not  their  views,  for  this  very  reason, 
deficient  in  completeness  and  power  ?  Besides,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  Niebuhr's  opinions  were  most  intimately  connected 
with,  and  organically  dependent  upon  each  other,  so  that  if  one 
were  given  up,  its  successor  must  equally  be  brought  into  due  re- 
.  lation  to  what  remained  behind  ;  while  his  more  important  prin- 
ciples were  of  a  kind  that  could  scarcely  be  renounced,  but,  at 
most,  only  undergo  modification.  Such  a  habit  of  mind  could  ex- 
ist only  in  one  whose  convictions  were  ever  present  to  him  as  a 
whole  ;  it  was  at  least  the  chief  cause  why  Niebuhr  almost  inva- 
riably attained  a  higher  insight  by  his  own  efforts,  rarely  by  the 
aid  of  others,  though  a  well-timed  suggestion  would  quickly  rouse 
him  to  fresh  researches.  Another  cause  lay  in  his  early  habit  of 
resorting  immediately  to  the  fountain-heads,  without  availing  him- 
self of  the  labors  of  his  predecessors.  Nothing  less  than  that  in- 
credible mastery  over  his  materials,  which  he  derived  from  an  al- 
most unexampled  grasp  and  certainty  of  memory,  combined  with 
the  most  brilliant  reflective  powers,  could  justify  him  in  despising 
aids,  which  are  indispensable  to  a  less  comprehensive  and  original 
mind.  It  was  not  indeed  so  much  that  he  despised  them,  as  that 
he  seldom  had  occasion  to  make  use  of  them.  Up  to  his  seven- 
teenth year,  the  classical  authors  had  formed  almost  his  sole  read- 
ing, and  he  was  already  as  much  at  home  in  their  world,  as  most 
learned  men  in  their  mature  years.  He  next  turned  with  like 
eagerness  to  modern  science  and  literature,  to  which  he  was  led 
by  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  Dante.  He  followed  modern 
history  through  all  its  details  ;  for  him  it  reflected  a  light  over  the 


ON  THE  CHARACTER  OF  NIEBUHR.  535 

records  of  the  past,  and  drew  forth  electric  sparks  from  every  peb- 
ble on  the  shore  of  antiquity  ;  nay  more,  it  gave  an  early  maturi- 
ty to  his  judgment,  and  he  was  not  carried  away  by  the  intoxica- 
tion of  the  French  Revolution,  because  he  clearly  comprehended 
the  nature  and  conditions  of  freedom  in  ancient  times,  and  the 
necessity  of  introducing  it  step  by  step,  and  not  by  sudden  leaps. 
From  his  residence  in  England  and  Scotland,  and  his  active  par- 
ticipation in  public  business,  sometimes  of  an  important  nature, 
he  gained  a  practical  view  of  affairs  in  which  the  merely  learned 
historian  so  often  fails.  He  was  so  fully  engaged  in  official  life, 
from  his  twenty-second  or  twenty-third  year,  to  the  year  1810, 
that  he  could  scarcely  devote  more  than  his  hours  of  relaxation 
to  study.  No  leisure  remained  for  researches  with  an  extensive 
apparatus  of  learning,  but  he  attained  the  same  end,  without  fix- 
ed purpose,  simply  by  applying  his  practical  knowledge  of  cir- 
cumstances and  affairs  to  history,  and  never  resting  until  he  was 
able  to  form  as  distinct  and  vivid  a  picture  of  those  portions  of 
history,  which  had  most  attracted  his  interest,  as  men  in  general 
retain  only  from  the  experience  of  the  present. 

Had  he  kept  to  the  ordinary  track,  had  he  combined  the  study 
of  the  original  sources  with  an  examination  of  the  principal  at- 
tempts to  inspire  them  with  fresh  life,  he  might  still  indeed  have 
found  single  facts  confirming  or  modifying  his  representations,  but 
he  would  scarcely  have  opened  a  new  career  to  historical  investi- 
gation. Other  great  scholars  before  him  have  treated  of  the 
history  of  Rome  ;  other  adepts  in  political  science  have  made  it 
their  study,  and  how  warmly,  how  gratefully  were  the  labors  of 
Machiavelh,  Gronovius,  Perizonius,  Montesquieu,  and  Gibbon  ac- 
knowledged by  Niebuhr  !  His  claim  to  be  the  pioneer  of  a  new 
path  in  science,  rests  upon  the  fact,  that  he  threw  broad  flashes  of 
light  across  the  darkness  that  vailed  the  early  history  of  Italy  ; — 
that  he  espied  a  thread  of  truth  in  the  tissue  of  fictions  and  em- 
bellishments, detected  history  in  legends,  and  marked  out  the 
respective  domains  of  the  legendary  and  the  historical ; — that 
from  the  scanty  and  unconnected  details  belonging  to  history,  he 
was  able  to  draw  clear  and  correct  outlines,  by  displaying  their 
relation  to  each  other  ;  finally,  that  by  a  close-  comparison  of  the 
results  thus  obtained  with  analogous  conditions  of  society  in  peri- 
ods better  known,  he  gradually  filled  up  these  outlines  till  they 
presented  a  picture  that  spoke  to  the  heart  and  mind  of  his  read- 
ers. And  we  may  fairly  say  that  the  opening  of  this  new  path 


536  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

has  been,  and  will  be,  productive  of  still  greater  results  than  even 
the  important  discoveries  to  which  it  conducted  Niebuhr,  and  by 
which  he  proved  its  correctness.  It  is  a  path  which  can  not  be 
closed  again  to  science,  however  many  may  be  the  stumbling- 
blocks  it  presents  to  those  who  attempt  to  pursue  it  with  ill-trained 
powers,  who  set  apparent,  in  the  place  of  real  possibilities  guaran- 
teed by  striking  analogies — -external  resemblances  in  the  place  of 
internal  relations,  and  mistake  fortuitous  conceptions  for  views 
founded  on  a  consideration  of  facts. 

"We  leave  it  to  those  better  fitted  for  the  task,  to  define  the  na- 
ture and  value  of  Niebuhr's  method  of  treating  history,  and  its 
influence  on  the  present  state  of  historical  research  and  opinion. 
As  we  confine  ourselves  within  the  limits  of  a  biographical  sketch, 
it  is  enough  for  us  simply  to  bring  into  view  whatever  may  tend 
to  exhibit  the  peculiar  features  of  his  mind. 

A  more  comprehensive  and  trustworthy  memory,  or  greater  con- 
trol over  it,  can  scarcely  have  been  possessed  by  Joseph  Scaliger, 
and  other  heroes  of  mnemonics  ;  it  certainly  was  never  combined 
in  any  instance  with  clearer  powers  of  reflection.  Niebuhr  was  a 
close  observer,  and  found  some  connecting  link  between  all  the 
manifold  external  and  internal  perceptions  which  came  before 
him ;  hence  he  mastered  languages  and  sciences,  signs  and  the 
thing  signified,  with  equal  ease,  and  with  such  certainty,  that  with 
his  mind's  eye  he  saw  each  in  its  own  individuality,  separate  from 
its  fellows,  and  yet  intimately  and  variously  related  to  them.  No 
sufficient  explanation  of  his  memory  is  furnished  either  by  the  pre- 
tended laws  of  the  association  of  ideas,  or  of  the  reproduction  of 
representations,  or  by  any  logical  dependence  among  the  ideas 
themselves.  Jt  was  equally  retentive  of  perceptions  and  thoughts, 
of  views  and  feelings,  of  sights  and  sounds ;  whatever  came  within 
the  sphere  of  his  recognition  took  up  its  due  relative  position  in  his 
mind  with  equal  certainty  and  precision. 

A  great  part  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  poetry  had  imprinted 
itself  so  indelibly  on  his  memory,  that  he  could  frequently  recite 
hundreds  of  verses  without  stumbling,  and  could  answer  on  the 
spot  every  allusion  or  quotation  from  the  Latin  poets  in  the  notes 
and  letters  of  the  younger  Valckenaer,  who  was  most  deeply  read 
in  those  authors ;  even  in  his  later  years  he  retained  every  poem 
which  appealed  strongly  to  his  heart,  whether  it  were  a  modern 
Greek  or  Servian  ode,  or  a  song  of  Goethe,  Count  Platen,  or  others. 
In  his  later  years,  at  least,  we  scarcely  think  that  he  ever  learnt 


ON  THE  CHARACTER  OF  NIEBIJHR.  537 

any  thing  by  heart ;  whenever  a  poetic  thought  which  had  vividly 
seized  upon  his  mind  was  clothed  in  the  form  perfectly  adapted  to 
it,  both  the  form  and  its  inner  spirit  implanted  themselves  firmly 
within  him,  without  the  necessity  of  any  mechanical  assistance. 

When  a  youth,  Niebuhr  had  made  himself  master  of  French, 
and,  perhaps,  still  more  completely,  of  English,  and  wrote  and 
spoke  both  languages  with  great  fluency  and  correctness.  In  his 
riper  manhood,  while  the  cares  and  occupations  of  the  fatal  years  of 
war  were  undermining  his  health,  he  learned  several  of  the  princi- 
pal dialects  of  the  Sclavonic  languages ;  in  his  fortieth  year,  he  began 
to  write  and  speak  Italian,  in  which,  up  to  this  time,  he.  had  read 
nothing  but  historical  works  and  poetry ;  and,  with  a  rapidity 
that  put  his  younge*  companion  to  shame,  he  acquired  no  slight 
command  of  this  language,  at  the  very  time  when  he  was  accus- 
toming himself  to  a  new  sphere  of  action,  and  devoting  his  leisure 
to  antiquarian  and  historical  researches.  During  his  residence  in 
Edinburgh  he  had  occupied  himself  with  the  natural  sciences, 
particularly  chemistry,  but  had  never  afterward  found  time  or 
opportunity  to  pursue  these  studies;  yet  in  subsequent  years  he 
was  able  to  form  the  most  distinct  conception  of  out-of-the-way  or 
complicated  details,  to  the  astonishment  of  men  versed  in  the  sub- 
ject. Hence  he  was  strongly  interested  in  the  natural  sciences  of 
antiquity.  The  meteorology,  natural  history,  &c.,  of  Aristotle,  the 
botany  of  Theophrastus,  and  the  ancient  writers  on  agriculture, 
were  perfectly  familiar  to  him.  His  memory  was  no  less  certain 
and  comprehensive  with  regard  to  impressions  of  sight  and  num- 
bers. As  referee  of  the  consular  business,  at  the  Danish  Board  of 
Trade,  he  once  gave  a  very  detailed  report,  full  of  calculations, 
without  the  slightest  hesitation,  though,  as  his  neighbor  remarked, 
he  had  brought  with  him  by  mistake,  instead  of  his  notes,  a  paper 
which  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter  in  hand.  But  even 
numbers  did  not  imprint  themselves  on  his  memory  mechanically, 
but  because  the  facts  expressed  by  them  were  never  destitute  of 
some  point  of  connection  with  other  facts,  within  the  wide  com- 
pass of  his  historical  and  practical  sphere  of  vision.  Thus,  too, 
the  statistics  of  the  finances,  at  least  of  the  more  important  States, 
were  so  present  to  his  mind,  that  he  not  unfrequently  predicted 
great  alterations  in  the  paper  currency  with  an  accuracy  most  sur- 
arising  to  financiers  and  the  thinking  men  engaged  in  trade. 

z* 


ON    THE    CHARACTER    OF    NIEBUHR    AS    AN    HIS- 
TORIAN. 

FROM  A  LETTER  BY  PROFESSOR  LOEBELL,  OF  BONN, 

AUTHOR   OF   A    "  UNIVERSAL,  ANCIENT   HISTORY,"    ETC. 

......  You  request  me  to  furnish  you  with  Niebuhr's  char- 
acteristics, as  an  historian,  within  the  compass  of  a  few  pages. 
This  compels  me  to  content  myself  with  indicating  some  of  the 
most  important  points,  for  the  development  and  establishment  of 
which,  a  small  book  would  be  necessary. 

When  great  men  step  forth  as  the  jmthoi£-J2f_a  revolution  in 
their  peculiar  department  of  science,  and  as  the  discoverers  of  new 
paths,  on  which  others  follow  them,  it  generally  is  because  they 
have  been  the  first  to  recognize,  in  its  true  depth  and  significance, 
some  want,  vague  indications  of  which  have  already  betrayed 
themselves  in  the  great  tendencies  of  the  age,  and  to  supply  which, 
they  bring  the  eye  and  the  gifts  of  genius. 

At  the  period  when  Niebuhr  took  up  the  idea  of  re-investigating 
and  remodeling  the  history  of  Rome,  certain  movements  and  as- 
pirations had  developed  themselves  in  two  provinces  of  intellectual 
activity,  which  could  not  fail  to  exert  great  influence  on  historio- 
graphy. These  provinces  were  classical  philology  and  politics ; 
that  is,  the  internal  civil  life  of  a  people.  In  classical  philology, 
within  the  last  ten  years  of  the  preceding  century,  there  had  grown 
up  in  Germany  a  new  method  of  criticism,  which  for  boldness, 
acuteness,  and  delicacy,  was  superior  to  all  that  had  gone  before 
it.  This  found  its  earliest  manifestation,  and  one  that  excited  the 
greatest  attention,  in  the  famous  disquisitions  of  Wolf,  concerning 
the  origin  and  authors  of  the  Homeric  songs.  IrTTts  wider  and 
more  general  application,  this  method  of  criticism  led  to  the  con- 
viction, that  even  the  authority  of  ancient  testimony  is  not  sufficient 
to  determine  the  author  and  the  date  of  a  work,  unless  it  coincides 
with  internal  signs  and  evidence.  Whenever  these  principles  were 
applied  to  history,  it  was  inevitable  that  the  criticism  which  lies 
at  its  foundation  should  take  a  new  form.  It  was  seen  that  the 


NIEBUHB,  AS  AN  HISTORIAN.  539 

use  of  any  sources  of  history  must  be  preceded  by  researches  into 
their  genuineness,  and  not  merely  into  the  genuineness  of  those 
which  we  possess,  but  also  into  the  genuineness  of  those  which  are 
lost  to  us,  but  from  which  authors  still  extaflt  have  drawn  their 
statements.  j^ 

The  other  influence  which  helped  to  give  a  new  form  to/his- 
toriography, proceeded  from  the  great  historical  events  of  tlfe-t£ge 
— the  American  and  French  revolutions.  /These  revolutions  first 
brought  men  to  feel  that,  in  the  history  of  a  State,  the  chief  stress 
ought  not  to  be  laid  on  those  things  which  had  hitherto  been  al- 
most its  sole  topics — wars,  treaties,  internal  disturbances  and 
struggles,  and  the  personal  relations  of  princes — but  on  the  growth 
of  its  form  of  government  and  constitution — on  every  thing  .which 
serves  to  throw  light  on  the  relation  of  the  whole  people  to  the 
life  of  the  State.  How  completely  had  this  been  neglected  up  to 
that  time  !  Even  in  your  England,  where  the  idea  of  free  citizen- 
ship had  long  ago  awakened  to  active  and  conscious  life,  a  thinker 
like  Hume  could  assign  such  topics  their  place  in  appendices  which 
he  entitled  "  Miscellaneous  Transactions."  How  long  was  it  ere 
a  Hallam  conceived  the  idea  of  a  "  Constitutional  History  !"  And 
a  profound  and  spirited  description  of  the  condition  of  a  people,  in 
relation  to  its  political  principles  and  endeavors,  such  as  is  pre- 
sented by  the  third  chapter  of  Macaulay's  admirable  work,  is  the 
product  of  the  present  age  alone.  / 

Permit  me  to  draw  your  attention,  however,  to  the  fact,  that  in 
this  field  too,  the  Germans  were  the  first  to  break  the  soil.  Soon 
after  the  outbreak  of  the  first  French  Revolution,  Spittler,  of  Grot- 
tingen,  wrote  a  very  clever  and  profound  Hand-book  of  the  History 
of  the  European  States,  in  which  their  history  is  treated  altogether 
with  reference  to  their  constitutional  development,  but  which  is, 
after  all,  a  mere  sketch,  a  skeleton,  which  the  lectures  of  the  au- 
thor were  to  clothe  with  flesh  and  blood. 

Some  other  writers  on  history  had  also  begun  to  assign  to  this 
most  important  subject,  a  more  prominent  place  than  it  formerly 
occupied.  Thus,  to  some  extent,  Niebuhr  had  predecessors  in  this 
direction,  when  he  placed  the  Roman  constitution,  and  the  strug- 
gles to  which  it  gave  rise,  in  the  very  foreground  of  his  picture. 
But  he  had  none  in  the  application  to  history,  of  the  method  of 
criticism  which  had  made  such  great  advances  in  philology.  And 
what  is  still  more,  he  was  the  first  to  combine  both  tendencies,  a 


540  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

combination  for  which  he  possessed  endowments  rarely  found  in 
any  age. 

In  his  History  of  Rome,  Niebuhr  commenced  the  erection  of 
an  edifice,  in  the  construction  of  which  he  would  not  employ  the 
very  smallest  stone  until  he  had  carefully  examined  its  fitness. 
Furnished  with  a  comprehensive  and  profound  acquaintance  with 
the  languages  and  literature  of  antiquity,  he  was  fully  qualified 
to  apply  the  principles  of  the  new  tendency  in  philological  criti- 
cism on  a  far  wider  scale,  by  the  most  acute  examination  and 
analysis  of  the  original  sources  of  history.  What  had  hitherto 
(with  a  few  exceptions  which  attracted  no  attention)  been  termed 
historical  criticism,  consisted  partly  in  a  reckless  skepticism,  which 
rejected  entirely  the  remains  of  _whole  periods — as  Hume  says, 
"  The  first  page  of  Thucydides  is,  in  my  opinion,  the  commence- 
ment of  real  history" — partly  in  testing  contradictory  statements 
in  the  accounts  of  the  narrators  of  isolated  events,  by  their  greater 
or  less  probability.  Another  step  had  been  taken  shortly  before 
Niebuhr' s  time.  Instead  of  credulously  receiving,  or  absolutely 
rejecting  the  whole,  an  effort  was  made  to  pick  out  the  kernel  of 
historical  truth,  from  the  midst  of  the  mythical  elements  with 
which  it  was  mixed  up  in  tradition.  But  Niebuhr  did  not  stop 
here.  He  comprehended  in  the  fullest  extent  the  changes  which 
the  objective,  positive,  and  actual  historical  truth  must  undergo, 
in  its  subjective  transmission,  and  the  influence  of  which  per- 
petuated itself  to  after-ages.  Hence  arose  the  following  questions, 
which  the  true  method  of  criticism  must  answer,  before  deciding 
on  the  trustworthiness  of  the  original  sources  :  What  would  such 
a  century,  according  to  its  modes  of  thought,  be  able  and  desirous 
to  hand  down  to  posterity  ?  How  has  that  which  has  been  thus 
transmitted,  been  by  later  historians  received,  added  to,  or  altered  ? 
1 .  According  to  some  general  conception  of  the  earlier  period  which 
had  become  current  in  their  day.  2.  According  to  their  greater 
or  less  ability  to  test  what  they  have  received.  3.  Or  according 
to  their  political  party-spirit,  which  often  throws  its  own  coloring 
over  men's  views  of  the  past  ?  These  critical  principles  lead  to 
the  most  fertile  results.  It  follows  from  them,  among  other  things, 
that  narrations  of  events  must  be  estimated,  not  merely  by  their 
own  intrinsic  degree  of  credibility,  but  also  by  the  whole  position 
of  the  narrator  ;  a  principle  which  had  formerly  been  applied, 
only  where  the  veracity,  or  want  of  veracity,  in  an  author  was 


NIEBUHR  AS  AN  HISTORIAN.  541 

already  generally  acknowledged.  Further,  that  some  fragments 
of  an  account,  accidentally  preserved,  and  overlooked  or  rejected 
by  later  writers,  may  contain  the  truth  in  far  greater  purity,  than 
a  detailed  narration  which  has  come  down  to  us  in  its  integrity. 
To  seize  the  true  meaning,  and  supply  the  deficiencies  of  such  a 
fragment — from  which  Niebuhr  sometimes  extracted  the  most 
astonishing  results — certainly  demanded  his  delicate  appreciation 
of  style,  a^id  his  power  of  divination.  In  the  way  in  which  he 
sometimes  brought  some  important  relation  to  light  from  a  few 
mutilated  lines,  he  resembled  such  a  naturalist  as  Cuyier,  who 
from  the  fragments  of  a  bone,  determined  the  conformation  of  an 
extinct  species  of  animals. 

But  Niebuhr  was  no  less  pre-eminently  qualified  for  the  polit- 
ical part  of  his  task.  He  had  early  entered  the  invaluable  school 
of  public  life,  where  he  had  acquired  an  unusually  keen  and 
penetrating  eye  for  all  political  relations,  and  where  many  things 
came  within  the  circle  of  his  personal  experience  that  can  never 
be  learned  from  books.  He  made  himself  acquainted  with  the 
most  various  spheres  of  action  ;  scarcely  any  thing  which  could 
be  rendered  instructive  from  any  point  of  view,  was  without  in- 
terest to  his  ever  eager  thirst  for  knowledge.  Hence  he  was  able 
to  take  a  practical  and  technical  view  of  subjects,  which  most 
learned  men  know  only  by  name,  or  from  superficial  descriptions. 

Thus  he  made  far  higher  demands  than  most  on  archaeology, 
or  a  knowledge  of  the  conditions  and  circumstances  of  the  nations 
of  antiquity.  That  bare  acquaintance  with  particular  usages  or 
forms,  unaccompanied  by  insight  into  their  meaning,  with  which 
the  merely  book-learned  content  themselves,  went  for  very  little 
with  him  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  strove  to  attain  such  a  conception 
of  ancient  institutions,  that  their  mutual  dependence,  their  appli- 
cation, their  practical  working  seemed  to  be  preserved,  in  all  their 
living  activity,  to  his  eyes.  In  accounts  where  his  predecessors, 
who  had  made  no  such  demands,  had  found  no  difficulties,  no- 
thing problematic,  he  encountered  chasms,  difficulties,  impossibil- 
ities. In  the  attempt  to  remove  these,  and  to  form  to  himself  a 
consistent  picture  of  the  whole,  he  was  often  compelled  to  forsake 
established  opinions,  and  to  throw  out  new  hypotheses,  which  he 
was  enabled  by  the  rich  variety  of  his  learning,  the  acuteness  of 
his  criticism,  and  his  genius  for  combination,  to  suggest  and  main- 
tain. Criticism  here  showed  itself  as  not  merely  negative,  but 


542  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

as  the  stimulant  and  assistant  to  creative  energy,  while  a  vivid 
imagination  helped  the  author  to  perfect  his  production.  For 
imagination,  if  understood,  not  in  the  sense  of  an  absolutely  un- 
fettered invention,  but  as  the  gift  of  restoring  distinct  outlines  and 
coloring  to  dim  and  faded  forms,  is  as  essential  to  the  historical 
inquirer  as  to  the  poet,  who  does  not  decorate  the  materials  fur- 
nished by  history  at  his  own  free-will,  but  colors  the  given  out- 
lines, according  to  conditions  involved  in  their  very  nature. 

The  great  and  excellent  qualities  of  Niebuhr's  historiography 
grew  from  the  same  roots,  which  by  a  certain  inward  necessity 
produced  the  defects  which  may  be  laid  to  its  charge  ;  they  are 
the  inevitable  shadow  which  accompanies,  and  exists  only  in  vir- 
tue of,  the  dazzling  light.  If  Niebuhr  sometimes  brought  forward 
too  daring  hypotheses  with  the  greatest  confidence,  it  was  be- 
cause he  was  carried  away  by  the  extraordinary  vividness  of  his 
conceptions  ;  if,  at  a  later  period,  he  nevertheless  exchanged  these 
opinions  for  others,  it  was  but  in  consequence  of  his  never- wearied 
enthusiasm  and  love  of  research  ;  if  his  narrative  is  often  inter- 
rupted and  disturbed  by  long  disquisitions,  the  cause  must  be 
sought  in  the  power  and  importance  of  the  analytical  and  critical 
element,  which  according  to  Niebuhr's  method,  necessarily  formed 
the  chief  basis  of  his  History.  And  the  same  cause  necessarily 
occasioned  the  inequality  of  his  style  and  language. 

The  writers  who  were  incited  through  the  influence  of  Niebuhr 
to  new  researches  into  the  Roman  history,  occupy  very  different 
positions  in  relation  to  him.  With  some,  reverence,  admiration, 
and  agreement  preponderate.  Among  these  is  your  fellow-coun- 
tryman, Dr.  Arnold,  who,  had  a  longer  life  been  granted  him, 
would  no  doubt  have  been  the  most  worthy  to  carry  forward  the 
immortal  work.  Others  concede  to  Niebuhr  only  a  certain  por- 
tion of  his  results,  and  set  up  other  views  in  opposition  to  the  re- 
mainder ;  others  again  controvert  almost  all  his  opinions.  But 
all,  with  very  rare  exceptions,  are  standing  on  his  ground  ;  they 
have  appropriated  to  themselves  his  critical  method,  and  are  fight- 
ing a  great  author  with  weapons  which  they  have  borrowed  from 
himself.  I  share  the  conviction  of  many  very  clear-sighted  men, 
that  the  most  important  of  Niebuhr's  results  with  regard  to  the 
earlier  portion  of  the  history  of  Rome,  will  remain  as  an  enduring 
possession  to  science.  But  supposing,  even,  that  all  the  positive 
results  of  these  researches  proved  untenable,  it  would  still  be  a 


NIEBUHR  AS  AN  HISTORIAN.  543 

great  and  glorious  victory  that  his  very  antagonists  had  been  forced 
to  adopt  his  method  :  this  method  alone  would  secure  a  high  po- 
sition in  all  ages  for  Niehuhr's  efforts  in  the  development  of 
science. 

Inquiries  into  other  periods  have  also  yielded  fair  fruits  to  men 
who  have  prosecuted  them  after  his  example,  and  following  in  his 
footsteps ;  though  many  are  unaware  of  the  influence  of  this  model 
on  others,  and  even  on  themselves.  For  it  is  the  highest  victory 
of  a  new  method,  when  it  carries  away  with  it  a  man  of  intellect 
without  his  becoming  conscious  whence  the  tendency  which  he  is 
obeying  is  derived.  No  doubt,  many  would  shake  their  heads 
over  some  of  these  assertions,  and  would  say  that  the  principles 
of  criticism,  which  I  have  ascribed  to  Niebuhr,  had  long  been  ac- 
knowledged and  applied.  But  this  is  a  mistake  ;  they  confound 
the  presentiments  and  vague  intimations  of  the  right  method,  and 
an  occasional  application  of  it,  with  its  full  admission  into  science. 
It  would  be  easy  for  me  to  prove  this  by  a  series  of  examples,  did 
space  permit. 

LOEBELL. 

BONK,  3d  of  October,  1851. 


NIEBUHR  AS  A  DIPLOMATIST  IN  ROME.* 
BY  THE  CHEVALIER  BUNSEN. 

To  sketch  a  picture  of  Niebuhr's  life  in  Italy,  is  a  task  as  at- 
tractive as  it  is  difficult  to  the  friend  in  whose  inmost  soul  this 
picture  reposes  like  a  jewel  among  the  treasures  of  a  happy  and 
eventful  past.  Whether  it  can  ever  be  attempted  to  present  some- 
thing not  quite  unworthy  of  this  picture  and  this  past,  must,  like 
so  many  other  things,  be  left  to  futurity  and  fate.  That  it  can 
not  be  done  now,  is  as  certain  as,  that  if  it  could  be  done,  this  is 
not  the  place  for  it.  In  the  Introduction  prefixed  to  this  section 
of  the  letters,  by  the  friendly  hand  that  accompanied  this  great 
mind  with  faithfulness  and  affection  through  this  changeful  out- 
ward and  inward  life,  a  delineation  has  been  given  equally  digni- 
fied and  simple,  which  will  suffice  for  a  general  understanding  of 
his  history  during  the  embassy  in  Rome.  Enough  lies  before  us, 
in  this  collection  of  letters,  which  is  perhaps  the  most  valuable 
presented  to  the  world,  in  this  countiy  or  in  any  period  :  lastly, 
any  one  who  has  lived  in  the  present  age,  which  forms  the  setting 
to  this  remarkable  and  venerable  picture,  may  know  enough  of  it 
to  enable  him,  with  the  assistance  here  afforded,  to  trace  the  out- 
lines without  further  aid,  and  from  them  to  derive  a  fresh  insight 
into,  and  a  deeper  knowledge  of  himself  and  his  times.  But  it  is 
beyond  the  province  of  any  one  section  of  his  biography  to  fill  up 
these  outlines  into  a  complete  picture,  to  give  an  account  of  every 
single  feature,  of  every  accidental  circumstance,  of  every  apparent 
contradiction — to  exhibit  the  facts  in  connection  with  each  other, 
and  with  the  present  age.  Niebuhr's  intellect  and  inmost  life 
were  moulded  at  one  cast,  and  the  profoundest  explanations  of 
each  portion  lie  in  the  whole.  But  such  a  one  is  at  present,  in 
my  opinion,  quite  impossible.  Niebuhr's  inmost  life  is  more  in- 
timately connected  with  the  deepest  movements,  combinations, 
and  struggles  of  suffering  humanity  in  his  own  day,  than  that  of 

*  This  Essay  was  written  for  the  Lebensnachrichten,  where  it  will  be  found, 
vol.  iii.  p.  303. 


NIEBTTHR  AS  A  DIPLOMATIST  IN  ROME.  545 

any  other  great  writer  of  his  nation,  or,  I  venture  to  say,  of  his 
age.  «  He  felt  as  a  man,  and  sympathized  with,  observed,  and 
thought  for  his  fellow-men.  While  in  so  many  memoirs,  with 
which  the  present  age  is  inundated  and  the  future  is  intended  to 
be  deceived,  the  individual  endeavors  to  represent  himself  to  us  as 
the  centre  of  the  events  with  which  he  was  connected,  a  true  bio- 
graphy of  Niebuhr,  on  the  contrary,  would  exhibit  him  as  pro- 
foundly occupied  with  the  universal  weal  and  woe,  finding  solace 
and  light  upon  the  clear  mountain-summits  of  antiquity,  and  erect- 
ing his  rostra  amid  the  noblest  scenes  of  departed  ages.  It  is  a 
task  imperative  upon  his  future  biographer  to  trace  this  influence 
in  his  writings  as  in  his  life.  But  just  in  so  far  as  such  a  deline- 
ation would  bring  into  prominence  the  great  and  significant  feat- 
ures of  his  mind  and  life,  it  must  be  evident  that,  at  the  present 
time,  it  is  impossible  to  proclaim  that  verdict  upon  human  relations 
which  they  echo  to  the  age  just  fled,  and  to  the  present,  which 
will  soon  be  numbered  with-it.  Niebuhr  took  a  position  at  once 
decided  and  modest,  with  regard  to  these  times.  While  the  an- 
tiquity which  he  described  stood  before  his  mind's  eye  like  the 
present ;  so  the  present,  in  which  he  lived,  was  to  him  history, 
and,  in  all  essential  matters,  he  never  surrendered  himself  to  it  in 
any  other  sense  than  the  historian  does  to  the  past  ages,  on  which 
he  sits  in  judgment :  loving  it,  but  with  the  repressed  sorrow  of 
aspiration  ;  sympathizing  with  it,  but  not  enjoying  it ;  combating 
folly  and  wickedness,  but,  for  the  most  part,  without  any  expecta- 
tion of  benefiting  those  whom  he  judges ;  with  scarcely  a  hope 
of  victory  for  himself  and  the  friends  and  fellow-thinkers  to  whom 
he  utters  his  prophetic  cry :  yet,  with  all  this,  always  susceptible 
to  every  breath  of  life  that  blows  upon  him  in  the  sultry  atmosphere 
of  reality — thankful  for  every  glance  of  hope  that  casts  a  passing 
radiance  on  his  dark  and  weary  path.  From  such  visitations  he 
gathers  fresh  life ;  the  former  feeling  constantly  depresses  and 
paralyzes  him.  The  destiny  of  humanity,  the  welfare  of  his  fa- 
ther-land, and  the  fate  of  its  friends,  these  great  points,  without  ex- 
ternally influencing  his  personal  condition,  affect  him  not  less  than 
the  life  of  liis  own  friends  and  the  welfare  of  the  dear  ones  to  whom 
he  has  given  his  full  heart  of  love ;  and  if  he  expresses  himself 
less  frequently  and  fully  about  the  former  than  about  the  latter, 
or  for  long  together  suppresses  all  mention  of  them,  his  inward 
feeling  for  them  is  but  the  stronger  and  more  oppressive.  This  is 


546  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

the  key-note  which  vibrates  through  every  part  of  Niebuhr's  ma- 
ture life,  and  that  began  while  he  was  a  mere  youth. 

To  catch  this  tone  from  his  own  mouth,  documents  would  have 
to  be  printed  which  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  our  children  will  see ; 
nay,  if  we  were  but  to  follow  its  echo  through  the  extracts  from 
his  correspondence  now  lying  before  us,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
consider  relations  belonging  to  the  present  as  well  as  the  past,  and 
to  place  under  the  focus  of  history  those  confused  and  fluctuating, 
erroneous  and  false  representations  of  his  contemporaries,  which 
distressed  Niebuhr,  and  against  which  he  combated.  Let  him 
do  this  who  can.  Here  we  shall  not  even  attempt  to  give  a  pic- 
ture of  any  part  of  that  dark  and  mournful  section  of  his  life,  com- 
prising seven  years  and  a  half,  which  was  so  highly  unfavorable 
to  his  fertility  as  an  historian,  and  yet,  in  many  respects,  so  im- 
portant to  himself,  to  science,  and  the  world.  In  this  essay  we 
shall  only  endeavor  briefly  to  characterize  Niebuhr  as  a  diplomatist 
in  Rome — his  conduct  in  diplomatic  life,  and  his  views  of  the  re- 
lations themselves  which  lie  was  called  upon  to  discuss  and  regu- 
late, so  far  as  it  appears  necessary  to  an  understanding  and  justi- 
fication of  his  letters. 

Niebuhr's  views  of  the  diplomacy  and  diplomatic  life  of  our 
times,  were  by  no  means  ideal.  The  prevalence  of  hollow  phrases, 
instead  of  a  diplomatic  survey  of  each  circumstance  as  it  presents 
itself — the  growing  rarity  of  a  knowledge  of  civil  and  international 
law,  and  their  application  in  the  intercourse  of  nations,  with  the 
spread  of  general,  abstract  modes  of  speech,  open  to  the  miscon- 
structions of  caprice  and  the  passions  of  the  day — these  fancied 
miraculous  expedients  of  a  great  part  of  modern  diplomacy,  were 
not  less  repugnant  to  his  inmost  nature  than  were  the  inanity  and 
tedium  to  which  the  social  intercourse  of  the  higher  circle  in  most 
parts  of  Europe  is  condemned,  sometimes  by  fancied  notions  of 
propriety,  sometimes  by  irresistible  attraction  of  mutual  affinity. 
He  used  often  to  say,  in  jest,  "  The  name  diplomatist  is  a  striking 
proof  that  the  once  favorite  derivation  of  words  from  their  contraries 
(as  lucus  a  non  lucendo)  is  not  quite  to  be  rejected ;  for  it  is 
evident  that  the  greater  part  of  the  diplomatists  in  our  day  are 
only  called  so  because  they  do  not  know  how  to  read  a  diploma 
(a  non  legendo  diplomata).'' 

The  customary  diplomatic  mode  of  life  he  used  to  term  fuga 
vacui,  and  to  say  of  it  what  he  had  said  in  his  youth  of  the  great 


NIEBUHR  AS  A  DIPLOMATIST  IN  ROME.  547 

parties  at  the  otherwise  so  agreeable  house  of  his  amiahle  friend 
Count  Schimmelman,  and  which  any  one  who  chooses  may  hear 
from  his  own  lips.  Idle  talk  upon  matters  of  lofty  import,  and  a 
dwelling  with  pleasure  upon  trifling  topics,  were  equally  abhor- 
rent to  him.  I  shall  never  forget  how  Niebuhr  spoke  at  a  prince- 
ly table  in  Rome,  during  the  bloody  scenes  in  Greece,  of  Suli  and 
the  Suliots,  and  the  future  of  the  Christian  Hellenes,  in  much  the 
same  terms  as  he  has  spoken  to  posterity  in  a  passage  of  his  Roman 
history,  which  breathes  a  noble  indignation  and  a  sense  that  the 
brand  of  infamy  still  cleaves  to  us.  The  prince,  a  high-minded, 
amiable,  and  intelligent  man,  listened,  as  did  his  guests,  with  at- 
tention and  sympathy ;  a  serious  mood  seemed  to  come  over  the 
whole  party.  A  pause  occurred.  One  of  the  guests,  a  diplomatist 
of  Mephistophelian  aspect  and  species,  took  advantage  of  it  to  turn 
the  conversation.  One  of  the  eternally  repeated  trifles  of  the  day, 
a  so-called  piece  of  news  that  must  be  repeated  to  the  prince,  was 
skillfully  used  as  a  stepping-stone,  and  in  ten  minutes  the  whole 
table  was  alive  with  a  dispute  between  the  spokesman  and  another 
person  who  had  contradicted  him  upon  a  most  important  point : 
— what  "  Aurora"  signified  in  the  slang  of  the  Roman  coffee- 
houses, whether  a  mixture  of  chocolate  with  coffee  or  not.  Nie- 
buhr was  silent.  At  last,  with  quiet  earnestness  and  dignified 
mien,  he  spoke  these  words  : — "  What  heavy  chastisements  must 
be  still  in  store  for  us,  when,  in  such  times,  and  with  such  events 
occurring  around  us,  we  can  be  entertained  with  such  miserable 
trifles !"  All  were  mute,  and  Niebuhr  also ;  a  long  pause  ensued, 
and  the  mysteries  of  the  Cafe  Nuovo  and  the  dwarf  Bajocco  were 
not  mentioned  again  that  day. 

"  Those  were,  after  all,  different  times,"  he  would  say,  "  when 
Hugo  Grotius  lived  in  the  great  world  ;  indeed  we  might  be  well 
pleased  if  intellectual  conversations,  like  those  described  and  hand- 
ed down  to  us  from  the  times  of  Louis  XIV.  and  his  successors  up 
to  the  French  Revolution,  were  not  banished  from  our  diplomatic 
dinners  as  de  mauvais  ton.  Who  was  ashamed  then  to  speak  of 
an  important  intellectual  production  as  of  ,an  event  ? — to  express 
his  enjoyment  of  literature,  his  interest  in  intellectual  life  ?  The 
taste  of  that  age  was  not  indeed  worth  much,  but  it  was  at  least 
a  sign  of  life.  There  are,  however,  good  and  sufficient  reasons 
for  the  phenomenon :  much  is  owing  to  the  alternation  of  political 
excitement  and  exhaustion,  much  to  the  endless  divisions  and  di- 


548  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTJHR. 

versions  of  society  and  to  the  prominence  of  the  politics  of  the  day, 
and  yet  on  this  topic  very  few  can  go  beyond  the  hollow  phrases 
of  our  time,  and  no  one  will  talk  except  in.  a  tete-a-tete."  The 
ostentation,  the  extravagance,  and  the  ruinous  habit  of  contracting 
debts  necessarily  involved  in  such  a  mode  of  life,  were  naturally 
not  less  intolerable  to  him.  "  Where  will  all  this  end,"  he  often 
exclaimed,  "  but  with  the  universal  bankruptcy  toward  which 
Europe  is  tending  in  the  first  general  crisis  ?"  "  No  diplomatist 
should  lay  by  a  penny  of  the  salary  which  he  receives  in  order 
to  do  honor  to  his  country  in  his  station,  and  to  show  hospitality 
to  his  countrymen,"  was  another  of  sayings  :  "  with  most  there  is 
little  danger  of  this ;  but  no  one  has  a  right  to  demand  of  him 
that  he  should  spend  his  own  property  in  addition,  least  of  all  for 
such  objects." 

The  sacrifices  he  entailed  upon  himself  by  such  views — and 
views  were  with  him  inflexible  principles  and  maxims  of  life,  a 
confession — the  annoyances  that  awaited  him,  the  misconstructions, 
nay  slanders,  to  which  he  exposed  himself,  were  by  no  means  un- 
known to  him  when  he  decided  upon  accepting  the  embassy  to 
Rome.  But  he  had  probably  not  fully  realized  what  an  oppressive 
influence  they  would  actually  exercise  upon  him,  a  pressure  like 
that  of  a  sultry  and  unhealthy  atmosphere.  It  must,  however,  be 
remembered  that  he  had  never  reckoned  upon  remaining  more 
than  three  or  four  years  absent  from  Germany.  A  wide  sphere 
of  activity  was  not  only  in  itself  as  much  a  necessity  to  his  mind, 
as  leisure  for  tire  investigation  and  representation  of  antiquity  in 
a  circle  of  beloved  sympathizing  friends  or  fellow- workers ;  he  had 
been  used  to  it  from  his  youth  up,  and  even  his  most  learned  in- 
vestigations were  based  upon  the  contemplation  of  those  public 
and  social  relations  which  are  more  or  less  perfectly  expressed  and 
mirrored  in  the  circles  of  diplomatic  life.  I  believe  I  may  venture 
to  say  that  no  eminent  practical  statesman  in  Europe,  whose  name 
will  be  mentioned  with  honor  after  his  death,  ever  left  Niebuhr 
after  a  conversation  upon  either  past  or  present  political  relations, 
without  the  highest  respect  for  his  intellect  and  heart ;  in  fact  I 
have  never  heard  the  most  distinguished  of  them  speak  of  him 
but  with  admiration  of  his  intellect  and  knowledge,  and  reverence 
for  his  exalted  sentiments,  however  much  they  might  differ  from 
him  in  social  habits  or  national  views.  This  frank  appreciation 
of  Niebuhr  by  distinguished  statesmen  gave  great  pleasure,  al- 


NIEBUHR  AS  A  DIPLOMATIST  IN  EOME.  549 

though  it  sometimes  pained  him  to  find  himself  better  understood, 
and  his  views  regarded  with  greater  sympathy  in  England  and 
France,  than  in  Germany  and  among  Germans. 

His  motto,  "  Tecum  fiabita"  his  own  ill  health,  and  still  more 
that  of  his  wife,  together  with  his  limited  means,  kept  him  from 
living  in  an  expensive  manner,  and  led  him  to  take  no  larger  a 
share  in  the  diplomatic  parties  and  festivities  than  was  rendered 
necessary  by  his  position,  or  might  be  or  appear  conducive  to  the 
service  of  the  King  and  the  objects  of  his  mission.  And  in  this 
respect  Niebuhr  recognized. the  peculiar  advantages  afforded  by 
Rome  for  his  habits  and  views  of  life.  What  in  other  capitals 
and  courts  is  a  necessity  (although  not  to  the  extent  it  is  said  to 
be),  the  joining  in  the  social  whirl  that  involves  still  more  loss  of 
time  than  money,  and  deadens  the  intellect  still  more  than  it 
wastes  the  time,  is  in  Rome  of  no  political  importance  whatever. 
"  What  a  blessing  it  is,"  he  used  to  say  in  his  merry  moods,  "  that 
there  are  no  court  ladies  here  ;  it  is  so  difficult  for  me  to  discover 
one  from  another."  He  generally  declined  the  invitations  of  for- 
eigners of  distinction,  because  he  could  not  return  them ;  this 
hindered  him  from  forming  family  connections,  but  not  from  in- 
tercourse with  the  distinguished  men  who  sought  his  society.  He 
never  frequented  entertainments  among  the  Italians ;  he  was  to  a 
certain  extent  glad  that  that  nation  who  bore  so  little  resemblance 
to  their  great  forefathers,  had  not  the  remotest  suspicion  that  the 
historian  of  Rome  and  the  greatest  scholar  of  the  age  was  living 
in  the  midst  of  them.  He  was  much  obliged  to  them  for  leaving 
him  in  peace  as  a  quiet  "  filosofo,"  and  contenting  themselves  with 
occasionally  imparting  instruction  to  him.  In  reference  to  the  in- 
struction thus  imparted  in  long  calls  and  similar  molestations,  he 
used  to  say,  "  We  do  the  Romans  injustice  when  we  say  that  not 
a  true  word  comes  out  of  their  mouth  ;  they  say  at  least  one  true 
thing  in  every  call,  namely  their  farewell  formula,  '  adesso  lc  livrb 
I'incotnmodo.'  " 

During  the  first  part  of  his  stay  he  was  ready  to  associate  with 
the  scholars  of  Rome,  properly  so  called,  in  their  own  peculiar 
sphere,  and  it  was  enough  for  him  to  learn  that  Nibby  (a  young 
man  alluded  to  in  one  of  the  foregoing  letters,  from  Rome)  was 
studying  Greek  for  the  sake  of  carrying  on  antiquarian  researches, 
an  unheard-of  circumstance  at  that  time  among  the  professed  an- 
tiquarians, to  induce  him  to  invite  him  frequently  in  the  evenings, 


550  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

and  encourage  him  in  his  labors.  But  even  this  connection  with 
the  learned  men  of  influence  was  not  of  long  continuance.  How 
much  sympathy  and  enthusiasm  real  Italian  genius  inspired  in 
Niebuhr,  and  what  a  deep  feeling  he  had  for  its  peculiar  greatness 
and  elegance,  was  displayed  most  touchingly  when  he  met  with 
Count  Giacomo  Leopardi.  I  still  remember  the  day  when  he  entered 
with  unwonted  vivacity  the  office  in  which  I  was  writing,  and 
exclaimed,  "  I  must  drive  out  directly  to  seek  out  the  greatest  phi- 
lological genius  of  Italy  that  I  have  as  yet  heard  of,  and  make  his 
acquaintance.  Just  look  at  the  man's  critical  remarks  upon  the 
Chronicles  of  Eusebius.  What  acuteness  !  what  real  erudition  ! 
I  have  never  seen  any  thing  like  it  before  in  this  country.  I  must 
see  the  man."  In  two  hours  he  came  back.  "  I  found  him  at 
last,  with  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  in  a  garret  of  the  Palazzi  Mat- 
tei ;  instead  of  a  man  of  mature  age,  I  found  a  youth  of  two  or 
three  and  twenty,  deformed,  weakly,  and  who  has  never  had  a 
good  teacher,  but  has  fed  his  intellect  upon  the  books  of  his  grand- 
father in  his  father's  house,  at  Ricanati ;  has  read  the  classics  and 
the  heathens  ;  is  at  the  same  time,  as  I  hear,  one  of  the  first  poets 
and  writers  of  his  nation,  and  is  withal  poor,  neglected,  and  evi- 
dently depressed.  One  sees  in  him  what  genius  this  richly  endowed 
nation  possesses."  Capei  has  given  a  pleasing  and  true  descrip- 
tion of  the  astonishment  experienced  by  both  the  great  men  at 
their  first  meeting ;  of  the  tender  affection  with  which  Niebuhr 
regarded  him,  and  all  that  he  did  for  him.  This  and  the  subse- 
quent fate  of  this  great  and  noble-minded  man,  who  ended  his 
joyless  life  in  1837,  do  not  belong  here  ;  but  the  trait  we  have 
mentioned  is  characteristic  of  Niebuhr's  social  life  in  Rome,  and 
important  for  the  prevention  of  misunderstandings  which  might  be 
occasioned  by  isolated  passages  in  his  letters.  Especially  charac- 
teristic, however,  was  his  affection  and  concern  for  the  Prussian 
and  German  disciples  of  art  and  science  who  were  in  Rome  with 
him.  He  considered  it  as  his  duty,  and  an  agreeable  part  of  his 
vocation  to  render  them  assistance,  to  encourage  and  further  them 
in  their  studies,  and  to  devote  to  them  the  time  of  which  he  was 
so  sparing  toward  men  of  mere  show  and  fashion.  To  Niebuhr 
belongs  the  glory  of  having  been  the  first  to  recognize  the  men 
who  have  founded  the  German  historical  school  of  painting  ;  which 
after  philosophy,  poetry,  and  philology,  is  of  all  the  manifestations 
of  the  German  mind  of  this  epoch,  the  most  important  to  the  his- 


NIEBUHR  AS  A  DIPLOMATIST  IN  ROME.  551 

tory  of  humanity ;  of  having  loved  them  ;  of  having  encouraged 
them  with  a  devoted  friendship  as  modest  as  it  was  generous,  and 
rendered  them  pecuniary  assistance  when  necessary.  They  are 
now  appreciated  and  admired  both  in  their  own  country  and 
abroad ;  at  that  time  they  were  the  martyrs  of  an  exalted  and 
noble  aspiration  that  had  to  fight  its  way  through  the  wickedness 
not  less  than  the  shallowness  of  the  times,  and  against  which,  the 
low  and  false  taste  of  the  leading  connoisseurs  and  patrons  of  art 
of  that  day,  had  joined  in  a  conspiracy  with  the  licentiousness  and 
incapacity  of  most  of  the  artists.  Niebuhr  recognized  in  these 
associations  of  men  like  Cornelius,  Overbeck,  Philip  Veit,  and  Wil- 
liam Schadow,  aspirations  which  had  hitherto  given  but  few  out- 
ward signs  of  their  existence,  a  fresh  impulse  closely  connected 
in  essence  with  the  other  great  movements  of  the  nation — of  that 
re-awakened  and  life-begetting  genius  of  Germany,  which  had 
formed  Lessing,  Kant,  and  Goethe — had  prepared  a  new  spiritual 
epoch  of  humanity  by  means  of  a  profounder  philosophy  and  a 
living  historical  science ;  and  finally,  had  animated  the  noblest 
minds,  and  through  them  the  whole  nation,  with  a  self-sacrificing 
public  spirit,  and  had  led  them,  amidst  national  songs  and  hymns, 
with  joy  and  faith,  to  battle  and  to  death,  for  the  cause  of  their 
king  and  their  father-land.  The  remembrance  of  1813  was  still 
warm  in  every  heart  when  Niebuhr  came  to  Rome,  as  it  was  in 
him  to  his  last  hour.  The  modern  German  art,  the  only  one  which 
deserves  this  name,  came  into  being  at  the  same  time,  after  simi- 
lar mental  struggles  ;  and  though  it  arose  in  a  foreign  land,  yet  it 
was  impressed  with  the  spirit  of  the  nation,  and  labored  in  its 
service.  That  this  school  alone  had  struck  out  the  right  path,  and 
was  pursuing  the  proper  aim,  could  not  but  be  recognized  by  him 
who  had  already  so  early  perceived  and  admired  in  the  great  his- 
torical artists  from  Giotto  to  Raphael,  the  compeers  of  the  ancient 
Hellenic  schools  of  art — brethren  in  spirit  of  Dante  and  Goethe. 
In  spite  of  the  individual  defects  and  incompleteness  of  the  early 
works  of  this  modern  school,  Niebuhr  perceived  in  its  founders 
and  their  productions,  the  vital  principle  which  animated  them  in 
their  opposition  to  the  spirit  of  the  age,  and  had  confidence  in  that 
creative  power  which  had  united  itself  with  clear  insight  and  a 
determined  will.  To  this  faith  he  adhered  with  unshaken  firm- 
ness, and  on  it  he  acted  at  a  time  when  the  germ  from  which  he 
expected  and  announced  a  great  and  historically  important  devel- 


552  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

opment  was  wholly  unknown  or  unappreciated  in  Germany,  while 
in  Rome  it  was  despised,  derided,  and  vituperated,  as  it  would  he 
even  now  in  many  parts  of  his  own  country,  if  men  dared  to  give 
vent  to  their  secret  aversion.  This  recognition  of  a  spiritual  phe- 
nomenon in  its  first  heginnings,  is  one  of  the  numerous  and  most 
remarkable  prophetic  traits  in  Niehuhr's  mind,  and  all  the  more 
striking,  because  of  all  spiritual  phenomena,  none  lay  further  from 
him,  judging  from  his  peculiar  cast  of  mind  and  the  history  of  his 
life,  than  the  arts  of  painting  and  sculpture.  It  is  not  only  mer- 
itorious but  worthy  of  fame  in  after  ages,  when  the  powerful  ones 
of  the  earth  protect  and  encourage  the  great  and  noble  productions 
of  science  and  art ;  but  it  is  a  much  rarer  and  more  blessed  thing 
— only  given  to  the  open  eye  of  genius,  and  to  the  quiet  and  hum- 
bly-listening ear  of  a  noble-minded  man,  to  recognize  greatness  in 
its  bitter  root,  in  its  harsh  and  repulsive  husk,  and  to  tend  the 
future  all-conquering  genius  with  love  and  reverence,  when  his 
young  pinions  lie  as  yet  folded  in  inactivity.  When,  further,  such 
a  faculty  is  found  at  an  advanced  period  of  life — in  a  state  ol 
mental  depression,  when  the  magic  of  youth  has  vanished,  the 
bloom  of  life  faded,  the  eye,  to  use  a  touching  expression  of  Nie- 
buhr's,  is  filled  with  sand  ;  then  such  an  enthusiasm  as  Niebuhr 
experienced  and  expressed,  and  unalterably  retained  for  those 
efforts,  becomes  worthy  of  all  reverence.  Certainly,  and  very 
naturally,  this  enthusiasm  took  a  personal  character ;  Niebuhr 
knew  no  other,  because  he  believed  in  no  spiritual  power  apart 
from  personality,  and  looked  upon  all  else  as  only  its  embryo,  or 
husk,  or  scoria  ;  but  Niebuhr  did  not  love  the  art  because  he  had 
a  blind  personal  love  for  those  who  confessed  and  sought  to  estab- 
lish it ;  he  loved  its  disciples,  because  he  recognized  that  which 
they  adored,  to  be  true  art,  living  and  putting  forth  proofs  of  its 
power  in  them.  A  personal  prepossession  might,  perhaps,  have 
been  able  to  blind  him  for  a  time,  but  the  delusion  would  soon 
have  found  its  own  punishment,  and  the  undeserved  favor  have 
been  changed  into  decided  aversion.  This  distinction  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  in  order  not  to  misunderstand  Niebuhr  :  he  hated 
what  he  considered  as  evil  with  conscientious  vehemence,  but  he 
loved  what  he  deemed  worthy  of  love  with  passion,  and  what  is 
rarely  united  with  it,  constancy. 

Such  were  Niebuhr's  views  of  diplomatic  life,  and  such  was 
his  own  life  as  a  diplomatist.     Who  could  wish  that  he  should 


NIEBUHR  AS  A  DIPLOMATIST  IN  ROME.  553 

have  applied  differently  the  leisure  that  remained  to  him  for 
social  intercourse  ?  How  many  still  bless  him  to  whom  he 
devoted  this  leisure  in  order  to  elevate  their  minds,  to  purify 
their  hearts,  to  warn  them  against  the  perils  of  the  age,  to  be  a 
brother  and  a  father  to  them  in  counsel  and  deed  ?  And  who 
of  the  rest  would  now  thank  him  for  having  invited  them  to 
balls  and  dinners  ?  Niebuhr,  however,  was  extremely  ready  to 
show  honor  and  hospitality  to  all  his  countrymen,  according  to 
his  ability,  when  he  was  not  repelled  in  the  first  instance  by 
vulgar  arrogance ;  this  was  the  case  sometimes,  and  to  this  refer 
expressions  such  as  those  of  the  7th  of  Aprilt  1821  (p.  407) ;  but 
he  never  experienced  any  thing  of  the  kind  from  foreigners. 
Once  during  the  time  he  was  in  office  he  had  occasion  to  give  a 
great  entertainment ;  it  was  on  the  visit  of  the  Chancellor  of 
State,  Prince  Hardenberg,  in  1821.  Its  object  was,  to  make  the 
Prince  acquainted  with  the  Roman  nobility,  and  the  rest  of  the 
high  society  in  Rome,  and  at  the  same  time  to  present  his  coun- 
trymen to  him.  Niebuhr  could  not  bring  himself  to  give  a  ball. 
It  was,  therefore,  necessary  to  contrive  a  musical  entertainment. 
Niebuhr  abhorred  the  modern  Italian  operatic  music.  It  seemed 
to  him  appropriate  to  have  the  music  which  is  peculiar  to  Rome, 
and  is  unlike  any  thing  else  in  the  world,  performed  before  the 
Chancellor;  this  was  all  the  more  natural,  as  it  is  considered  a 
part  of  bon  toil  throughout  Europe,  that  every  foreigner  should 
have  heard  the  celebrated  singing  in  the  Sistinc  Chapel  during 
Passion  week,  although  most  of  these  hearers  do  not  care  the 
least  about  the  matter  in  their  hearts,  but  hate  it  as  much  as  the 
modern  composers  despise  it ;  like  Voltaire,  who  smiles  supercil- 
iously at  the  Iliad.  A  few  weeks  before,  he  had  had  the  same 
music  performed  for  his  former  cliff  and  warm  friend,  the  noble 
Baron  Stein  (see  p.  404),  which  had  made  a  deep  impression 
upon  the  two  friends — who  were  both  in  general  comparatively 
insensible  to  the  influence  of  musio — as  well  as  upon  the  assem- 
bled company.  The  idea  was,  therefore,  carried  out  on  the  pres- 
ent occasion,  with  augmented  appliances.  Prince  Christian  of 
Denmark,  and  his  consort,  honored  the  festival  with  their  pres- 
ence. The  conversation  which  preceded  the  music  waa  very 
animated  ;  the  arrangement  and  entertainment  received  applause. 
But  when  afterward,  the  gay  assemblage  repaired  to  the  brilliant- 
ly lighted  saloon  of  the  palace,  where  the  choir  awaited  them  in 

AA 


554  MEMOIR  OF  N1EBUHR. 

a  gallery  in  the  back-ground,  and  suddenly  sixteen  singers  from 
the  Chapel  filled  the  apartment  with  the  sublime  strains  of 
another  world,  the  assembly  was  evidently  seized  with  a  peculiar 
feeling.  Many  grew  quite  uneasy  when  speech  suddenly  died  on 
the  lips ;  jests  and  playfulness  found  no  response  ;  some  were 
positively  driven  out  of  the  saloon  and  the  house  by  the  serious 
turn  which  the  affair  had  taken,  and  all  found  in  a  different 
mood  from  that  in  which  they  had  entered  the  room,  or  which 
they  had  anticipated.  The  satisfaction  of  the  Prince  and  Prin- 
cess, and  the  joyful  thanks  of  several  fellow-countrymen  and  a 
few  foreigners,  rewarded  Niebuhr  for  the  ungrateful  task  of 
providing  a  more  worthy  entertainment  for  his  guests  than  they 
were  used  to,  and  for  the  mortification  of  being  reminded  by  the 
ill-humor  of  others  of  a  certain  scriptural  lesson  respecting  pearls. 
Had  Niebuhr  wanted  any  further  consolation,  he  would  have 
been  amply  satisfied  by  the  circumstance,  that  in  the  following 
year  his  King  expressly  requested  that  this  music  might  be  per- 
formed before  him  at  the  entertainment  given  him  by  Cardinal 
Gonsalvi,  on  which  occasion  the  company  was  never  weary  of 
praising  the  music  and  the  taste  of  the  selector. 

In  the  foregoing  letters  Niebuhr  briefly  mentions  having  re- 
ceived the  grand  cross  of  the  Leopold  Order  from  the  Emperor  of 
Austria.  The  cause  of  this  mark  of  distinction  deserves  to  be 
more  particularly  mentioned.  •  When  the  van  of  the  imperial 
army  had  reached  Rome  by  forced  marches,  and  an  instant 
attack  on  tho  passes  of  Antrodoro  appeared  to  be  the  surest  means 
of  putting  an  immediate  and  bloodless  end  to  the  .Neapolitan 
revolution,  the  military  chests  were  found  to  be  exhausted.  Some 
hundred  thousands  of  florins  were  absolutely  necessary  if  opera- 
tions were  to  be  carried  on.  The  house  of  Torlonia,  to  whom 
application  was  made,  declared  themselves  ready  to  advance  the 
sum  if  Niebuhr  would  give  bills  for  the  amount. on  the  Seehand- 
lung  in  Berlin.  The  imperial  embassador  laid  the  state  of  the 
case  before  him.  Niebuhr  recognized  its  urgency,  and  undertook 
the  responsibility  without  hesitation ;  nay,  in  order  to  obtain  the 
full  amount  desired,  he  took  up  a  considerable  sum,  on  his  own 
personal  credit,  from  the  Prussian  consul-general  Valeritini.  By 
this  means  the  business  was  settled  in  a  few  days,  and  the  pro- 
gress of  the  undertaking  secured.  The  government  at  Berlin 
sanctioned  the  proceeding  of  their  envoy,  and  the  Emperor  ex- 


NIEBUHR  AS  A  DIPLOMATIST  IN  ROME.  655 

pressed  his  gratitude  by  the  above-mentioned  mark  of  distinc- 
tion. 

But  we  must  hasten  to  conclude  our  sketch  of  Niebuhr's  di- 
plomatic life,  if  we  are  not  to  exceed  our  intended  limits.     Before 
we  proceed  to  the  second  part  of  these  notices,  we  wish  to  say  a 
few  words  about  Niebuhr  a»  a  diplomatic  man  of  business.     Few 
men  of  so  much  genius  have  ever  conducted  business  with  such 
order.     Niebuhr's  conscientiousness  affected  in  a  higher  sphere 
what  in  others  is  done  by  habit  and  outward  rules.     His  business 
style  was  peculiar  without  being  doctrinnaire ;  his  reports  and 
notes  will  always  appear,  to  us  at  least,  a  model  of  clear  and 
business-like  writing,  unless  we  are  to  take  the  clumsiness  of  the 
usual  German  business  style,  and  the  hollow  poverty  of  the  ordi- 
nary diplomatic  notes  as  our  ideal.    Those  who  only  know  Niebuhr's 
style  from  his  writings,  would  be  inclined  to  expect  too  great  brev- 
ity, and  a  somewhat  obscure  conciseness,  but  quite  erroneously. 
The  statement  is  throughout  flowing  and  easy,  purely  business- 
like and  addressed  to  the  practical  statesman  ;  although  as  some 
one  has  naively  .remarked  of  his  conversation,  one  must  take 
care  not  to  let  one's  attention  be  distracted.     His  political  me- 
morials are  unequaled  models  of  statesman-like  writing^  even 
apart  from  their  varied  and  weighty  contents..    Their  straight- 
forwardness and  frankness  give  a  faithful  representation  of  the 
manner  in  which  Niebuhr  constantly  applied  his  rich  treasures 
of  knowledge,  experience,  and  reflection  to  the  requirements  of 
the  present,  kept  the  universal  war  in  view,  and  brought  all 
that  occurred  to  him  in  the  progress  of  his  own  development  to 
bear  upon  the  welfare  of  his  father-land.     A  time  will  come  when 
the  circumstances  treated  of  in  those  reports  and  memorials  will 
become  a  matter  of  history,  and  most  of  the  contemporary  diplo- 
matic papers  will  be  left  to  moulder  in  oblivion.     Not  till  then 
will  it  be  really  known  what  Niebuhr  was.     His  written  narra- 
tives and  expositions  were  also  a  faithful  picture  of  the  manner  in 
which  he  conducted  verbal  negotiations  and  deliberations.,     The 
greatest  honesty  appeared  to  him  the  highest  wisdom,  assuming 
that  the  negotiator  is  perfectly  acquainted  with  his  own  wishes 
and  claims,  and  as  much  so  as  possible  with  the  aims  and  pow- 
ers of  the  other  party.     "With  this  principle  Niebuhr  commenced 
his  career  in  Rome,  and  never  forsook  it ;  and,  if  we  may  judge 
from  the  results,  never  had  cause  to  repent  of  his  fidelity  to  it. 


556  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBT7HR. 

This  naturally  leads  us  to  the  second  point  on  which  a  few 
hints  and  explanations  seem  indispensably  necessary ;  namely,  Nie- 
buhr's  views  respecting  the  negotiations  with  Rome,  and  the.  rela- 
tions of  Protestant  governments  in  general  to  the  papal  chair. 
Even  during  his  lifetime  Niebuhr  was  censured  and  misunder- 
stood by  some  of  his  early  friends,  on  account  of  his  views  on  this 
subject;  and  it  may  be  foreseen  that  now,  when  that  point  has 
become  one  of  the  vital  questions  of  the  day,  nothing  will  be  left 
untried,  particularly  by  the  opposite  party,  on  the  one  hand,  to 
bring  him  into  opposition  with  himself,  or  with  the  government 
which  he  served  with  all  the  powers  of  his  mind  and  soul ;  and 
on  the  other  to  weaken,  by  calumnies,  the  testimony  of  the  first 
historian  "of  Europe  respecting  that  of  which  he  was  a  witness. 
Some  might,  for  instance,  attempt  to  infer  from  the  expressions 
in  the  letter  to  Perthes  of  September,  1815,  (p.  296),  that  he  had 
submitted  to  become  the  organ  and  defender  of  a  system  of  gov- 
ernment, with  reference  to  the  Romish  Church,  that  in  his  con- 
science he  disapproved.  To  obviate  this  and  similar  misconcep- 
tions, and  to  give  a  correct  idea  of  Niebuhr's  position  in  Rome,  is 
the  sole  object  of  the  following  remarks,  and  will  form  a  sufficient 
justification  of  him  to  every  unprejudiced  person. 

That  letter  to  Perthes  is  certainly  a  most  remarkable  one.  It 
is  written  in  the  period  succeeding  Amelia's  death,  in  which  Nie- 
buhr  was  living,  as  it  were,  in  the  presence  of  the  loved  departed 
one  ;  his  heart  was  full  of  sorrowful  affection,  free  from  bitterness 
or  violence,  but  also  without  hope  or  care  for  the  concerns  of  this 
life.  This  state  of  mind  often  allows  his  prophetic  gift  with  re- 
gard to  his  own  future  to  appear  with  peculiar  prominence,  and 
those  lines  exhibit  a  very  striking  instance  of  it.  But  to  under- 
stand rightly  what  he  there  says  of  the  conflict  with  his  convic- 
tions in  which  his  official  duties  in  Rome  would  place  him,  we 
should  first  look  at  the  extremely  important  letter  to  Mrs.  Hen- 
sler,  of  the  15th  of  October,  1815  (p.  299),  which  develops  his 
ideas  more  clearly.  Then,  too,  it  must  be  remembered,  that  Nie- 
buhr  had  not  at  that  time  received  his  instructions,  which  were 
not  sent  to  him  till  the  summer  of  1820,  after  he  had  been  learn- 
ing the  position  of  affairs  in  Rome,  from  personal  observation,  for 
nearly  four  years,  and  fully  expressed  his  views  in.  all  respects  to 
his  government,  and  corrie  to  an  understanding  with  them ;  so 
that  the  dispatches  which  reached  him  at  last  may  be  said  to 


-      NIEBUHR  AS  A  DIPLOMATIST  IN  ROME.  557 

have  been  the  result  of  this  understanding.  Much  light  is  thrown 
upon  these  circumstances  by  the  confidential  expression  of  his 
wishes  and  counsels,  with  regard  to  some  leading  principles,  con- 
tained in  the  important  and  beautiful  letter  to  Nicolovius  of  the 
22d  of  January,  1817  (p.  336).  His  expressions  on  the  termina- 
tion of  the  negotiations  are  not  less  conclusive  against  such  a  sup- 
position, as  may  be  seen  by  comparing  the  passage  (March  28, 
1821),  with  the  terms  in  which  he  speaks  of  what  had  been 
accomplished.  See  pp.  351  and  352,  written  in  June  and  July 
of  the  same  year. 

In  order,  however,  to  understand  all  such  expressions  as  those 
here  referred  to,  as  fully  as  every  reader  would  wish  to  do,  espe- 
cially at  the  present  moment,  it  is  necessary  to  give  a  general 
outline  of  Niebuhr's  position  with  regard  to  the  views  most  prev- 
alent in  Germany,  which  each  can  fill  up  afterward  for  himself. 
Niebuhr  has  stated  his  sentiments  on  this  subject  so  often,  and 
to  BO  many  by  word  of  mouth,  as  well  as  in  writing,  that  it  is 
scarcely  necessary  expressly  to  remark,  that  what  is  here  said 
flows  from  no  source  which  might  be  considered  as  belonging  to 
official  secrets,  though  its  amplification  would  have  to  be  sought 
in  Niebuhr's  dispatches  and  memorials. 

Niebuhr  found  two  views  prevailing  at  that  time  among  writ- 
ers as  well  as  public  men  respecting  the  relation  of  the  state  to 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  neither  of  which  satisfied  him,  but 
on  the  contrary  were  offensive  to  him  as  a  philosopher,  an  histo- 
rian, and  a  statesman,  inasmuch  as  they  appeared  to  him  to 
have  proceeded  from  the  decomposition  of  the  vital  elements  of 
the  Church  and  State,  and  to  be  a  consequence  of  the  decline  of 
sound  views  and  doctrines,  respecting  them.  I  will  here  only 
briefly  mention,  merely  for  the  sake  of  those  who  do  not  know  or 
do  not  understand  his  great  historical  work — and  such  it  must 
be  confessed  form  the  majority,  especially  in  Germany — that  Nie- 
buhr possessed  a  well-digested  view  of  the  State,  which  had  be- 
come a  living  picture  in  his  mind,  and  by  which  his  scattered 
expressions  respecting  history  and  public  affairs,  as  well  as  his 
whole  political  life,  are  to  be  interpreted.  It  was  this  idea  of  the 
State,  which  was  a  philosophical,  no  less  than  an  historical  and 
practical  one,  although  he  had  not  wrought  it  out  into  a  well- 
founded  and  complete  system,  which  he  as  a  youth  opposed  with 
healthy  aversion  to  the  negative  and  destructive  doctrines  and 


558  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTJHR. 

opinions  which  prevailed  at  that  time,  consciously  or  uncon- 
sciously, in  society  and  the  literary  world,  and  to  the  wide- 
spread jacobinism  which  he  utterly  abhorred.  It  was  essentially 
the  same  view  which  he  as  a  statesman  and  philosopher,  in  the 
full  feeling  of  his  superiority,  opposed,  now  with  a  smile  of  pity, 
now  with  indignant  rebuke,  to  the  shallow,  one-sided,  stubborn 
attempts  to  restore  political  science  by  means  of  the  crude  nega- 
tions of  jacobinism,  or  a  fe\V  elementary,  abstract,  pliant  propo- 
sitions. Now,  among  the  views  respecting  the  relative  position 
of  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  powers,  with  which  he  came  in  con- 
tact, that  one  was  especially  repugnant  to  him  which  teaches 
that  the  highest  wisdom  of  a  government  consists  in  exercising  a 
sort  of  minute  and  centralized  police  surveillance,  and  adminis- 
trative control  over  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Niebuhr  was 
firmly  convinced  of  the  contrary,  and  often  expressed  this  in  very 
strong  terms,  unconcerned,  as  it  became  such  a  man,  respecting 
the  laughable  misconceptions,  and  even  the  malicious  construc- 
tions, to  which  it  exposed  him.  The  limitation  of  this  oversight 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  to  the  preservation  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  State,  and  the  evidently  indispensable  protection 
of  the  government  against  an  unlimited  ecclesiastical  power,  ex- 
ternal to  the  national  life  and  the  commonwealth,  this,  which 
appeared  to  him  the  leading  fundamental  idea  of  the  existing 
laws,  and  the  object  to  be  aimed  at  in  practice,  seemed  to  others 
a  treason  against  the  principles  of  the  Prussian  Code,  and  an 
abandonment  of  the  ideal  of  monarchy.  But  Niebuhr  was 
neither  to  be  disconcerted  by  the  appeal  to  the  so-called  "good 
principles,"  which  the  passions  of  men  have  in  every  age  made 
their  watch-word,  nor  yet  by  the  bugbear  of  the  Prussian  code. 
He  knew  that  many  general  phrases  and  expressions,  which  had 
crept  into  the  code  from  the  one-sided,  often  quite  untenable  doc- 
trinary  views  of  the  day,  had  through  the  force  of  circumstances, 
and  the  justice  and  mildness  of  the  government,  become  a  dead 
letter,  which  a  practical  statesman  was  bound  to  leave,  like  so 
much  else,  unrevived,  inasmuch  as  a  dead  letter  is  always  infin- 
itely better  than  one  "  that  killeth."  But  Niebuhr  did  not  con- 
ceal from  himself  that  the  practical  influence  of  these  hostile 
views  might  greatly  paralyze  and  interfere  with  his  discharge 
of  the  duties  of  his  office,  and  to  this  the  words  in  the  letter  to 
Perthes  are  to  be  referred  :  "  The  embassador  is  merely  the  in- 


NIEBTJHR  AS  A  DIPLOMATIST  IN  ROME.  559 

Btrument  of  carrying  out  the  orders  which  he  receives,  and  how 
little  these  orders  are  likely  to  be  in  accordance  with  my  convic- 
tions, I  can  already  foresee."  The  letters  referred  to  above  show, 
that  while  his  convictions  underwent  no  alteration,  his  apprehen- 
sions were  not  justified  by  the  event.  Among-  others  the  well- 
known  fact  may  be  referred  to,  that  upon  his  proposal  made 
from  Rome,  the  government  immediately  consented  to  the  direct 
transmission  of  the  Roman  Catholic  requests  for  dispensations  of 
marriage  from  the  bishops  to  the  embassy  charged  with  their 
presentation  and  advocacy,  and  to  the  immediate  transmission 
of  the  papal  rescripts  to  the  bishops — a  measure  which  produced 
a  most  desirable  simplification  of  nine-tenths  of  the  current  busi- 
ness between  Prussia  and  Rome. 

But  there  was  yet  another  view  at  this  time,  from  which  Niebuhr 
very  distinctly  dissented  throughout  the  whole  course  of  his  mis- 
sion. It  was  this,  that  the  government  ought  to  favor  the  wishes 
expressed  for  an  internal  remodeling  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
in  Germany,  abstain  from  all  negotiation  in  Rome,  or  even  declare 
itself  the  organ  of  those  views  to  the  Papal  court,  aiid  carry  them 
into  execution.  Niebuhr  did  all  to  the  individuals  of  this  party 
who  were  really  in  earnest  about  the  main  point — the  religious 
and  moral  elevation  of  their  church — and  did  not  simply  desire  to 
carry  out  the  impracticable  theory  of  a  German  Hand-book  of 
Canonical  Law,  in  opposition  to  the  Pope,  or  to  set  up  for  popes 
themselves.  But  as  a  philosopher  and  historian  he  held  their  aims 
impossible  of  attainment,  and  as  a  statesman,  the  highest  wisdom, 
as  well  as  justice  seemed  to  him  to  demand  that  a  Protestant 
government  should,  of  all  others,  be  the  last  to  enter  on  such  a 
course.  On  this  point  also  Niebuhr  had  every  reason  to  be  fully 
satisfied  with  the  part  he  had  taken. 

Niebuhr's  own  view  was  based  entirely  on  the  three  leading 
traits  of  his  character — conscientious  piety,  incorruptible  integrity, 
and  burning  patriotism.  His  reverence  for  the  views  of  Chris- 
tianity which  friends  and  pious  men  such  as  Stolberg  and  Fenelon 
held  sacred,  made  him  regard  a  tender  and  reverent  handling  of 
every  thing  connected  with  these  views  as  an  imperative  duty  in 
the  cas«  of  individuals  as  well  as  that  of  nations.  I  remember  his 
once  saying  to  me,  iu  reference  to  this,  "  How  much  easier  to 
myself,  I  could  make  my  position  in  Rome,  and  how  much  more 
satisfaction  could  I  give,  in  various  quarters,  nay,  even  reap  ap- 


560  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBTTHR. 

plause,  if  I  were  but  an  atheist !"  A  deep  text  suggesting  many 
reflections.  The  respect  for  the  rights  of  others,  which  was  with 
Niebuhr  a  second  nature,  never  allowed  him  to  forget  the  duties 
which  a  Christian  government  had  taken  upon  itself  with  refer- 
ence to  the  Roman  Catholic  population  by  the  very  rights  which 
she  claimed  with  regard  to  their  church.  Finally,  his  love  for 
his  German  father-land,  both  in  the  narrower  and  wider  sense  of 
the  term,  strengthened  these  sentiments.  Niebuhr  saw  in  the 
"  truce  of  God,"  between  the  members  of  the  two  confessions — 
whom  a  calamitous  war  on  the  plains  and  mountains  of  their 
primitive  home  had  left  as  rival  bodies,  and  yet  spiritually  and 
by  affinity  one  nation — the  only  guarantee  for  the  unity  of  the 
Germans,  and  consequently  for  the  preservation  of  their  freedom 
and  independence.  On  this  ground  he  wished  to  avert  eveiy 
thing  that  might  disturb  that  peace,  and  call  up  the  lurking  de- 
mons. What  he  said  in  his  famous  address  to  his  beloved  hearers 
in  .1830,  on  this  point,  flowed  from  a  loving  heart,  oppressed,  nay 
sometimes  uncontrollably  agitated  by  the  vehemence  of  its  emo- 
tions, which  never  belied  itself  in  this  or  any  other  portion  of  his 
life.  No  statesman  of  any  age  or  nation  who  has  a  heart  in  his 
bosom,  and  Jeels  the  sorrows  of  humanity  and  the  heavy  burdens 
of  the  past  and  present,  can  see  without  emotion  how  strong  a 
sympathy  and  interest  Niebuhr  felt  as"  a  fellow-countryman  and 
Christian,  in  all  that  he  recognized  as  the  real  wants  and  essen- 
tial rights  of  his  fellow-citizens  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
from  the  poverty  of  the  parish  priest  on  the  Rhine,  to  the  elective 
rights  of  the  German  cathedral  chapters,  nor  fail  to  remark  the 
contrast  this  spirit  presented  to  Napoleon's  niggardly  spirit,  and 
the  right  which  he  claimed  to  the  arbitrary  nomination  of  the 
bishops,  as  it  exists  in  nearly  all  Roman  Catholic  countries. 

In  Niebuhr 's  opinion,  the  government  was  bound  to  provide 
for  the  institutions  necessary  to  the  existence  and  efficiency  of  that 
Church  in  the  land.  With  respect  to  public  instruction  he  con- 
sidered it  indispensable  that  it  should  bear  a  character  of  nation- 
ality, combined  with  a  due  consideration  of  the  religious  and 
ecclesiastical  wants  ;  and  regarded  every  admixture  of  a  foreign 
exclusive  and  separate  influence  on  the  great  educational  institu- 
tions of  modern  times,  as  pernicious  ;  while  on  the  other  hand,  he 
deemed  the  ecclesiastical  character  of  the  episcopal  seminaries  for 
the  conclusion  of  the  clerical  education,  judicious  and  wholesome. 


NIEBUHR  AS  A  DIPLOMATIST  IN  ROME.  561 

But  with  respect  also  to  strictly  spiritual  relations,  he  held  that 
the  government,  guided  by  the  principles  we  have  indicated, 
ought,  in  the  first  instance,  to  take  counsel  with  their  own  con- 
sciences and  their  Roman  Catholic  clergy  and  statesmen,  and 
then  to  establish  whatever  their  paternal  solicitude  might  point 
out  to  them  as  their  duty. 

Further,  Niebuhr  believed  that  negotiations  with  the  Roman 
court  were  the  surest  and  most  natural  means  of  attaining  these 
noble  and  desirable  ends,  and  of  laying  the  foundation  of  more 
flourishing  conditions  of  the  Church.  The  conclusion  of  a  con- 
cordat he  had  considered  from  the  first  as  an  altogether  inad- 
missible idea,  because  he  knew  that  in  the  present  position  of  a 
fully  organized  European  state  to  the  Romish  ecclesiastical  power, 
no  concordat  whatever  can  be  concluded  with  honesty,  even  apart 
from  the  peculiar  case  of  Protestant  governments.  With  his  prin- 
ciples, and  his  character  as  a  Roman  historian  and  a  German 
statesman,  had  he  not  brought  this  conviction  with  him  to  Rome, 
it  would  have  been  forced  upon  him  by  the  negotiations  and  pro- 
ceedings of  which  he  was  a  witness  and  judge  during  his  residence 
there.  The  statements  of  his  views  on  these  subjects  will  one  day 
prove  a  mine  of  gold  to  the  reflecting  statesman,  and  the  historian 
conversant  with  public  life. 

In  Niebuhr's  opinion,  the  negotiations  with  Rome  ought  to  have 
no  other  object  than  to  give  solemnity  to  the  establishment  of  the 
resolutions  that  should  be  adopted  after  mature  deliberation,  as 
the  result  of  an  open  and  sincere  understanding  respecting  the  in- 
dividual practical  points,  the  canonical  forms,  and  the  modern 
development  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  Germany.  Both 
parties  he  considered  must  seek  a  basis  for  their  friendly  relations, 
not  afforded  by  their  conflicting  principles,  in  the  common  inter- 
est felt  in  the  object  of  their  cares,  and  the  practical  importance 
of  the  points  concerned  in  their  deliberations  ;  further,  in  the  still 
greater  importance  of  the  fact  of  an  honest  understanding  between 
them  being  possible.  He  believed  that  such  an  understanding 
would  be  a  benefit  to  both  Church  and  State,  and  a  security  to 
universal  peace,  beneath  whose  fostering  wings  the  life  of  Euro- 
pean nations  might  attain  its  full  development.  In  all  these,  to 
him,  fundamentally  important  views,  Niebuhr  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  finding  the  fullest  concurence  on  the  part  of  the  Prussian 
government  during  his  negotiations.  If  he  was  deceived-*-if  it 

A  A* 


562  MEMOIR  OF  NIEBUHR. 

was  an  error  to  suppose  that  a  Protestant  government,  conscien- 
tiously acting  with  a  view  to  the  highest  welfare  of  its  subjects, 
might  carry  its  enlightened  views  with  regard  to  the  Roman 
Catholics,  into  effect  by  means  of  an  understanding  with  Rome — 
if  in  spite  of  these  pure  intentions,  malignant  agitation  and  priestly 
pretensions  now  threaten  with  fresh  storms,  the  repose  of  Germany 
and  of  the  world,  which  it  was  hoped  would  be  secured  by  these 
relations — Niebuhr's  ashes  may  still  be  suffered  to  rest  in  peace. 
He  shared  this  error,  if  such  it  was,  with  the  noblest  minds  of  his 
nation,  and  he  and  they  will,  perhaps,  be  all  the  dearer  to  pos- 
terity for  the  sake  of  this  very  error.  Trust  and  patience  are 
never  thrown  away,  especially  in  the  case  of  a  powerful  govern- 
ment ;  and  extended  historical  experience  can  never  be  bought  too 
dearly  by  those  who  remain  true  to  themselves. 

Further,  it  must  be  said,  that  in  the  views  we  have  portrayed, 
Niebuhr  thought  as  a  practical  statesman,  who  takes  reality  as  he 
finds  it. 

He  said  once  to  a  very  distinguished  English  statesman,  still 
living,  who  had  consulted  him  while  in  Rome  with  reference  to 
similar  relations  with  the  court  of  Rome,  "  Do  every  thing  in  your 
power  for  the  benefit  of  your  Catholics ;  give  their  clergy  salaries, 
and  have  them  well  educated  at  home,  but  never  keep  an  em- 
bassador  in  Rome." 

That  he  did  not  conceal  from  himself  the  perils  of  the  future  ; 
that  he  well  knew  how  much  of  the  then  peaceable  intentions  of 
Rome  was  owing  to  the  personal  character  of  the  pious  Pope,  and 
his  excellent  cabinet,  and  the  instructive  discipline  of  a  period  of 
tribulation,  is  sufficiently  proved  by  his  expressions  in  his  letter  to 
Madame  Hensler,  of  the  4th  May,  1822. 

I  can  not  conclude  these  lines,  written  in  England,  without  ex- 
pressing the  pleasure  I  have  derived  from  the  appreciation  and 
high  esteem  with  which  my  ever  revered  master  and  fatherly 
friend  is  here  regarded  by  statesmen  and  scholars — and  especially 
from  the  pure  enthusiasm  with  which  he  has  inspired  the  most 
earnest  and  noble  portion  of  the  youth  of  this  country.  His  in- 
fluence, which  is  apparent  to  every  observer,  is  not  adequately 
represented  even  by  the  fact  that  a  much  larger  number  of  copies 
of  the  English  translation  of  his  Roman  History  have  been  sold 
than  of  the  German  original,  though  many  of  the  latter  have  also 
found  their  way  to  England.  Niebuhr's  incomparable  superiority 


NIEBUHR  AS  A  DIPLOMATIST  IN  ROME.  563 

to  all  the  critics  of  modern  times — the  deep  truth  of  his  historical 
•views  and  political  maxims — the  pregnant  solidity  of  his  earnest 
earnest  and  dignified,  if  not  easy  style — the  elevation  of  his  moral 
views  of  the  world — all  this  had  long  been  acknowledged,  in  the 
homage  paid  to  the  Roman  historian  by  the  most  distinguished 
men  of  every  party  in  Church  and  State.  But  the  pure  human 
greatness  of  his  noble  heart — his  unspotted  life — his  unwavering 
courage  amid  ill-health  and  disappointed  or  overclouded  hopes — 
the  devoted  love  of  such  a  mind — the  elevating  and  childlike  faith 
in  the  divinity  of  virtue  and  truth — the  union  of  qualities  and 
capacities  of  heart  and  intellect  so  rarely  seen  in  combination — 
in  a  word,  the  image  presented  in  the  letters  before  us,  has  raised 
that  esteem  to  personal  attachment,  and  the  seeds  of  knowledge 
and  virtue  so  richly  scattered  through  them  have  fallen  on  a  good 
and  fruitful  soil. 

Well  may  we  Germans  term  this  joy  a  sorrowful  one,  when  we 
turn  our  eyes  to  the  disgraceful  efforts  of  little-minded  men,  who, 
humbled  beneath  the  grave  and  piercing  glance  of  genius,  have 
fallen  a  prey  to  their  mean  passions,  and  conspired  with  the  disci- 
ples of  impiety  and  the  apostles  of  every  thing  un-German,  to 
spy  out  the  weak  points  of  a  great  man  with  malicious  joy,  and 
use  them  with  Mephistophelian  address  for  their  own  ends ;  but 
it  is  so  ordained  that  meanness  and  wickedness  must  hate  noble- 
ness and  greatness,  and  Niebuhr's  chief  failing — that  of  yielding 
in  such  cases  to  immoderate  vexation,  shall  not  be  imitated  by 
his  friends. 

LONDON,  Wth  February,  1839. 


THE   END. 


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